State of California reaching for Sales Tax

I sent a Grimm MU1 streamer back to the netherlands for upgrade in early 2024. I had contacted them with a question. they logged into my streamer remotely. said it looks to have a cable problem and that is was an early model that they would like to upgrade to the latest version at no cost to me if I would just send it back. The MU1 isn’t heavy so I decided to send it back.

choosing a Tariff code wasn’t easy but finally found a code for "returned items" which prevented Grimm from having to pay a large VAT on recieving it. When they sent it back, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency held up the package for a few days, and then I had to pay them about $50 for their trouble to determine that no tariff was due.

I thought that was it.

Just got a letter from the state of california saying that I owe them sales tax for this item they saw coming into the country from the Netherlands. They gave me a reference but I need to "create and account as an importer" and then try to convince them that I do not owe sales tax (use tax).

I haven’t found record of my shipment out of the USA yet but hope I can find someting to convince them this wasn’t a purchase.

Wish me luck,

Jery