N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 20 § 539.2
A business is commenced or a new place of business is opened when sales are made to customers, rent is received for hotel occupancies, or amusement charges are received from patrons. A certificate of registration must be filed at least 20 days before such date, but may be filed earlier. Persons intending to make sales to others may wish to file earlier, so that they may be issued a certificate of authority which will authorize the purchase of their inventory without payment of tax.
Example:
A furniture reupholsterer located in New Jersey offers free pick-up and delivery service to its customers. Between May 15, 1989 and June 5, 1990, the reupholsterer came into New York to deliver furniture, reupholstered at its New Jersey factory, on 16 occasions as follows:
| Job No. | Delivery Date | Job No. | Delivery Date |
| 1 | May 15, 1989 | 9 | September 5, 1989 |
| 2 | May 15, 1989 | 10 | September 15, 1989 |
| 3 | May 19, 1989 | 11 | October 5, 1989 |
| 4 | May 22, 1989 | 12 | October 13, 1989 |
| 5 | June 5,1989 | 13 | November 27, 1989 |
| 6 | July 11, 1989 | 14 | May 10, 1990 |
| 7 | August 11, 1989 | 15 | May 11, 1990 |
| 8 | August 28, 1989 | 16 | June 5, 1990 |
Since, as of December 1, 1989, the number of occasions the reupholsterer came into New York to deliver its service during the immediately preceding four quarterly sales tax reporting periods exceeded 12, the reupholsterer is a vendor as of December 1, 1989. Therefore, the reupholsterer must submit a certificate of registration by December 31, 1989, and in accordance with section 1311 (1) of the Tax Law, the reupholsterer will be required to collect tax on all taxable services delivered in New York on or after January 20, 1990.
Example:
Company P, a mail order house located in Utah, solicits sales in New York State only by way of its mail order catalog sent four times a year directly to resident addresses in New York. All orders are filled in Utah and sent via U.S. mail to New York. Company P began soliciting business in New York in September 1989 and during the period September 1, 1989 through November 30, 1990, Company P had the following gross sales (summarized by sales tax quarterly filing period) to customers in New York.
Gross Sales in New York | ||
| Period | Number of Sales | Dollar Amount |
| 9/1/89 - 11/30/89 | 700 | $ 42,000 |
| 12/1/89 - 2/28/90 | 1,300 | $ 71,000 |
| 3/1/90 - 5/31/90 | 1,500 | $ 81,000 |
| 6/1/90 - 8/31/90 | 1,800 | $ 97,000 |
| 9/1/90 - 11/30/90 | 2,200 | $114,000 |
Although Company P's number of sales of property delivered in New York exceeded 100 during the four quarterly sales tax reporting periods from September 1, 1989 through August 31, 1990, its dollar volume of sales for this period was only $291,000. Accordingly, Company P is not presumed to be a vendor for the quarter beginning September 1, 1990. However, since Company P's number of sales delivered in New York for the period from December 1, 1989 through November 30, 1990 exceeded 100 and the gross receipts from these sales exceeded $300,000, Company P is presumed to be a vendor as of December 1, 1990. Therefore, Company P must submit a certificate of registration by December 31, 1990, and, in accordance with section 1131 (1) of the Tax Law, Company P is required to collect tax on all taxable sales made on or after January 20, 1991.
Example:
Corporation A, located in New Jersey, has two stores. Store No. 1 is in southern New Jersey and Store No. 2 is situated close to the New York City metropolitan area. During the period September 1, 1988 through August 31, 1989, Store No. 2 regularly delivered taxable property into New York within the meaning of section 526.10(a)(5) of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations. Corporation A filed a certificate of registration with the Tax Department and holds a valid certificate of authority.
