SECTION 8. HOW DO THE

ASSOCIATE OFFICES HANDLE LETTER RULING REQUESTS?

Docket, Records, and User Fee Branch receives, initially controls, and refers the request to the appropriate Associate office

Branch representative of the Associate office contacts taxpayer within 21 calendar days

Determines if transaction can be modified to obtain favorable letter ruling

but not all, of the issues, the user fee will not be returned. See section 15.10 of this revenue procedure for additional information regarding the refund of user fees.

The Associate offices will issue letter rulings on the matters and under the circumstances explained in sections 3 and 5 of this revenue procedure and in the manner explained in this section and section 11 of this revenue procedure. See section 9 of this revenue procedure for procedures for change in method of accounting requests.

.01 All requests for letter rulings will be received and initially controlled by the Docket, Records, and User Fee Branch of the Legal Processing Division of the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration) (CC:PA:LPD:DRU). That office will process the incoming documents and the user fee, and it will forward the file to the appropriate Associate office for assignment to a branch that has jurisdiction over the specific issue involved in the request.

.02 Within 21 calendar days after a letter ruling request has been received in the branch of the Associate office that has jurisdiction over the issue, a representative of the branch will contact the taxpayer or, if the request includes a properly executed power of attorney, the authorized representative, unless the power of attorney provides otherwise. During such contact, the branch representative will discuss the procedural issues in the letter ruling request. If the case is complex or a number of issues are involved, it may not be possible for the branch representative to discuss the substantive issues during this initial contact. When possible, for each issue within the branch’s jurisdiction, the branch representative will tell the taxpayer—

(1) whether the branch representative will recommend that the Associate office rule as the taxpayer requested, rule adversely on the matter, or not rule;

(2) whether the taxpayer should submit additional information to enable the Associate office to rule on the matter;

(3) whether the letter ruling complies with all of the provisions of this revenue procedure, and if not, which requirements have not been met; or

(4) whether, because of the nature of the transaction or the issue presented, a tentative conclusion on the issue cannot be reached.

If the letter ruling request involves matters within the jurisdiction of more than one branch or Associate office, a representative of the branch that received the original request will tell the taxpayer within the initial 21 calendar days—

(1) that the matters within the jurisdiction of another branch or Associate office have been referred to that branch or Associate office for consideration, and the date the referral was made, and

(2) that a representative of that branch or Associate office will contact the taxpayer within 21 calendar days after receiving the referral to discuss informally the procedural and, to the extent possible, the substantive issues in the request.

This section 8.02 applies to all matters except for cases involving a request for change in method of accounting or accounting period and cases within the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products) concerning insurance issues requiring actuarial computations.

.03 If less than a fully favorable letter ruling is indicated, the branch representative will tell the taxpayer whether minor changes in the transaction or adherence to certain published positions would bring about a favorable ruling. The branch representative may also tell the taxpayer the facts that must be furnished in a document to comply with Service requirements. The branch representative will not suggest precise changes that would materially alter the form of the proposed transaction or materially alter a taxpayer’s proposed accounting period.

If, at the end of this discussion, the branch representative determines that a meeting in the Associate office would be more helpful to develop or exchange information, a meeting will be

Sec. 7.07 January 2, 2013 30 2013–1 I.R.B.

Is not bound by informal opinion expressed

May request additional information

Must be submitted within 21 calendar days

Extension of reply period if justified and approved

Letter ruling request closed if the taxpayer does not submit additional information

Penalties of perjury statement for additional information

Faxing request and additional information

offered and an early meeting date arranged. When offered, this meeting is in addition to the taxpayer’s conference of right that is described in section 10.02 of this revenue procedure.

.04 The Service will not be bound by the informal opinion expressed by the branch representative or any other Service representative, and such an opinion cannot be relied upon as a basis for obtaining retroactive relief under the provisions of § 7805(b).

.05

(1) Additional information must be submitted within 21 calendar days. If the request lacks essential information, which may include additional information needed to satisfy the procedural requirements of this revenue procedure as well as substantive changes to transactions or documents needed from the taxpayer, the branch representative will request such information during the initial or subsequent contacts with the taxpayer or its authorized representative. The representative will inform the taxpayer or its authorized representative that the request will be closed if the Associate office does not receive the requested information within 21 calendar days from the date of the request unless an extension of time is granted. To facilitate prompt action on letter ruling requests, taxpayers may request that the Associate office request additional information by fax. See section 7.02(5) of this revenue procedure.

