SECTION 5. SMALL CASE

PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING COMPETENT AUTHORITY ASSISTANCE

.01 General . To facilitate requests for assistance involving small cases, this section provides a special procedure simplifying the form of a request for assistance and, in particular, the amount of information that initially must be submitted. All other requirements of this revenue procedure continue to apply to requests for assistance made pursuant to this section.

.02 Small Case Standards . Eligible taxpayers may file an abbreviated request for competent authority assistance in accordance with this section if the total proposed adjustment involved in the matter is not greater than the following:

Individual ...................... $ 200,000

Corporation/ Partnership .................... $1,000,000

Other.............................. $ 200,000

.03 Small Case Filing Procedure . The abbreviated request for competent authority assistance under the small case procedure must be dated and signed by a person having the authority to sign the

Taxpayer

Proposed Adjustment

August 5, 2002 246 2002–31 I.R.B.

taxpayer’s federal tax returns. Although other information and documentation may be requested at a later date, the initial request for assistance should include the following information and materials:

(a) a statement indicating that this is a matter subject to the small case procedure;

(b) the name, address, U.S. taxpayer identification number and foreign taxpayer identification number (if any) of the taxpayer and if applicable, all related persons involved in the matter;

(c) a description of the issue and the nature of the relief sought;

(d) the taxable years and amounts involved with respect to the issues in both U.S. and foreign currency;

(e) the name of the treaty country; (f) on a separate document, a statement that the taxpayer consents to the disclosure to the competent authority of the treaty country (with the name of the treaty country specifically stated) and that competent authority’s staff, of any or all of the items of information set forth or enclosed in the request for U.S. competent authority assistance within the limits contained in the tax treaty under which the taxpayer is seeking relief. The taxpayer may request, as part of this statement, that its trade secrets not be disclosed to a foreign competent authority. This statement must be dated and signed by a person having authority to sign the taxpayer’s federal tax returns and is required to facilitate the administrative handling of the request by the U.S. competent authority for purposes of the record-keeping requirements of section 6103(p) of the Code. Failure to provide such a statement will not prevent the U.S. competent authority from disclosing information under the terms of a treaty. See section 6103(k)(4) of the Code; and

(g) a penalties of perjury statement in the following form:

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this request, including accompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the facts presented in support of the request for competent authority assistance are true, correct and complete.

The declaration must be signed by the person or persons on whose behalf the

request is being made and not by the taxpayer’s representative. The person signing for a corporate taxpayer must be an authorized officer of the taxpayer who has personal knowledge of the facts. The person signing for a trust, an estate or a partnership must be respectively, a trustee, an executor or a partner who has personal knowledge of the facts.