Export certificate (manifiestos)

Do I have to pay sales tax when I purchase an item in Texas? How do I request a refund of sales tax? What do I need to present in order to obtain an export certification for the purposes of a sales tax refund?

Do I have to pay sales tax when I purchase an item in Texas?

• Texas sales tax is due when you pick up or take delivery of a taxable item in Texas.
• Once you export that item to another country, you can request a refund of the tax collected if you provide acceptable proof of export certifying that the merchandise was taken outside the United States.

​How do I request a refund of sales tax?
In order to request a refund directly from the seller, the purchaser must provide any one of the following items that the Comptroller will accept from the seller to substantiate a claim of export:
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• a licensed U.S. customs broker export certification;
• import documents issued by a foreign country;
• a bill of lading issued by a licensed and certificated carrier showing the retailer as shipper and a delivery point outside of the United States; or
• an original airway, ocean or railroad bill of lading with freight forwarder’s receipt.

What do I need to present in order to obtain an export certification for the purposes of a sales tax refund?
TX CODE Sec. 151.1575. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ISSUING DOCUMENTATION SHOWING EXPORTATION OF PROPERTY, states that (a) A customs broker licensed by the comptroller or an authorized employee of the customs broker may issue documentation certifying that delivery of tangible personal property was made to a point outside the territorial limits of the United States as required by Section 151.307(b)(2)(B) only if the customs broker or authorized employee:

(1) watches the property cross the border of the United States; 

(2) watches the property being placed on a common carrier for delivery outside the territorial limits of the United States; or 

(3) verifies that the purchaser is transporting the property to a destination outside of the territorial limits of the United States by:

(A) examining a passport, laser visa identification card, or foreign voter registration picture identification indicating that the purchaser of the property resides in a foreign country;

(B) requiring that the documentation examined under Paragraph (A) have a unique identification number for that purchaser;

(C) requiring the purchaser to produce the property and the original sales receipt for the property;

(D) requiring the purchaser to state the foreign country destination of the property which must be the foreign country in which the purchaser resides;

(E) requiring the purchaser to state the date and time the property is expected to arrive in the foreign country destination;

(F) requiring the purchaser to state the date and time the property was purchased, the name and address of the place at which the property was purchased, the sales price and quantity of the property, and a description of the property;
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(G) requiring the purchaser and the broker or an authorized employee to sign in the presence of each other a form prepared or approved by the comptroller:

(i) stating that the purchaser has provided the information and documentation required by this subdivision; and

(ii) that contains a notice to the purchaser that tangible personal property not exported is subject to taxation under this chapter and the purchaser is liable, in addition to other possible civil liabilities and criminal penalties, for payment of an amount equal to the value of the merchandise if the purchaser improperly obtained a refund of taxes relating to the property;

(H) requiring the purchaser to produce the purchaser’s:

(i) Form I-94, Arrival/Departure record, or its successor, as issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, for those purchasers in a county not bordering the United Mexican States; or

(ii) air, land, or water travel documentation if the customs broker is located in a county that does not border the United Mexican States; and (I) requiring the purchaser and the broker or an authorized employee, when using a power of attorney form, to attest, as a part of the form and in the presence of each other:

(i) that the purchaser has provided the information and documentation required by this subdivision; and

​(ii) that the purchaser is on notice that tangible personal property not exported is subject to taxation under this chapter and the purchaser is liable, in addition to other possible civil liabilities and criminal penalties, for payment of an amount equal to the value of the merchandise if the purchaser improperly obtained a refund of taxes relating to the property.