IRS PUBLISHES SCHEDULE OF FEES REQUIRED FOR RULINGS, DETERMINATION LETTERS, AND OPINION LETTERS.

Rev. Proc. 88-8

SECTION 1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this revenue procedure is to implement section 10511 of the Revenue Act of 1987, Public Law 100-203, enacted December 22, 1987, which requires the payment of user fees for requests to the Internal Revenue Service for rulings, opinion letters, determination letters, and similar requests.

SEC. 2. BACKGROUND

01 Section 10511 of the Act provides that the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate (referred to in this revenue procedure as the "Secretary") shall establish a program requiring the payment of user fees for requests to the Service for rulings, opinion letters, determination letters, and similar requests. Section 10511 provides that such fees shall apply with respect to requests made on or after the 1st day of the second calendar month beginning after the date of enactment and before September 30, 1990. The fees charged under the program are to vary according to categories (or subcategories) established by the Secretary; they are to be determined after taking into account the average time for, and difficulty of, complying with requests in each category and subcategory; and they are to be payable in advance. The Secretary is to provide for such exemptions and reduced fees under the program as he determines to be appropriate, but the average fee applicable to each category must not be less than the amount specified in the statute.

02 In order to provide rapid guidance to the public, a revenue procedure has been issued instead of a regulation. However, the Service is providing an opportunity to submit written comments on this revenue procedure. Comments should be sent to: Assistant Commissioner (EP/EO), Attn: E:EP:P, 1111 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20224. If the comments reflect a need, a public meeting will be scheduled to discuss suggested changes. This revenue procedure, and any changes made in response to public comments, will then be incorporated in the Statement of Procedural Rules.

SEC. 3. EXISTING PROCEDURES

01 Rev. Proc. 88-1, 1988-1 I.R.B 7, provides, other than for international issues, procedures for issuing rulings and information letters and for entering into closing agreements on specific issues involving the interpretation or application of the federal tax laws under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Technical and International). It also provides, other than for international issues, procedures for issuing determination letters on matters that relate to sections of the Code under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Technical and International).

02 Concerning international issues, Rev. Proc. 87-4, 1987-1 I.R.B. 33, provides procedures for obtaining rulings, closing agreements, and information letters on federal tax issues under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel (Technical and International) and provides information concerning determination letters under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Commissioner (International) and the District Directors.

03 Rev. Proc. 80-30, 1980-1 C.B. 685, sets forth the general procedures of the various offices of the Service pertaining to the issuance of determination letters on the qualification of pension, profit-sharing and stock bonus plans involving sections 401, 403(a), 409 and 4975(e)(7) of the Code, and the status for exemption of any related trusts or custodial accounts under section 501(a).

04 Rev. Proc. 83-36, 1983-1 C.B. 763, as modified by Rev. Proc. 87-40, 1987-33 I.R.B. 20, sets forth the general procedures of the Service in issuing rulings, determination, opinion, notification, and information letters to taxpayers and in entering into closing agreements on specific issues as to the interpretation or application of the federal tax laws in the employee plan and exempt organization areas.

05 Rev. Proc. 84-23, 1984-1 C.B. 457, sets forth the procedures of the Service pertaining to the issuance of opinion letters relating to master or prototype pension, annuity, and profit-sharing plans involving sections 401 and 403(a) of the Code, as amended by the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), and the status for exemption of related trusts or custodial accounts under section 501(a).

06 Rev. Proc. 84-46, 1984-1 C.B. 541, provides procedures for applications for recognition of exemption from federal income tax under sections 501 and 521 of the Code.

07 Rev. Proc. 84-86, 1984-2 C.B. 787, sets forth the procedures of the Service for issuing notification and determination letters relating to the qualification of certain defined contribution and defined benefit plans and any related trusts or custodial accounts under sections 403(a), and 501(a) of the Code, as amended by TEFRA, the Tax Reform Act of 1984 (TRA '84), and the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (REA). Rev. Proc. 84-86 establishes a means whereby certain "sponsors" may submit "uniform plans" to key district directors for approval as to form.

08 Rev. Proc. 87-50, 1987-38 I.R.B. 47, updates and consolidates in one revenue procedure the procedures of the Service relating to the issuance of rulings and opinion letters with respect to the establishment of individual retirement accounts and annuities (IRAs) under section 408 of the Code, the entitlement to exemption of related trusts or custodial accounts under section 408(e), and the acceptability of the form of prototype simplified employee pension (SEP) agreements under sections 408(k) and 415.

