SECTION 8. INITIAL

PROCESSING OF THE REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL ADVICE BY THE ASSOCIATE OFFICE

Assignment and initial review by Associate office attorney

.11 After consultation with Appeals, the Service may send the taxpayer a letter (a letter from the 950 series, also known as a 30-day letter) notifying the taxpayer of the right to protest the proposed changes within 30 days of the date of the letter, while a request for technical advice is pending.

.01 After a request for technical advice has been received by the appropriate Associate office, it will be assigned to an Associate office attorney within a branch. The Associate office attorney determines whether the request meets all procedural requirements of sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this revenue procedure and whether it raises issues that may be appropriately addressed in a TAM.

Other forms of guidance .02 If the assigned reviewer in the Associate office determines that guidance other than a TAM should be provided, the reviewer will immediately notify the Associate Chief Counsel. This other form of guidance may be published guidance, generic advice, or case-specific advice. Although the reviewer should make this determination as soon as possible, it may be made at any time during the processing of the request for advice. To make this determination, the reviewer should consider whether the issue has a broad application to similarly situated taxpayers or an industry and whether resolution of the issue is important to a clear understanding of the tax laws. The Associate Chief Counsel, after consultation with Division Counsel Headquarters and the Operating Division, will decide whether to provide the TAM or issue

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Initial acknowledgment and processing

Deficiencies in request leading to return

guidance in another form. The Associate Chief Counsel may decide to provide the TAM as well as another type of guidance, if doing so would promote sound tax administration.

.03 Upon receipt of a request for technical advice, the Associate office attorney who is assigned as the primary attorney on the request should immediately contact the field office. The purpose of this contact is only to acknowledge receipt of the request. Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this section to the Associate office or Associate office attorney are to the Associate office and attorney with primary responsibility for the TAM request.

.04 Within 7 calendar days after assignment, the Associate office attorney will contact the field office and field counsel to discuss any deficiencies in the request and will work with the field office and field counsel to correct them. If the deficiencies cannot be corrected over the next 7 calendar days, the request will be closed and returned to the field office. The request may be resubmitted when the deficiencies are corrected.

If only minor procedural deficiencies exist, the Associate office attorney will request the additional information without returning the case. If substantial additional information is required to resolve an issue or if major procedural problems cannot be resolved, the Associate office attorney will inform the field office and field counsel that the request for technical advice will be returned. If a request is returned, the field office should promptly notify the taxpayer of that decision and the reasons for the decision.

Initial discussion .05 Within 21 calendar days of receipt, the Associate office attorney should contact the field office to discuss any procedural and substantive issues in the request. The Associate office attorney should also inform the field office about any matters referred to another Associate office or branch for assistance and provide points of contact for the other Associate offices or branches.

If additional information requested

Taxpayer request for extension of time to submit additional information

Where to send additional information

.06 If additional information is needed, the Associate office attorney will obtain that information from the taxpayer, the field office, the Director, or the Appeals Area Director in the most expeditious manner possible. Any additional information requested from the taxpayer by the Associate office must be submitted by letter, accompanied by a penalties of perjury statement that conforms with the penalties of perjury statement set forth in Section 7.06 of this revenue procedure, within 10 calendar days after the request for information is made. To facilitate prompt action, the Service and taxpayers are encouraged to exchange information by fax or express mail service whenever feasible. A taxpayer’s failure to submit the additional information requested is considered a failure to participate in a material stage of the TAM process and results in a waiver of the right to the conference discussed in Section 9.

.07 A taxpayer’s request for an extension of time to submit additional information must be made in writing and received by the Associate office within the 10-day period. It must provide compelling facts and circumstances to justify an extension. Only the Associate Chief Counsel of the primary office to which the case is assigned may determine whether to grant or deny the request for an extension. Except in rare and unusual circumstances, the Associate office will not agree to an extension of more than 10 calendar days beyond the end of the 10-day period. There is no right to appeal the denial of a request for an extension.

.08 Any additional information submitted by the taxpayer should be sent to the attention of the assigned Associate office attorney. Generally, only the original of the additional information is necessary. In appropriate cases, however, the Associate office may request additional copies of the information. The taxpayer must also send a copy of the additional information to the field office and field attorney for comment. Any comments by the field office or field attorney must be furnished within an agreed period of time to the Associate office with primary responsibility for the TAM request. If there are no comments, the Associate office attorney should be notified promptly. When the field office receives a copy of the additional information from the taxpayer, the field office must provide field counsel with a copy unless such copies have already been provided.

Tentative conclusions .09 The Associate office attorney will inform the field office and field counsel when all necessary substantive and procedural information has been received. If possible, the Associate

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office attorney will provide a tentative conclusion. If no tentative conclusion can be reached, the Associate office is encouraged to discuss the underlying complexities with the field office and field counsel. Because the Associate office attorney’s tentative conclusion may change during the preparation and review of the TAM, the tentative conclusion is not considered final. If the tentative conclusion is changed, the Associate office attorney will inform the field office and field counsel. Neither the Associate office, nor the field office or the field counsel, should discuss the tentative conclusion and its underlying rationale with the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative until the Associate office is ready to provide a TAM that agrees with the taxpayer’s position or is ready to hold an adverse conference. To afford taxpayers an appropriate opportunity to prepare and present their position at a conference of right, however, the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative is to be told (by the Associate office attorney) the tentative conclusion when scheduling the conference of right. Field counsel should be notified of, and given the opportunity to participate in, the notification to the taxpayer of the tentative conclusions and scheduling of the conference of right.