SECTION 5. CERTIFICATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERIM LIGHTING RULE

.01 In General . Section 2.03(1)(b) of Notice 2006–52 provides an interim rule under which partially qualifying property is treated as energy efficient lighting property (the Interim Lighting Rule). Before a taxpayer may claim the § 179D deduction under the Interim Lighting Rule with respect to energy efficient lighting property installed on or in a commercial building, the taxpayer must obtain a certification with respect to the property. The certification must be provided by a qualified individual. Section 4 of Notice 2006–52 provides that the certification must include a statement that qualified computer software was used to calculate energy and power consumption and costs. That section also provides that the certification must include a statement that the building owner has received an explanation of projected annual energy costs. These requirements are appropriate only in the case of certifications that involve calculations of energy and power consumption and cost. The Interim Lighting Rule is satisfied by a reduction in lighting power density and such a reduction may be computed using a spreadsheet or other similar software. This computation does not require qualified computer software to model the entire building system or a determination of projected annual energy costs. Accordingly, the requirements of

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Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3507) under control number 1545–2004. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number.

The collections of information are in sections 4 and 6 of Notice 2006–52 and sections 4 and 5 of this notice. This information is required to be collected and retained in order to ensure that energy efficient commercial building property meets the requirements for the deduction under § 179D. This information will be used to determine whether commercial building property for which certifications are provided is property that qualifies for the deduction.

The collection of information is required to obtain a benefit.

The likely respondents are two groups: qualified individuals providing a certification under § 179D (section 4 of Notice 2006–52 and section 5 of this notice) and software developers seeking to have software included on the public list created by the Department of Energy (section 6 of Notice 2006–52 and section 4 of this notice).

For qualified individuals providing a certification under § 179D, the likely respondents are individuals. The likely number of certifications is 20,000. The estimated burden per certification ranges from 15 to 30 minutes with an estimated average burden of 22.5 minutes. The estimated total annual reporting burden is 7,500 hours.

For software developers seeking to have software included on the public list created by the Department of Energy, the likely respondents are individuals, corporations and partnerships. The estimated total annual reporting burden is 75 hours. The estimated annual burden per respondent varies from 1 to 2 hours, depending on individual circumstances, with an estimated average burden of 1 ¹ /2 hours to complete the submission required to have the software added to the public list. The estimated number of respondents is 50. The estimated frequency of responses is once.

Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return

(b) The field inspections confirmed that the building has met, or will meet, the reduction in lighting power density required by the design plans and specifications; and

(c) The field inspections were performed in accordance with inspection and testing procedures that—

(i) Have been prescribed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as Energy Savings Modeling and Inspection Guidelines for Commercial Building Federal Tax Deduction; and

(ii) Are in effect at the time the certification is given;

(5) A list identifying the components of the energy efficient lighting property installed on or in the building, the energy efficiency features of the building, and its projected lighting power density;

(6) A statement that the building owner has received an explanation of the energy efficiency features of the building and its projected lighting power density;

(7) A declaration, applicable to the certification and any accompanying documents, signed by the qualified individual, in the following form:

“Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this certification, including accompanying documents, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the facts presented in support of this certification are true, correct, and complete.”