Any contractor or vendor may request from any contractee a certification of what portion of the property to be transferred under such contract or agreement is to be incorporated into the realty and what portion will retain its status as tangible personal property after installation is completed. The contractor or vendor shall request the certification by certified mail delivered to the contractee, return receipt requested. Upon receipt of such request and prior to entering into the contract or agreement, the contractee shall provide to the contractor or vendor a certification sufficiently detailed to enable the contractor or vendor to ascertain the resulting classification of all materials purchased or fabricated by the contractor or vendor and transferred to the contractee. This requirement applies to a contractee regardless of whether the contractee holds a direct payment permit under section 5739.031 of the Revised Code or provides to the contractor or vendor an exemption certificate as provided under this section.
For the purposes of the taxes levied by this chapter and Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code, the contractor or vendor may in good faith rely on the contractee's certification. Notwithstanding division (B) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code, if the tax commissioner determines that certain property certified by the contractee as tangible personal property pursuant to this division is, in fact, real property, the contractee shall be considered to be the consumer of all materials so incorporated into that real property and shall be liable for the applicable tax, and the contractor or vendor shall be excused from any liability on those materials.
If a contractee fails to provide such certification upon the request of the contractor or vendor, the contractor or vendor shall comply with the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code without the certification. If the tax commissioner determines that such compliance has been performed in good faith and that certain property treated as tangible personal property by the contractor or vendor is, in fact, real property, the contractee shall be considered to be the consumer of all materials so incorporated into that real property and shall be liable for the applicable tax, and the construction contractor or vendor shall be excused from any liability on those materials.
This division does not apply to any contract or agreement where the tax commissioner determines as a fact that a certification under this division was made solely on the decision or advice of the contractor or vendor.
The commissioner shall consider such additional evidence in reaching the final determination on the assessment and petition for reassessment.
R.C. § 5739.03