SECTION 11. HOW DOES THE

NATIONAL OFFICE HANDLE LETTER RULING REQUESTS?

In general .01 The national office will issue letter rulings on the matters and under the circumstances explained in sections 4 and 6 of this revenue procedure and in the manner explained in this section and section 13 of this revenue procedure.

Is not bound by informal opinion expressed

Tells taxpayer if request lacks essential information during initial contact

Information must be submitted within 30 calendar days

Letter ruling request mistakenly sent to key district director

Requires prompt submission of additional information requested after initial contact

.02 The Service will not be bound by the informal opinion expressed by the branch representative or any other authorized Service representative under this procedure, and such an opinion cannot be relied upon as a basis for obtaining retroactive relief under the provisions of § 7805(b).

.03 If a request for a letter ruling or determination letter does not comply with all the provisions of this revenue procedure, the request will be acknowledged and the Service representative will tell the taxpayer during the initial contact which requirements have not been met.

If the request lacks essential information, which may include additional information needed to satisfy the procedural requirements of this revenue procedure, as well as substantive changes to transactions or documents needed from the taxpayer, the branch representative will tell the taxpayer during the initial contact that the request will be closed if the Service does not receive the information within 30 calendar days unless an extension of time is granted. See section 11.04 of this revenue procedure for information on extension of time and instructions on submissions of additional information.

A request for a letter ruling sent to the key district director that does not comply with the provisions of this revenue procedure will be returned by the key district director so that the taxpayer can make corrections before sending it to the national office.

.04 Material facts furnished to the Service by telephone or fax, or orally at a conference, must be promptly confirmed by letter to the Service with a declaration that the information is provided under penalties of perjury in the form described in section 9.02(13) of this revenue procedure. This confirmation and any additional information requested by the Service that is not part of the information requested during the initial contact must be furnished within 21 calendar days to be considered part of the request.

Encourage use of fax (1) To facilitate prompt action on letter ruling requests, taxpayers are encouraged to submit additional information by fax as soon as the information is available. The Service representative who requests additional information can provide a telephone number to which the information can be faxed. A copy of this information and a signed perjury statement, however, must be mailed or delivered to the Service.

Address to send additional information

Number of copies of additional information to be submitted

30-day or 21-day period may be extended if justified and approved

If taxpayer does not submit additional information

(2) Additional information should be sent to the same address as the original letter ruling request. See section 9.04. However, the additional information should include the name, office symbols, and room number of the Service representative who requested the information and the taxpayer’s name and the case control number (which the Service representative can provide).

(3) Generally, a taxpayer needs only to submit one copy of the additional information. However, in appropriate cases, the national office may request additional copies of the information.

(4) An extension of the 30-day period under section 11.03 or the 21-day period under section 11.04, will be granted only if justified in writing by the taxpayer and approved by the branch chief of the group to which the case is assigned. A request for extension should be submitted before the end of the 30-day or 21-day period. If unusual circumstances close to the end of the 30-day or 21-day period make a written request impractical, the taxpayer should notify the national office within the 30-day or 21-day period that there is a problem and that the written request for extension will be coming soon. The taxpayer will be told promptly, and later in writing, of the approval or denial of the requested extension. If the extension request is denied, there is no right of appeal.

(5) If the taxpayer does not follow the instructions for submitting additional information or requesting an extension within the time provided, a letter ruling will be issued on the basis of the information on hand, or, if appropriate, no letter ruling will be issued. When the Service decides not to issue a letter ruling because essential information is lacking, the case

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Near the completion of the ruling process, advises taxpayer of conclusions and, if the Service will rule adversely, offers the taxpayer the opportunity to withdraw the letter ruling request

May request draft of proposed letter ruling near the completion of the ruling process

Taxpayer may also submit draft on a word processing disk