By Maria Todorova and Prentiss Willson

The Minnesota Tax Court held that computer software consulting and implementation services were not subject to sales tax in Minnesota. The taxpayer, SAP Retail, Inc., licensed enterprise resource planning software. It also provided consultation and implementation services to configure the software to a customer’s particular business activities. The court recognized that consulting and implementation services were not specifically enumerated as taxable services under Minnesota law. It determined that the taxpayer’s services did not constitute taxable fabrication services because the consumers of the services did not furnish materials used to create the software. Further, the Tax Court found that the services were not part of the taxable software license fee because (1) they were provided pursuant to a separate agreement and, even if sold as a package, were separately itemized, and (2) the services were not necessary to complete the sale of a software license that could be purchased without the services and vice versa. SAP Retail, Inc. v. Comm’r of Revenue, No. 8345-R (Minn. Tax Ct. Sept. 19, 2013).