Alabama Sales and Use Tax

A trucking company that purchased gravel and other construction materials and delivered them to customers at job sites was selling the materials at retail and therefore was liable for tax on the amounts it collected from its customers. It was not a construction contractor because it merely delivered the materials without spreading or handling them after delivery. Department of Revenue rules recognize the distinction between mere delivery and delivery with later spreading and handling. The proper measure of tax was the lump-sum amount the taxpayer charged its customers without any deduction for the taxpayer's cost of transporting the materials, as Alabama law treats transportation charges as a part of the selling price when, as here, the seller delivers the items using its own transportation equipment. Separately, the taxpayer did not establish reasonable cause for a penalty waiver, particularly because it had collected tax on a small number of sales yet kept the money for its own use rather than remitting it to the Department as required. (Pearce Trucking, Inc. v. Ala. Dept. Rev., Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. S. 08-317, 09/29/2008 .)