(35 ILCS 120/2-54)

Sec. 2-54. Building materials exemption; River Edge Redevelopment Zones.

(a) Each retailer that makes a qualified sale of building materials to be incorporated into real estate within a River Edge Redevelopment Zone in accordance with the River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act by remodeling, rehabilitating, or new construction may deduct receipts from those sales when calculating the tax imposed by this Act. For purposes of this Section, "qualified sale" means a sale of building materials that will be incorporated into real estate as part of an industrial or commercial project for which a Certificate of Eligibility for Sales Tax Exemption has been issued by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located.

(b) Before July 1, 2013, to document the exemption allowed under this Section, the retailer must obtain from the purchaser a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility for Sales Tax Exemption issued by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the real estate into which the building materials will be incorporated is located. The Certificate of Eligibility for Sales Tax Exemption must contain all of the following:

(1) A statement that the commercial or industrial project identified in the Certificate meets all the requirements of the jurisdiction in which the project is located.

(2) The location or address of the building project.

(3) The signature of the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the building project is located, or the chief executive officer's delegate.

(c) Before July 1, 2013, in addition, the retailer must obtain a certificate from the purchaser that contains all of the following:

(1) A statement that the building materials are being purchased for incorporation into real estate located in a River Edge Redevelopment Zone included in a redevelopment project area in accordance with River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act.

(2) The location or address of the real estate into which the building materials will be incorporated.

(3) The name of the River Edge Redevelopment Zone in which that real estate is located.

(4) A description of the building materials being purchased.

(5) The purchaser's signature and date of purchase.

(d) On and after July 1, 2013, to document the exemption allowed under this Section the retailer must obtain from the purchaser the purchaser's River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate number issued by the Department. A construction contractor or other entity shall not make tax-free purchases unless it has an active Exemption Certificate issued by the Department at the time of purchase.

Upon request from the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located, the Department shall issue a River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate for each construction contractor or other entity identified by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located. The Department shall make the Exemption Certificates available to the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located and each construction contractor or other entity. The request for River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificates from the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located to the Department must include the following information:

(1) the name and address of the construction contractor or other entity;

(2) the name and number of the River Edge Redevelopment Zone in which the building project is located;

(3) the name and location or address of the building project in the River Edge Redevelopment Zone;

(4) the estimated amount of the exemption for each construction contractor or other entity for which a request for Exemption Certificate is made, based on a stated estimated average tax rate and the percentage of the contract that consists of materials;

(5) the period of time over which supplies for the project are expected to be purchased; and

(6) other reasonable information as the Department may require, including but not limited to FEIN numbers, to determine if the contractor or other entity, or any partner, or a corporate officer, and in the case of a limited liability company, any manager or member, of the construction contractor or other entity, is or has been the owner, a partner, a corporate officer, and in the case of a limited liability company, a manager or member, of a person that is in default for moneys due to the Department under this Act or any other tax or fee Act administered by the Department.

The Department shall issue the River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificates within 3 business days after receipt of request from the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located. This requirement does not apply in circumstances where the Department, for reasonable cause, is unable to issue the Exemption Certificate within 3 business days. The Department may refuse to issue an Exemption Certificate if the owner, any partner, or a corporate officer, and in the case of a limited liability company, any manager or member, of the construction contractor or other entity is or has been the owner, a partner, a corporate officer, and in the case of a limited liability company, a manager or member, of a person that is in default for moneys due to the Department under this Act or any other tax or fee Act administered by the Department. The River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate shall contain language stating that, if the construction contractor or other entity who is issued the Exemption Certificate makes a tax-exempt purchase as described in this Section that is not eligible for exemption under this Section, or allows another person to make a tax-exempt purchase, as described in this Section, that is not eligible for exemption under this Section, then, in addition to any tax or other penalty imposed, the construction contractor or other entity is subject to a penalty equal to the tax that would have been paid by the retailer under this Act as well as any applicable local retailers' occupation tax on the purchase that is not eligible for the exemption.

The Department, in its discretion, may require that the request for River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificates be submitted electronically. The Department may, in its discretion, issue the Exemption Certificates electronically. The River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate number shall be designed in such a way that the Department can identify from the unique number on the Exemption Certificate issued to a given construction contractor or other entity, the name of the River Edge Redevelopment Zone in which the building project is located, the project for which the Exemption Certificate is issued, and the construction contractor or other entity to whom the Exemption Certificate is issued. The Exemption Certificate shall contain an expiration date, which shall be no more than 2 years after the date of issuance. At the request of the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located, the Department may renew an Exemption Certificate. After the Department issues Exemption Certificates for a given River Edge building project, the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located may notify the Department of additional construction contractors or other entities eligible for a River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate. Upon notification by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located, and subject to the other provisions of this subsection (d), the Department shall issue a River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate to each additional construction contractor or other entity identified by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located. The corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located may notify the Department to rescind a Building Materials Exemption Certificate previously issued by the Department but that has not yet expired. Upon notification by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located, and subject to the other provisions of this subsection (d), the Department shall issue the rescission of the River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificate to the construction contractor or other entity identified by the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located and provide a copy to the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located.

If the Department of Revenue determines that a construction contractor or other entity that was issued an Exemption Certificate under this subsection (d) made a tax-exempt purchase, as described in this Section, that was not eligible for exemption under this Section, or allowed another person to make a tax-exempt purchase, as described in this Section, that was not eligible for exemption under this Section, then, in addition to any tax or other penalty imposed, the construction contractor or other entity is subject to a penalty equal to the tax that would have been paid by the retailer under this Act as well as any applicable local retailers' occupation tax on the purchase that was not eligible for the exemption.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, for River Edge building projects already in existence and for which construction contracts are already in place on July 1, 2013, the request for River Edge Building Materials Exemption Certificates from the corporate authorities of the municipality in which the building project is located to the Department for these pre-existing construction contractors and other entities must include the information required under subsection (d), but not including the information listed in items (4) and (5). For any new construction contract entered into on or after July 1, 2013, however, all of the information in this subsection (d) must be provided.

(e) The provisions of this Section are exempt from Section 2-70.

(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)