Amazon Services, LLC v. SCDOR

Syllabus

In this contested case, Amazon Services, LLC (Amazon Services) appeals the decision of the Administrative Law Court (ALC) affirming the South Carolina Department of Revenue's (the Department's) determination assessing it approximately $12.5 million in taxes, penalties, and interest for the period of January 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016. Amazon Services argues that (1) as an online marketplace operator, it owed no duty to collect and remit sales tax on products sold on its marketplace by third parties under the Sales and Use Tax Act (the Act) in effect during 2016 (2) the statute in effect in 2016 could reasonably be read not to impose the obligation to collect and remit sales tax for third party sales upon online marketplace facilitators such that the statute is ambiguous and must be construed against the Department and (3) imposing a sales tax obligation on it for third party sales during the relevant period violates the United States and South Carolina constitutional guarantees of fair notice and equal protection. We affirm.