South Carolina Sales Tax Exemption medication below the surface of the skin
South Carolina Department of Revenue (DOR) has determined that a non-opioid pain medication that is administered by a physician, or other healthcare professional in a medical office, using a proprietary delivery system that delivers the medication below the surface of the skin like syringe injections, falls under the exemption for sales and use tax as an injectable medication under S.C. Code Ann. § 12-36-2120(80). The exemption does not apply to patches, creams, and other similar methods of delivery in which the medication is not forced into the body, but merely absorbed into the skin. The taxpayer’s system forces a high concentration of the active ingredient below the surface layers of the skin to deactivate nerve fibers and pain receptors in a short period of time. If the compound used were applied directly to the skin without use of the taxpayer’s system, the active ingredient would not be forced through the skin’s channels rapidly, and would instead work more like a topical cream or lotion. While an injection typically uses a needle and a syringe, the exemption statute does not limit the injection method. The DOR concluded that based on the above, for purposes of the exemption in S.C. Code Ann. § 12-36-2120(80), an injectable medication or biologic is one in which a medication or biologic is forcefully introduced into the body for medical purposes (e.g., treatment, prevention), and is exempt from the sales and use tax as an injectable medication.
South Carolina Sales Tax Exemption medication below the surface of the skin