On July 1, 1990 Corporation A decided to close Store No. 2 effective August 31, 1990. Corporation A wrote a letter to the Registration and Licensing Services Bureau and requested that its certificate of authority be cancelled because it had closed its only store doing business in New York. Corporation A included with its letter a certified copy of the resolution of the board of directors of Corporation A closing Store No. 2. On the basis of the submission made by Corporation A, written notification was sent to it by the Registration and Licensing Services Bureau of the effective date of the cancellation of its certificate of authority. Within 20 days after the effective date of the cancellation of its certificate of authority, Corporation A filed its final return and with it submitted payment of all taxes due as well as its certificate of authority.
Example:
Company X, located in Ohio, is the exclusive manufacturer and retailer of a unique product for which it holds a patent. Company X solicits its sales only through advertisements placed in national technology magazines. All orders are filled from Ohio and shipped via common carrier. Although Company X sells products in New York besides its patented product, 90% of its sales in New York are of the patented product. The other 10% of the company's sales are of ancillary products which customers order from Company X as a matter of convenience when placing their main order. These other products are readily available from other suppliers.
During the period September 1, 1988 through August 31, 1989, Company X regularly solicited business in New York State as described in section 526.10(a)(6) of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations. Company X filed a certificate of registration with the Tax Department and holds a valid certificate of authority. During the period September 1, 1989 through August 31, 1990, Company X had the following sales to customers in New York (summarized by quarterly sales tax reporting period):
Gross Sales In New York | ||
| Period | Number of Sales | Dollar Amount |
| 9/1/89 - 11/30/89 | 6,200 | $810,000 |
| 12/1/89 - 2/28/90 | 600 | $ 52,000 |
| 3/1/90 - 5/31/90 | 500 | $ 43,000 |
| 6/1/90 - 8/31/90 | 400 | $ 33,000 |
| Total (9/1/89 - 8/31/90) | 7,700 | $938,000 |
Due to a technological breakthrough by one of its competitors in January 1990, Company X's patented product was made obsolete and demand for this product virtually disappeared. News of the demise of Company X's product was cited in a technology magazine article featuring the product of Company X's competitor.
Company X wrote a letter to the Registration and Licensing Services Bureau and requested that its certificate of authority be cancelled because of the change in the volume of business it expected to conduct in New York State in the future. Company X included with its submission a copy of the magazine article cited above as well as copies of relevant accounting records. On the basis of the submission made by Company X, written notification was sent to it by the Registration and Licensing Services Bureau of the effective date of the cancellation of its certificate of authority. Within 20 days after the effective date of the cancellation of its certificate of authority, Company X filed its final return and with it submitted payment of all taxes due as well as its certificate of authority.
Example 1:
A resident of New York leases a motor vehicle on October 1, 1990 for two years from a non-New York corporation whose only place of business is located outside of New York. The resident picks up the motor vehicle at the lessor's place of business on October 1, 1990 and immediately returns to New York State with the vehicle. Since the lessor is a vendor solely by reason of section 526.10(a)(7) of this Title, it is required to file a certificate of registration with the department within 30 days after the day the property was brought into New York State which in this case means, no later than October 31, 1990.
Example 2:
A non-New York company leases a motor vehicle to a non-resident of New York State. The non-resident of New York uses the vehicle in New York while on vacation. Six months later the non-resident moves to New York State and becomes a resident, bringing the leased vehicle with him.
The non-New York company is a vendor by virtue of section 1101 (b)(8)(i)(F) of the Tax Law and is required to submit a certificate of registration within 30 days after the day on which the lessee became a resident of New York, but not when the vehicle first entered the state six months prior.
Example:
ABC Company, whose certificate of authority was issued three years ago expanded its operations by adding a retail outlet in each year of the past three years. A separate certificate of authority was issued for each of the three new locations and separate sales tax returns are filed for each location. The sales tax returns are prepared for all locations by the company's main office. For ease of administration, ABC Company requests that each certificate of authority be renewed simultaneously for all its locations, even though the certificates of authority for all locations were originally issued at different times. Based upon the written request by the vendor for consolidation for renewal purposes of the certificates of authority, the department may:
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 20 § 539.2