SECTION 4. ON WHAT ISSUES

MUST TECHNICAL ADVICE BE REQUESTED UNDER DIFFERENT PROCEDURES?

Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms taxes

‘‘Technical advice’’ means advice or guidance in the form of a memorandum furnished by the national office upon the request of a district director or a chief, appeals office, submitted in accordance with the provisions of this revenue procedure, in response to any technical or procedural question that develops during any proceeding on the interpretation and proper application of tax law, tax treaties, regulations, revenue rulings, notices, or other precedents published by the national office to a specific set of facts. Such proceedings include: (1) the examination of a taxpayer’s return; (2) the consideration of a taxpayer’s claim for refund or credit; (3) any matter under examination or in appeals pertaining to tax-exempt bonds or mortgage credit certificates; and (4) any other matter involving a specific taxpayer under the jurisdiction of the chief, examination division, or the chief, appeals office. They also include processing and considering nondocketed cases in an appeals office but do not include cases in which the issue in the case is in a docketed case for any taxable year. If, however, a case is docketed for an estate tax issue of a taxpayer while a request for technical advice on the same issue of the same taxpayer is pending, the national office may issue the technical advice memorandum if the appropriate appeals officer and government counsel agree, by memorandum, to the issuance of the technical advice memorandum.

Technical advice helps Internal Revenue Service personnel close cases and also helps establish and maintain consistent holdings throughout the Service. A district director or a chief, appeals office, may raise an issue in any tax period, even though technical advice may have been asked and furnished for the same or similar issue for another tax period.

Technical advice does not include legal advice furnished to the district or appeals office in writing or orally, other than advice furnished pursuant to this revenue procedure. In accordance with section 10.01 of this revenue procedure, a taxpayer’s request for referral of an issue to the national office for technical advice will not be denied merely because the national office has provided legal advice, other than advice furnished pursuant to this revenue procedure, to the district or appeals office on the matter.

.01 The instructions of this revenue procedure apply to requests for technical advice on any issue under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Domestic), the Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits and Exempt Organizations), or the Associate Chief Counsel (International), and on certain issues under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Enforcement Litigation). See section 3 of Rev. Proc. 97–1, this Bulletin, for a description of the principal subject matters of jurisdiction.

.02 The jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Domestic) extends to issuing technical advice under § 526 (shipowners’ protection and indemnity associations) and § 528 (certain homeowners associations).

.01 The procedures for obtaining technical advice specifically applicable to federal alcohol, tobacco, and firearms taxes under subtitle E of the Code are under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

67 Sec. 4.01

Employee plans and exempt organizations

.02 The procedures for obtaining technical advice specifically on issues under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Commissioner (Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations) are found in Rev. Proc. 97–5, this Bulletin. However, the procedures under Rev. Proc. 97–2 (this revenue procedure) must be followed for obtaining technical advice on issues pertaining to tax-exempt bonds and mortgage credit certificates.

Farmers’ cooperatives .03 Even though the Associate Chief Counsel (Domestic) has jurisdiction for issuing technical advice under § 521, the procedures under Rev. Proc. 97–5 and Rev. Proc. 90–27, 1990–1 C.B. 514, as well as § 601.201(n) of the Statement of Procedural Rules (26 C.F.R. § 601.201(n) (1996)), must be followed.