Material facts furnished to the Associate office by telephone or fax, or orally at a conference, must be promptly confirmed by letter to the Associate office. This confirmation, and any additional information requested by the Associate office that is not part of the information requested during the initial contact, must be furnished within 21 calendar days from the date the Associate office makes the request.

(2) Extension of reply period . The Service will grant an extension of the 21-day period for providing additional information only if the extension is justified in writing by the taxpayer and approved by the branch reviewer. A request for an extension should be submitted before the end of the 21-day period. If unusual circumstances close to the end of the 21-day period make a written request impractical, the taxpayer should notify the Associate office within the 21-day period that there is a problem and that the written request for extension will be provided shortly. The taxpayer will be told promptly of the approval or denial of the requested extension. If the extension request is denied, there is no right of appeal.

(3) Letter ruling request closed if the taxpayer does not submit additional information. If the taxpayer does not submit the information requested during the initial or subsequent contacts within the time provided, the letter ruling request will be closed and the taxpayer will be notified in writing. If the information is received after the request is closed, the request will be reopened and treated as a new request as of the date the information is received. The taxpayer must pay another user fee before the case can be reopened.

(4) Penalties of perjury statement. Additional information submitted to the Service must be accompanied by the following declaration: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this information, including accompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the information contains all the relevant facts relating to the request for the information, and such facts are true, correct, and complete.” This declaration must be signed in accordance with the requirements in section 7.01(15)(b) of this revenue procedure.

(5) Faxing request and additional information. To facilitate prompt action on letter ruling requests, taxpayers may request that the Associate office request additional information by fax. See section 7.02(5) of this revenue procedure. Taxpayers may also submit additional information by fax as soon as the information is available. The Associate office representative who requests additional information can provide a fax number to which the information can be faxed. The original of the faxed material and a signed penalties of perjury statement must be mailed or delivered to the Associate office.

Sec. 8.05 2013–1 I.R.B. 31 January 2, 2013

Address to which to send additional information

Identifying information included in additional information

Number of copies of additional information to be submitted

Near the completion of the ruling process, advises the taxpayer of conclusions and, if the Associate office will rule adversely, offers the taxpayer the opportunity to withdraw the letter ruling request

May request that taxpayer submit draft of proposed letter ruling near the completion of the ruling process

(6) Address to which to send additional information

(a) If a private delivery service is not used, the additional information should be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Attn: [Name, office symbols, and room number of the Associate office representative who requested the information] P.O. Box 7604 Ben Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044

For cases involving a request for change in method of accounting or period, see section 9.05 of this revenue procedure for the address to which to send additional information.

(b) If a private delivery service is used, the additional information for all cases should be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Attn: [Name, office symbols, and room number of the Associate office representative who requested the information] 1111 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20224

(7) Identifying information . For all cases, the additional information should include the taxpayer’s name and the case control number and the name, office symbols, and room number of the Associate office representative who requested the information. The Associate office representative can provide the latter information to the taxpayer.

(8) Number of copies. A taxpayer only needs to submit one copy of the additional information unless the Associate office requests additional copies.

.06 Generally, after the conference of right is held but before the letter ruling is issued, the branch representative will orally notify the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative of the Associate office’s conclusions. See section 10 of this revenue procedure for a discussion of conferences of right. If the Associate office is going to rule adversely, the taxpayer will be offered the opportunity to withdraw the letter ruling request. If, within ten calendar days of the notification by the branch representative, the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative does not notify the branch representative that the taxpayer wishes to withdraw the ruling request, the adverse letter ruling will be issued unless an extension is granted. The user fee will not be refunded for a letter ruling request that is withdrawn. See section 15.10(1)(a) of this revenue procedure.

.07 To accelerate the issuance of letter rulings, in appropriate cases near the completion of the ruling process, the Associate office representative may request that the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative submit a proposed draft of the letter ruling. Such draft would be based on the discussions of the issues between the representative and the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative. The taxpayer is not required to prepare a draft letter ruling to receive a letter ruling.

The format of the submission should be discussed with the Associate office representative who requests the draft letter ruling. The representative usually can provide a sample format of a letter ruling and will discuss with the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative the facts, analysis, and letter ruling language to be included.

Sec. 8.05 January 2, 2013 32 2013–1 I.R.B.

Issues separate letter rulings for substantially identical letter rulings, but generally issues a single letter ruling for related § 301.9100 letter rulings

Sends a copy of the letter ruling to appropriate Service official