SECTION 11. WITHDRAWAL

OF REQUESTS FOR TECHNICAL ADVICE

.11 Generally, the Associate office considers only the deletion of material that the taxpayer has proposed for deletion or other deletions as required under § 6110(c) before the TAM is sent to the director. After receiving the notice of intention to disclose under § 6110(f)(1), the taxpayer may protest the disclosure of certain information in it by submitting a written statement within 20 calendar days that identifies those deletions not made by the Service that the taxpayer believes should have been made. The taxpayer must also submit a copy of the version of the TAM proposed to be open to public inspection with brackets around the deletions proposed by the taxpayer that have not been made by the Associate office plus a statement indicating the statutory basis under § 6110(c) for each proposed deletion. Within 20 calendar days after it receives the taxpayer’s response to the notice under § 6110(f)(1), the Associate office must mail to the taxpayer its final administrative conclusion about the deletions to be made.

.12 The provisions of this section about referring issues upon the taxpayer’s request, telling the taxpayer about the referral of issues, giving the taxpayer a copy of the arguments submitted, submitting proposed deletions, granting conferences in the Associate office, or providing a copy of the TAM to the taxpayer do not apply to a TAM described in § 6110(g)(5)(A), which involves any matter that is the subject of a civil fraud or criminal investigation or involves a jeopardy or termination assessment. In these cases, a copy of the TAM may be given to the taxpayer only after all proceedings in the investigations or assessments are complete, but before the Commissioner mails the notice of intention to disclose under § 6110(f)(1). The taxpayer may then provide the statement of proposed deletions to the Associate office.

Taxpayer notified .01 Once a request for a TAM has been sent to the Associate office, only a director may withdraw the request, and this must be done before the responding transmittal memorandum for the TAM is signed. To withdraw the request, the director must first notify the taxpayer of the intent to withdraw unless: (1) the period of limitations on assessment is about to expire and the taxpayer has declined to give written consent to extend the period; or (2) the notification would be prejudicial to the best interests of the Government. If the taxpayer does not agree that the request should be withdrawn and wishes to request review of the decision, the procedures in Section 5.04 of this revenue procedure for review must be followed.

Acknowledgment of withdrawal .02 Acknowledgment of the withdrawal of a request submitted by a director or Appeals should be sent to the appropriate director or Appeals office, with a copy to the TAM coordinator in the Office of Tax Policy & Valuation.

Associate office may decide not to issue a TAM

.03 If the Associate office determines that a TAM will not be issued, it may return the TAM unanswered. This determination must be made on the basis of sound tax administration and must be approved by the Associate Chief Counsel. The decision not to issue a TAM should be an infrequent occurrence and be made only after consultation with field counsel and the requesting field office. If field counsel disagrees with this determination, they may request reconsideration through existing reconciliation procedures.

Associate office may provide views .04 If a request for technical advice is withdrawn or an Associate office decides not to issue a TAM, the Associate office may address the substantive issues through published guidance, such as a regulation or revenue ruling. The Associate office may, in the alternative, address the substantive issues through legal advice, either generic or case-specific. The decision to address the issues through these other forms of guidance will be based on the general standards for issuing those types of guidance.