Governor Jeff Landry signed Act 384 into law on June 20, 2025, making changes to the sales and use tax provisions of the revised statutes. Included in the changes was an amendment to Section 305.1 of Title 47, which provides an exemption for certain vessel-related supplies and services. The ships and ships' supplies exemption has for decades exempted ship construction, materials and goods used in the repair of vessels, and goods and materials used in the operation and maintenance of vessels from both state and parish sales and use taxes.
Specifically, the Act adds "software" to the list of items not subject to sales and use tax when incorporated into a vessel constructed in Louisiana, if it becomes a component part of the vessel. The Act also adds "software" to the list of materials exempt from sales and use tax when used or consumed in the maintenance and operation of the vessel. A similar exemption was added for "software" that becomes a component part of a vessel when used in repairs to such vessel.
Finally, the changes included an exemption for "digital products, prewritten computer software access services, and information services purchased by the owners or operators of vessels operating exclusively in foreign or interstate coastwise commerce, where the digital product or service is used in the maintenance or operation of the vessel" and is required to operate the vessel or obtain certain regulatory clearances.
The changes also clean up some of the language in the statute by applying these exemptions to vessels and then defining vessel under this section. For purposes of Sectio 305.1, a vessel means "a ship, vessel, or barge, including a commercial fishing vessel, drilling ship, or drilling barge." Act 384 continues the Governor's initiative to revise the state's taxing statutes, which began last year in the Third Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature.
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