🧪 TEST MODE ACTIVE Use test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8604L0724F03 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1986-04-25

Did publicly displaying out-of-state or Mexican goods at a Texas trade show fall within the temporary-storage exclusion from taxable use?

Short answer: Not unless the goods were being held for sale in the regular course of business. Public trade-show display alone did not fit the exclusion from use.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1986. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1986
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The requester publicly displayed goods imported from another state or Mexico at a Texas trade show.

The Comptroller said public display did not fall within the stated exclusion from “use” unless the goods were being held for sale in the regular course of business.

Common questions

Did trade-show display automatically qualify as temporary storage? No.

What fact could preserve the exclusion? The goods being held for sale in the regular course of business.

Citations and references

  • Tex. Tax Code § 151.011 — definition of use cited in the letter.
  • 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rule 3.346(a)(2) — use exclusion discussed in the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

April 25, 1986

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of April 16, 1986, concerning the definition of
"use" under section (a)(2) of Rule 3.346.

The public showing of goods imported from another state or from Mexico at
a trade show does not fall within the exclusion from the definition of use
unless the goods are being held for sale in the regular course of business.
Tex. Tax Code Ann. Sec. 151.011.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are additional or
different facts, the opinion may change.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call us at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. You may write us at
the Tax Administration Division.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 1986 ruling on this question. Ezel checks current Texas tax law and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.