SEC. 4. USER FEES

01 APPLICABILITY. Except as provided in section 4.09 below, all requests for rulings, determination letters or opinion letters submitted on or after the effective date of this revenue procedure and before September 30, 1990, by or on behalf of taxpayers, sponsoring organizations, or other entities must be accompanied by the appropriate user fee as determined from the schedule set forth in section 4.03 below. Except as provided in section 4.09, user fees apply to all requests for reconsideration of rulings, determination letters, or opinion letters, but may be refunded in certain situations (see section 4.082 below). User fees do not apply to requests for information letters.

02 DEFINITIONS. The terms "ruling," "determination letter," "opinion letter," "notification letter," "information letter," "master plan," "prototype plan," "sponsoring organization," "mass submitter," "basic plan document," "adoption agreement," and "uniform plan," as used in this revenue procedure have the same meaning as they have in the pertinent revenue procedure referred to in section 3 above.

03 FEE SCHEDULE. The amount of the user fee payable with respect to each category or subcategory of submission is as set forth in the following schedule:

 1 ASSOCIATE CHIEF COUNSEL (TECHNICAL AND INTERNATIONAL) RULINGS

 3 EXEMPT ORGANIZATION RULINGS

05 METHOD OF PAYMENT. Each request to the Service for a ruling, determination letter or opinion letter must be accompanied by a check or money order, payable to the Internal Revenue Service, in the appropriate amount. Do not send cash.

06 MAILING ADDRESS FOR REQUESTING RULINGS, DETERMINATION LETTERS, ETC.

1 A request for a ruling letter submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 88-1 or Rev. Proc. 87-4 should be sent to the Internal Revenue Service, Associate Chief Counsel (Technical and International), Attention: CC:IND:D:C, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington D.C. 20044. Requests may be hand delivered to Room 6561, 1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

2 A request for a determination letter submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 88-1 or Rev. Proc. 87-4 should be sent to the District Director of Internal Revenue whose office has or will have examination jurisdiction over the taxpayer's return.

3 Requests for rulings or opinion letters submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 83-36, 84-23 or 87-50 should be sent to the following address:

      (a) EMPLOYEE PLAN RULINGS

                                   Send request for determination

1 Except as provided in 5 below, if a request is not accompanied by a properly completed check or money order (for example, a check has not been signed), the entire submission will be returned to the submitter, along with the check or money order.

2 Except as provided in 5 below, if a check or money order is for less than the correct amount, the entire submission will be returned to the submitter, along with the check or money order.

3 The return of a submission to the submitter pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2 of this subsection may adversely affect substantive rights if the submission is not perfected and resubmitted to the Service within 30 days of the date of the cover letter returning the submission. For example, where an application for a determination letter is submitted prior to the expiration of the remedial amendment period under section 401(b) of the Code and is returned because no user fee was attached, the submission will be timely if it is resubmitted by the expiration of the remedial amendment period or, if later, within 30 days after the application was returned.

4 If a check or money order is for more than the correct amount, the submission will be accepted and the amount of the excess payment will be returned to the submitter.

5 For 60 days following publication of this procedure, submissions that are not accompanied by the correct amount will not be returned for this reason. Instead, the submitter will be contacted and given a reasonable time to submit the proper fee. If the fee is not received in a reasonable time, the entire submission will be returned. However, the Service, in its discretion, may defer substantive consideration of the submission until proper payment has been received. At the end of the 60-day period, the Service will evaluate whether this practice should be extended.

08 REFUNDS. In general, the fee will not be refunded unless the Service declines to rule on all issues for which a ruling is requested.

1 The following are examples of situations in which the fee will not be refunded:

(a) The request for a ruling, determination letter, etc. is withdrawn at any time subsequent to its receipt by the Service.

(b) The request is procedurally deficient, although accompanied by the proper fee or an overpayment, and is not timely perfected by the submitter. Where there is a failure to timely perfect the request, the case will be considered closed and the failure to perfect will be treated as a withdrawal for purposes of this revenue procedure.

(c) A ruling, determination letter, etc. is revoked in whole or in part at the initiative of the Service. The fee paid at the time the original ruling, determination letter, etc. was requested will not be refunded.

(d) A request contains several issues and the Service rules on some, but not all, of the issues. The highest fee applicable to the issues on which the Service rules will not be refunded.

(e) The taxpayer asserts that a ruling it received covering a single issue is erroneous or not responsive (other than with respect to any issue on which the Service has declined to rule) and requests reconsideration. The Service, upon reconsideration, does not agree that the ruling is erroneous or not responsive. The fee accompanying the request for reconsideration will not be refunded.

