Rev. Proc. 68-37

Sections 13.09 and 13.10 of Revenue Procedure 67-1, C.B. 1967-1, 544 are hereby modified to read as follows:

.09 Taxpayers generally may rely upon Revenue Rulings published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin in determining the tax treatment of their own transactions and need not request specific rulings applying the principles of a published Revenue Ruling to the facts of their particular cases. However, since each Revenue Ruling represents the conclusion of the Service as to the application of the law to the entire state of facts involved, taxpayers, Service personnel, and others concerned are cautioned against reaching the same conclusion in other cases unless the facts and circumstances are substantially the same. Furthermore, they should consider the effect of subsequent legislation, regulations, court decisions, and Revenue Rulings.

.10 Under the authority of section 7805(b) of the Code, the Commissioner or his delegate may prescribe the extent to which any ruling is to be applied without retroactive effect. The exercise of this authority requires an affirmative action. Therefore, each Revenue Ruling published in the Bulletin applies retroactively unless the Revenue Ruling includes a specific statement indicating the extent to which it is to be applied without retroactive effect. Where Revenue Rulings revoke or modify rulings previously published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, the authority of section 7805(b) of the Code ordinarily is invoked to provide that the new rulings will not be applied retroactively to the extent that the new rulings have adverse tax consequences to taxpayers.

The purpose of this modification is to avoid misunderstanding about the retroactive application of a Revenue Ruling in the absence of a specific statement regarding the extent to which it is to be applied without retroactive effect under the authority granted by section 7805(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.