Upon receipt of a closed case, the Joint Committee Specialist will determine the correct statute date. Letter 1573A (P) will be prepared and mailed to the taxpayer and the authorized representative, if applicable. This advises them of the receipt of the case in the Joint Committee Specialist Group and of the Joint Committee review process. See Exhibit 4.36.4-1. In addition, an e-mail will be sent to notify the team manager of the case receipt.

Upon receipt of an on-site referral, the Joint Committee Specialist will contact the team manager or examiner to advise them of the assignment.

There are two types of reviews that may be conducted by Joint Committee Specialists. The first, referred to as a " closed case review" , is conducted after the examination group has closed the case to Case Processing Support (CPS). The second, referred to as an "on site review" , is conducted concurrently while the examination is being conducted.

The specialist will perform a focused review of both the technical and procedural aspects of the case

The Case Return Criteria, reflected below, identify those errors that are significant enough to warrant return of the case to the group for correction. Cases returned under these criteria must reflect a clear error of substantial magnitude and not merely a "possible " or "potential" error. Cases will be returned to the group only after concurrence between the Joint Committee Specialist and the Joint Committee Team Manager. In significant cases, the Joint Committee Specialist or the Joint Committee Team Manager should contact the examiner or examination team manager prior to returning the case.

The following are examples of when a case should be returned to the group:

Every effort should be made to resolve inquiries informally. If the examining group needs more than 30 days to resolve the inquiry then a written memorandum should be prepared outlining the specific information requested and returned to the examiner via a Case Return Transmittal (CRT).

If the examiner and team manager do not agree with the position taken by the Joint Committee Specialist or the Refund Counsel, the administrative file will be returned via a CRT. Generally, Area Counsel should be consulted. If the differences cannot be resolved in a mutually satisfactory manner, the dispute will be elevated to the appropriate management official. See Exhibit 4.36.4–4

Refer to Exhibit 4.36.3-5 for response timeframes and status updates.

Upon completion of the review the Joint Committee Specialist will:

There are times when it may be necessary for a JCT staff attorney to contact the Joint Committee Specialist for additional information or clarification regarding a case. Inquiries should be treated with the highest priority.

If the Joint Committee Specialist is unable to answer the staff attorney’s questions, the specialist may contact the examiner or arrange for the examiner to contact the staff attorney directly. If the examiner is in direct contact with the staff attorney, the specialist will remain involved and ensure that the attorney receives a timely and satisfactory response.

In cases referred back to the examination group for reconsideration that are subsequently protested and resolved by Appeals, the Appeals Officer will prepare the response to the JCT inquiry. However, at the time the case is transferred to Appeals the Joint Committee Specialist will prepare an interim reply briefly discussing the issues raised by the JCT, indicating the status of the case and attaching copies of the revised RAR and the taxpayer’s protest.

This reply will be forwarded to the Joint Committee Program Analyst who will submit it to the JCT.

Correspondence, informal or formal (including e-mail), from the JCT should not be released to the taxpayer without the permission of the JCT.

When the JCT raises an issue on a case, the Service has two options;

Any documents created by the Service in connection with a response to any JCT correspondence should also not be released to the taxpayer without the permission of the JCT.

If adjustments are made or proposed by the examination group which will reduce the net refund or credit below the jurisdictional amount after a report has been submitted to the JCT and before they have released the case, the Joint Committee Specialist will prepare a memo requesting withdrawal of the case from consideration by the JCT.

The memo should be prepared as soon as possible after an agreement, Form 870 or equivalent is obtained from the taxpayer. The memo should contain the taxpayer’s information and briefly discuss the adjustments, set forth the taxable income or loss and tax liability as finally determined and request the case be released from JCT jurisdiction. It will be forwarded to the Joint Committee Program Analyst who will submit it to JCT.

When the report has been forwarded to the Joint Committee Program Analyst for transmission to the JCT, the Joint Committee Specialist will prepare and mail Letter 1573 (P) to the taxpayer and authorized representative, if applicable. See Exhibit 4.36.4-2. An e-mail will be sent to notify the team manager of the case status.

After the clearance letter is received from the JCT, the Joint Committee Specialist will prepare and mail Letter 1574 (P) to the taxpayer and the authorized representative, if applicable. See Exhibit 4.36.4-3. An e-mail will be sent to notify the team manager of the case status. The case file (including the administrative file copy of the Joint Committee report) will be processed and closed in accordance with established procedures.

