Rev. Rul. 72-479

Advice has been requested as to the application of the manufacturers excise taxes imposed by section 4061 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to the articles described below.

A company manufacturers a self-feeding spreading device designed to be attached to a standard dump truck body. The spreader is centrally suspended under the gate of the dump truck body and is attached to the body by brackets. When the spreader is not needed, it may be readily removed from the truck body.

The spreader may be used year round. In the summer it can be used for surfacing roads, for blotting bleeding roads, for dust control, and for stabilizing soil with salt and calcium chloride. In winter it can be used for salting, sanding, or cindering streets and highways for ice and snow control.

Two questions have been asked with respect to the described spreading device:

Question 1. Is the spreading device an automotive part or accessory subject to the manufacturers excise tax imposed by section 4061(b) of the Code?

Question 2. Assuming the spreading device is not an automotive part or accessory, is a standard dump truck body sold by the manufacturer thereof with the spreading device attached subject to the tax on truck bodies imposed by section 4061(a) of the Code?

Section 4061(a)(1) of the Code imposes a tax upon various motor vehicle articles, including truck and truck trailer bodies, sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer thereof (including in each case parts or accessories sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof).

Section 4061(a)(2) of the Code excludes certain articles from the tax imposed by section 4061(a)(1), including automobile truck chassis and bodies suitable for use with a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less (as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate.)

Section 48.4061(a)-1(d) of the Manufacturers and Retailers Excise Tax Regulations provides that a chassis or body specified in section 4061(a) of the Code which is not designed for highway use is not subject to the tax imposed by that section.

Section 4061(b)(1) of the Code imposes a tax on parts or accessories (other than tires and inner tubes) for any of the articles enumerated in section 4061(a)(1) when sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer thereof.

Section 48.4061(b)-2(a) of the regulations provides that, in general, the term "parts or accessories" includes (1) any article the primary use of which is to improve, repair, replace, or serve as a component part of an automobile truck or bus chassis or body, or taxable tractor, (2) any article designed to be attached to or used in connection with such chassis, body or tractor to add to its utility or ornamentation, and (3) any article the primary use of which is in connection with such chassis, body, or tractor, whether or not essential to its operation or use. An article of loading or unloading equipment designed to be attached to or to be primarily used in connection with a truck is a taxable part or accessory.

Revenue Ruling 165, C.B. 1953-2, 422, holds that hoppers or beds that are primarily designed or adapted to be mounted on or pulled behind trucks or tractors and equipped with power driven devices, used solely in spreading fertilizers or other materials on farms, or in the construction, maintenance of, or spreading ice control materials on highways, streets, sidewalks, etc., are not taxable automobile truck bodies or automobile parts or accessories within the purview of section 3403 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 (now section 4061 of the 1954 Code.)

In answer to Question 1, although the spreading device is designed to be attached to a truck body, it does not add to the utility of the body as a device for transporting property over the highway. Furthermore, although it is designed to dispense the load of the truck body, it is not designed to "unload" the body within the meaning of the regulations. Accordingly, it is held that the described spreading device is not an automotive part or accessory, for purposes of the tax imposed by section 4061(b) of the Code.

With respect to Question 2, although a standard dump truck body when equipped with the spreader in question may temporarily be unsuitable for general use in transporting property over the highway, the designed utility of the body is not affected. Accordingly, it is held that a manufacturers sale of such a truck body with the described spreading device attached is subject to the tax on truck bodies imposed by section 4061(a) of the Code (providing the body is not excluded from tax by reason of being suitable for use with a truck with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less.)

The hoppers and beds described in Revenue Ruling 165 are distinguishable from the body in Question 2 in that the former articles are primarily designed for use in spreading materials over streets and highways. Unlike the standard dump truck body described in this Revenue Ruling, the hoppers and beds described in Revenue Ruling 165, because of their special design, and not suitable for general use in transporting property over the highways.