When the Arkansas Department of Transportation, by lease or by oral or written agreement with the landowner, enters upon the land and severs sand and gravel for the purpose of using the sand and gravel in the repair, maintenance, or construction of state highways, then the department as the producer and the owner of the land shall not be liable for, nor shall they pay to the State of Arkansas, any sales or gross receipts taxes or severance taxes upon the sand and gravel.
Ark. Code § 27-67-210