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:

Code. Taxpayers are encouraged to provide duplicates to the U.S. and possession competent authorities of all information otherwise disclosable under the coordination agreement;

(22) 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; and

(23) any other information required or requested under this revenue procedure, as applicable. See, e.g., section 7.06 of this revenue procedure, which requires the provision of certain information in the case of a request for the accelerated competent authority procedure, and section 10 of this revenue procedure, which requires the provision of certain information in the case of a request for Rev. Proc. 99–32 treatment. Requests for supplemental information may include items such as detailed fi

nancial information, comparability analysis, or other material relevant to a transfer pricing analysis.

.06 Other Dispute Resolution Pro- grams. Requests for competent authority assistance that involve an APA or Pre-Filing Agreement request must include any other information required under the relevant revenue procedure.

.07 Other Documentation. In addition, the taxpayer shall, on request, submit any other information or documentation deemed necessary by the U.S. or possession competent authority for purposes of reaching an agreement. This includes English translations of any documentation required in connection with the competent authority request.

.08 Updates. The taxpayer must keep the U.S. competent authority informed of all material changes in the information or documentation previously submitted as part of, or in connection with, the request for competent authority assistance. The taxpayer also must provide any updated information or new documentation that becomes known or is created after the request is filed and that is relevant to the resolution of the issues under consideration.

.09 Conferences. To the extent possible, the U.S. competent authority will consult with the taxpayer regarding the status and progress of the mutual agreement proceedings. The taxpayer may request a pre-filing conference with the U.S. competent authority to discuss the mutual agree

Taxpayer Proposed Adjustment

Individual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 200,000 Corporation/Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000,000 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 200,000

circumstances supporting such residence ( see Treas. Reg. § 1.937–1);

(8) if applicable, powers of attorney with respect to the taxpayer;

(9) on a separate document, a statement that the taxpayer consents to the disclosure to the possession tax agency (with the name of the possession specifically stated) and that possession tax agency’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 coordination agreement under which the taxpayer is seeking

.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’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:

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

(2) the name, address, U.S. taxpayer identification number, and possession tax

payer identification number (if any) of the taxpayer and, if applicable, all related persons involved in the matter;

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

(4) the taxable years and amounts involved with respect to the issues;

(5) the name of the possession; (6) a statement whether the taxpayer or related person is entitled to any possession tax incentive or subsidy program benefits for the year or years in question;

(7) if bona fide residence in a possession is at issue, a statement of all facts and

2006–20 I.R.B. 904 May 15, 2006

consideration, if any, of potential competent authority matters will be made without regard to other issues or considerations that do not involve potential competent authority matters. Taxpayers who are pursuing their rights with IRS Appeals may contact the competent authority if they believe they have a potential competent authority issue. If a taxpayer decides to make a competent authority request, the taxpayer may choose to make a request pursuant to the Simultaneous Appeals procedures in section 8 of this revenue procedure or otherwise. Prior actions taken with respect to an issue after settlement discussions with Appeals have commenced on that issue, but before a competent authority request is made, will be carefully scrutinized, as such discussions may jeopardize the competent authority’s ability to do more than seek correlative relief ( cf. section 7.05). If a taxpayer makes a competent authority request, the taxpayer is deemed to consent to the U.S. competent authority contacting IRS Appeals. See Rev. Proc. 2000–43, 2000–2 C.B. 404. .03 Coordination with Litigation. The U.S. competent authority will not, without the consent of the Associate Chief Counsel (International), accept (or continue to consider) a taxpayer’s request for assistance if the request involves a taxable period pending in a U.S. court or involves a matter pending in a U.S. court or designated for litigation for any taxable period. If the case is pending in the United States Tax Court, the taxpayer may, in appropriate cases, be asked to join the IRS in a motion to sever issues or delay trial pending completion of the competent authority proceedings. If the case is pending in any other court, the Associate Chief Counsel (International) will consult with the Department of Justice about appropriate action, and the taxpayer may, in appropriate cases, be asked to join the U.S. Government in a motion to sever issues or delay trial pending completion of the competent authority proceedings. Final decision on severing issues or delaying trial rests with the court. The filing of a competent authority request does not, however, relieve the taxpayer from taking any action that may be necessary or required with respect to litigation.

.04 Coordination with Other Alterna- tive Dispute Resolution and Pre-Filing

relief. The taxpayer may request, as part of this statement, that its trade secrets not be disclosed to a possession tax agency. 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 recordkeeping 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 coordination agreement. See section 6103(k)(4) of the Code; and

(10) 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.