(f) The situation is the same as described in (e) immediately above except that the ruling covered several unrelated transactions. The Service upon reconsideration, does not agree with the taxpayer that the ruling is erroneous or nonresponsive with respect to all of the transactions, but does agree that it is erroneous with respect to one transaction. The fee accompanying the request for reconsideration will not be refunded except to the extent applicable to the transaction with respect to which the Service agrees the ruling was in error.

(g) The request is for a supplemental ruling, determination letter, etc. concerning a change in facts (whether significant or not) relating to the transaction ruled on.

(h) The request is for reconsideration of an adverse or partially adverse ruling or a final adverse determination letter, and the taxpayer submits arguments and authorities not submitted before the original ruling or determination letter was issued.

2 The following are examples of situations in which the fee will be refunded:

(a) In a situation to which section 4.081(h) above does not apply, the taxpayer asserts that a ruling it received covering a single issue is erroneous or not responsive (other than with respect to any issue on which the Service declined to rule) and requests reconsideration. The Service agrees, upon reconsideration, that the ruling is erroneous or not responsive. The fee accompanying the taxpayer's request for reconsideration will be refunded.

(b) In a situation to which section 4.081(h) above does not apply, the taxpayer requests a supplemental ruling, determination letter, etc. to correct a mistake that the Service agrees it made in the original ruling, determination letter, etc., such as a mistake in the statement of facts or in the citation of a Code section. Once the Service agrees that it made a mistake, the fee accompanying the request for the supplemental ruling will be refunded.

(c) The taxpayer requests and is granted relief under section 7805(b) of the Code in connection with the revocation, in whole or in part, of a previously issued ruling, determination letter, etc. The fee accompanying the request for relief will be refunded.

09 EXEMPTIONS. The user fee requirement of this revenue procedure shall not apply to departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States that certify that they are seeking a ruling, determination letter, opinion letter or similar letter on behalf of a program or activity funded by federal appropriations. The fact that a user fee is not charged shall have no bearing on whether an applicant is treated as an agency or instrumentality of the United States for purposes of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code.

SEC. 5. QUESTIONS AS TO APPLICABILITY OR AMOUNT OF FEE

A taxpayer or organization that believes the user fee charged by the Service for its request for a ruling, determination letter, etc. is either not applicable or incorrect may request reconsideration and, if desired, the opportunity for an oral discussion by sending a letter to the Internal Revenue Service at the applicable Post Office Box or other address given in section 4.06 above. Both the incoming envelope and the letter requesting such reconsideration should be prominently marked "USER FEE RECONSIDERATION REQUEST" and the request should be marked for the attention of:

[Editor's Note: The format of the following table has been changed to facilitate electronic presentation]

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IF THE MATTER INVOLVES PRIMARILY:

Associate Chief Counsel (Technical and International) ruling requests submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 88-1

SEND REQUEST TO:

Associate Division Director ___________ Division (add name of the division handling the request)

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IF THE MATTER INVOLVES PRIMARILY:

Associate Chief Counsel (Technical and International) ruling requests submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 87-4

SEND REQUEST TO:

Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (International)

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IF THE MATTER INVOLVES PRIMARILY:

Employee plan ruling and opinion letter requests

SEND REQUEST TO:

Chief, Rulings Branch E:EP:R

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IF THE MATTER INVOLVES PRIMARILY:

Exempt organization ruling requests

SEND REQUEST TO:

Chief, Rulings Branch E:EO:R

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IF THE MATTER INVOLVES PRIMARILY:

Employee plan and/or exempt organization determination letter requests

SEND REQUEST TO:

Chief, Technical Staff _________ Key District Office (add name of key district office handling the request)

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IF THE MATTER INVOLVES PRIMARILY:

Determination letter requests submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 88-1 or Rev. Proc. 87-4

SEND REQUEST TO:

Chief, Quality Review Staff ________ District Office (add name of district office handling the request)

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SEC. 6. EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS

Rev. Procs. 80-30, 83-36, 84-23, 84-46,84-86, 87-4, 87-50 and 88-1 are modified and amplified to the extent that this revenue procedure provides for an additional requirement that must be satisfied in requesting a ruling, determination letter, or opinion letter pursuant to those revenue procedures.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE

This revenue procedure applies to requests postmarked or, if not mailed, received on or after February 1, 1988. This revenue procedure does not apply to requests filed on or after September 30, 1990.

SEC. 8 DRAFTING INFORMATION

The principal author of this revenue procedure is John H. Turner of the Employee Plans Technical and Actuarial Division. For further information regarding this revenue procedure, call (202)566-6783 between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Eastern time (not a toll-free call). Mr. Turner's telephone number is (202) 566-3662 (also mot a toll-free call).