SECTION 8. DISCLOSURE

OF APPLICATIONS AND DETERMINATION LETTERS AND RULINGS

Disclosure of applications, supporting documents, and favorable determination letters or rulings

Disclosure of adverse determination letters or rulings

Disclosure to State officials when the Service refuses to recognize exemption under § 501(c)(3)

Disclosure to State officials of information about § 501(c)(3) applicants

.08 An organization may withdraw its appeal or protest before the Service issues a final adverse determination letter or ruling. Upon receipt of the withdrawal request, the Service will complete the processing of the case in the same manner as if no appeal or protest was received.

.09 The opportunity to appeal or protest a proposed adverse determination letter or ruling and the conference rights described above are not applicable to matters where delay would be prejudicial to the interests of the Service (such as in cases involving fraud, jeopardy, the imminence of the expiration of the statute of limitations, or where immediate action is necessary to protect the interests of the Government).

Sections 6104 and 6110 provide rules for the disclosure of applications, including supporting documents, and determination letters and rulings.

.01 The applications, any supporting documents, and the favorable determination letter or ruling issued, are available for public inspection under § 6104(a)(1). However, there are certain limited disclosure exceptions for a trade secret, patent, process, style of work, or apparatus, if the Service determines that the disclosure of the information would adversely affect the organization.

(1) The Service is required to make the applications, supporting documents, and favorable determination letters or rulings available upon request. The public can request this information by submitting Form 4506–A, Request for Public Inspection or Copy of Exempt or Political Or- ganization IRS Form. Organizations should ensure that applications and supporting documents do not include unnecessary personal identifying information (such as bank account numbers or social security numbers) that could result in identity theft or other adverse consequences if publicly disclosed.

(2) The exempt organization is required to make its exemption application, supporting documents, and determination letter or ruling available for public inspection without charge. For more information about the exempt organization’s disclosure obligations, see Publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization.

.02 The Service is required to make adverse determination letters and rulings available for public inspection under § 6110. Upon issuance of the final adverse determination letter or ruling to an organization, both the proposed adverse determination letter or ruling and the final adverse determination letter or ruling will be released pursuant to § 6110.

(1) These documents are made available to the public after the deletion of names, addresses, and any other information that might identify the taxpayer. See § 6110(c) for other specific disclosure exemptions.

(2) The final adverse determination letter or ruling will enclose Notice 437, Notice of Inten- tion to Disclose, and redacted copies of the final and proposed adverse determination letters or rulings. Notice 437 provides instructions if the organization disagrees with the deletions proposed by the Service.

.03 The Service may notify the appropriate State officials of a refusal to recognize an organization as tax-exempt under § 501(c)(3). See § 6104(c). The notice to the State officials may include a copy of a proposed or final adverse determination letter or ruling the Service issued to the organization. In addition, upon request by the appropriate State official, the Service may make available for inspection and copying the exemption application and other information relating to the Service’s determination on exempt status.

.04 The Service may disclose to State officials the name, address, and identification number of any organization that has applied for recognition of exemption under § 501(c)(3).

January 7, 2013 263 2013–2 I.R.B.