Hughes Int'l Sales Corp. v. Commissioner

100 T.C. No. 18, 100 T.C. 293, 1993 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 17
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 31, 1993
DocketDocket No. 6226-90
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 100 T.C. No. 18 (Hughes Int'l Sales Corp. v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hughes Int'l Sales Corp. v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. No. 18, 100 T.C. 293, 1993 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 17 (tax 1993).

Opinions

Gerber, Judge:

Respondent determined Federal income tax deficiencies in petitioner’s taxable income of $4,904,470 and $14,143,945 for the taxable years ending March 31, 1982, and March 31, 1983, respectively. The deficiencies are solely attributable to respondent’s determination that petitioner did not qualify as a domestic international sales corporation (disc).

The major issue for consideration is the validity of certain aspects of section 1.993-6(e)(l), Income Tax Regs. Two preliminary issues also for consideration are (1) whether domestic sales, erroneously included as qualified export receipts, should be included in the gross receipts test which is a prerequisite to petitioner’s qualifying as a DISC; and (2) whether, in the context of this litigation, petitioner can increase the amount of qualified export receipts it reported on its Federal income tax return.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated, and the stipulation of facts and attached exhibits are incorporated by this reference. Petitioner’s principal place of business at the time of the filing of the petition in this case was Los Angeles, California.

Hughes Aircraft Co. (Hughes) manufactured sophisticated electronic products for use in the defense industry. Petitioner, Hughes International Sales Corp. (HISC), was incorporated by Hughes on October 19, 1973, in the State of California. Hughes owned 100 percent of HlSC’s one class of voting common stock outstanding during the years in issue. Hughes formed HISC to be its export sales representative and exporter.

HISC elected to file its Federal income tax returns on a fiscal year basis ending on March 31. On December 20, 1973, HISC filed an election to be taxed as a DISC under section 992.1 HISC also elected to use the accrual method of accounting for financial reporting and tax purposes. HISC had no employees and was not engaged in manufacturing or construction.

HISC and Hughes entered into a written sales representative agreement on October 19, 1973. Under the terms of the agreement, HISC agreed to act as Hughes’ agent, and Hughes agreed to pay HISC a commission, for all sales of Hughes’ products and services exported from the United States. The agreement provided for commissions on foreign or export sales, and it did not contain reference to domestic sales or specifically preclude HISC from receiving commissions on domestic sales. HISC entered into identical agreements with other Hughes subsidiaries.

Hughes filed its consolidated Federal income tax returns on a 52-53-week year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. During the years in issue, Hughes employed two methods of accounting for income tax purposes. For some transactions it used the accrual method of accounting and, for eligible long-term contracts, it used a variation of the accrual method of accounting — the completed contract method of accounting. Hughes received permission to use the completed contract method of accounting as described in section 1.451-3, Income Tax Regs., on January 15, 1975, by means of a private letter ruling. For Federal income tax purposes, Hughes deducted the commissions payable to HISC for all contracts in the year accrued.

Hisc’s only sources of income were commissions from the sales representative agreements and interest income from foreign accounts receivable, which HISC received as commissions from Hughes and its subsidiaries. See infra p. 296. HISC reported its commission income using the accrual method of accounting. HISC accrued commissions earned in the same year that Hughes, or one of its subsidiaries, shipped the export product to the foreign purchaser.

For the taxable year ending on March 31, 1982, HISC reported commission income of $7,918,257 and interest income of $2,743,634 for a total of $10,661,891. Hughes and its subsidiaries claimed corresponding commission expense deductions. Hughes transferred $9,586,815 of foreign receivables to HISC in December 1981 to pay commissions of $7,384,200 and interest of $2,202,615. Hughes paid the remaining $1,075,076 owed ($10,661,891-$9,586,815) in May 1982 by transferring additional foreign receivables to HISC.

On hisc’s Federal income tax return for the year ended March 31, 1982, HISC reported qualified export receipts of $168,763,350. Omitted from that amount was $11,854,320 of qualified export receipts that could have been included but were not due to a bookkeeping error. Additionally, HISC included $1,751,283 of domestic sales in qualified export receipts. HISC argues that the commissions on the domestic sales were inadvertently included. The domestic sales were received under a contract which originally had been limited to foreign sales. After that contract was in effect and prior to the taxable years under consideration, Hughes and the customers modified the contract to include some domestic sales. After the contract modification and during the taxable year ended March 31, 1982, commissions from domestic sales, along with foreign sales, were paid to and reported by HISC.

A portion of Hisc’s qualified export receipts was attributable to long-term contracts that Hughes reported using the completed contract method of accounting. If HISC had used the completed contract method of accounting to compute its qualified export receipts, its qualified export receipt amount for the taxable year ended March 31, 1982, would have been reduced by $67,298,357.

For the taxable year ending on March 31, 1983, HISC reported commission income of $28,338,991 and interest income of $2,408,715 for a total of $30,747,706. Hughes and its subsidiaries claimed corresponding commission expense deductions. Hughes transferred $9,086,512 of foreign receivables to HISC in December 1982 to pay commissions of $7,145,280 and interest of $1,941,232. Hughes paid the remaining $21,661,194 owed ($30,747,706-$9,086,512) to HISC in May 1983 by transferring additional foreign receivables.

On Hisc’s Federal income tax return for the year ended March 31, 1983, HISC reported qualified export receipts of $348,315,640. Of the qualified export receipts, $13,784,333 was attributable to domestic sales and petitioner argues that it should not have been included. A portion of Hisc’s qualified export receipts was attributable to long-term contracts that Hughes reported using the completed contract method of accounting. If HISC had used the completed contract method of accounting to compute the corresponding portion of its qualified export receipts, the qualified amount for the taxable year ended March 31, 1983, would have been reduced by $241,451,118.

Hughes accrued the commissions payable to Hisc in the same year that it shipped the export product to the foreign purchaser. Hughes deducted the commissions in the year accrued, which was the same year HISC included the commissions in income. In the years in which the commissions were accrued, Hisc included amounts in its qualified export receipts and gross receipts based on invoices that Hughes sent to foreign purchasers upon shipment of export property.

Hughes deferred the income from accounts reported under the completed contract method of accounting if the contract was not completed during the taxable year.

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Bluebook (online)
100 T.C. No. 18, 100 T.C. 293, 1993 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hughes-intl-sales-corp-v-commissioner-tax-1993.