The following case characteristics require special handling:

Closing agreements, including those based on Competent Authority determinations, will be signed by or for the taxpayerbut not by the approving Service official. The closing agreement will be submitted as part of the Joint Committee report. After the case is released by the JCT, it will be returned to the examining group for final processing including signature of the closing agreement by the appropriate Service official.

In those situations where an issue is resolved early in the examination, such as Fast Track Settlement or Early Referral to Appeals, the JCS will forward the closing agreement, any supporting documents and the cover memo prepared by the examiner to the JCT. The Joint Committee Specialist’s contact information will also be provided to the JCT. See IRM 4.36.3.6.2 and Exhibit 3.36.3-6. After it is reviewed, the JCT will return the agreement to the specialist who will return it to the examining group for signature by the appropriate Service official.

In the event a Joint Committee case becomes a suspense case while it is in the review process, the case will be returned to the examining group for appropriate action.

A Joint Committee report is required in bankruptcy or receivership cases that meet the jurisdictional amounts of IRC section 6405. Overpayments or deficiencies should be processed in accordance with the procedures outlined in IRM 4.27, Bankruptcy Handbook.

Joint Committee cases that contain non-TEFRA issues will be maintained in a local area suspense file. However, prior to placing the case in suspense, any agreed deficiencies relating to non-TEFRA issues will be assessed and the case will be forwarded to the appropriate Joint Committee Specialist group for review. Upon completion of the review, the case will be returned to the examining area (without the preparation of a Joint Committee report) and placed in the local area suspense file until the completion of the related key case examination.

Upon completion of the examination of the key case and after the processing of any deficiencies, the completed case will be returned to the Joint Committee Specialist group for final processing and preparation of the Joint Committee report if it still meets the jurisdictional amount for a Joint Committee case.

Joint Committee cases that contain TEFRA issues will be maintained in a local area suspense file. However, prior to placing the case in suspense, any agreed deficiencies relating to non-TEFRA issues will be assessed and the case will be forwarded to the appropriate Joint Committee Specialist group review. Upon completion of the review the case will be returned to the examining location (without the preparation of a Joint Committee report) and placed in the local area suspense file until notification is received from the service center that the TEFRA issues are resolved. Upon such notification, any deficiencies will be assessed.

If the case still meets the jurisdictional requirements after completion of an examination of a flow-through entity, the examining area will forward the completed Joint Committee case to the Joint Committee Specialist group for final processing and preparation of the Joint Committee report,

To ensure that “expedite” refunds are processed timely, closing documents will be prepared and placed in a work file, also known as a " dummy" file. Once the dated copy of the report is received from the Joint Committee Program Analyst, the Joint Committee Specialist will notate on Form 3198, Special Handling Notice, or local equivalent, the tentative scheduled refund date (23C date), which is the 31st day from the date received by the JCT. The specialist will attach the form or its equivalent to the file. The file will then be forwarded to the CPS unit. CPS will then coordinate with the appropriate Campus to ensure the refund is processed timely.

Generally inquiries received during the 30 day moratorium will not delay the processing of the refund. However, if the Joint Committee Specialist is notified in writing that the JCT requests that the refunds not be released, the JCS should immediately contact CPS to stop the processing of the refund.

The Service will only process a IRC section 6405(a) refund or credit with respect to any jurisdictional year prior to release by the JCT if the following conditions exist:

Information provided to the JCT on potential adjustments to Individual Forms 1040 or any other personal, individual income tax return pursuant to IRC section 6405 is considered a disclosure.

The Joint Committee Specialist should complete Form 5482, Record of Disclosure. The form is a two-part carbon form. The original is filed with the examination administrative file for the individual and the copy should be retained in the Joint Committee Specialist group for five years. Additional Forms 5482 need to be completed if new information concerning years or individuals not previously accounted for is disclosed to the JCT. See IRM 11.3.19, Privacy Act Accounting for Disclosures, for additional information on the form.

Form 5482 should be completed at the time the Joint Committee report is forwarded to the Joint Committee Program Analyst.

When completing the form, Item 3 should be 42.001 and Item 8 should be (b)(9).