Hy-Vee Food Stores, Inc. v. Iowa Department of Revenue

SNELL, Judge.

In 1981 petitioner Hy-Vee Food Stores, Inc. sought a $166,979 refund for sales tax paid on gas and electricity used by thirty-five pieces of grocery store equipment that Hy-Vee believed fell within the statutory exemption in 730 Iowa Admin.Code sections 17.3 and 18.29 (422, 423) for equipment used in processing. The Iowa Department of Revenue (hereinafter Department) denied Hy-Vee’s claim for the refund in part because it concluded that certain equipment was not utilized in processing. Hy-Vee filed a protest. The parties stipulated that the electricity used in sixteen pieces of…