part33-9
-
These provisions outline the organization and operation of the Industry
Program (IP) in the Office of Division Counsel (LSMB), and describe the policy
of providing informed, practical, and expedited legal support to the LMSB
Pre-Filing and Technical Guidance program and Appeals. The Industry Program
replaces the former Industry Specialization Program. -
The International Field Counsel Program in Division Counsel (LMSB) is
not covered in these provisions and will be covered in a separate manual section. -
Technical Advisors. Technical Advisors work within
the Office of Pre-filing and Technical Guidance (LMSB). They serve as nationwide
experts in a particular industry or on a particular issue. They identify and
develop significant industry issues, and other specifically designated issues,
to ensure uniform and consistent treatment of issues nationwide. -
Associate Area Counsel (Industry Programs). The
Associate Area Counsel (Industry Programs) provides primary support to the
Area Counsel and Industry Director staff with respect to industry specific
pre-filing, filing, and post-filing activities. They oversee and supervise
the Industry Counsel, who serve as the primary Counsel liaison with the Technical
Advisors aligned within their area’s respective industries or issues.
-
The Office of Chief Counsel provides the legal interpretation of the
internal revenue laws. Industry Counsel play a critical role in fulfilling
this responsibility for industry issues. They provide direct legal support
to Technical Advisors, field examiners, appeals officers, and other field
attorneys. They also facilitate coordination of industry issues with the Associate
offices. -
Industry Counsel are selected by the Area Counsel for the Area with
responsibility for that particular industry or issue. To provide continuity
and adequate support, more than one attorney may be designated as Industry
Counsel, or Associate Industry Counsel, including additional attorneys from
other Areas. -
LMSB attorneys designated to provide support to Technical Advisors for
an issue rather than for an industry are, for purposes of this subsection,
considered Industry Counsel to those Technical Advisors. They are often referred
to as “Issue Counsel.”
In general, the duties and responsibilities
of Industry Counsel and Issue Counsel are identical. References in this section
to “Industry Counsel”
should be read to include Issue
Counsel. -
Industry Counsel develop a close working relationship with the Technical
Advisors. They actively seek to identify and assist with the management of
industry issues. They provide timely, informed, and practical advice on substantive,
procedural, and tactical questions. They work with the Technical Advisor to
prepare material for team meetings, requests for published guidance projects,
requests for formal legal advice, and proposed Coordinated Issue Papers. They
also work with Appeals in developing Appeals Settlement Guidelines and Appeals
Coordinated Issues. -
Industry Counsel work with the Technical Advisor to maintain channels
of communication and effective working relationships with industry groups,
taxpayers, and their representatives. They attend periodic industry working
sessions to discuss emerging issues, recent developments, and other matters
of significance relating to the industry. -
Industry Counsel provide assistance nationwide to field attorneys, examination
personnel and Appeals. They are familiar with the major industry cases. They
assist examination teams and field counsel advising the teams in obtaining
other Counsel support in areas such as requesting legal advice, case development,
and issue coordination. They are aware of settlement trends on significant
industry issues and provide advice as requested on settlement of specific
cases. They take an active role in coordinating litigation affecting industry
issues, and recommendations for designating industry issues for litigation.
They may participate in the trial of an industry issue, depending on their
workload and the significance of the issue. -
Industry Counsel keep informed about significant industry issues that
are under consideration by Associate Chief Counsel offices. They comment on,
and may be included in, any guidance project relating to a significant industry
issue. In particular, Industry Counsel ensure that the Associate Chief Counsel
offices have a full understanding of the industry background and potential
ramifications of such issues. -
Industry Counsel are Division Counsel’s experts as to their assigned
industry or issue. Industry Counsel gain knowledge of industry practices and
issues. Priority is given to developing and sharing industry expertise through
external and internal training, subscribing to trade publications and attending
industry meetings. -
The Industry Director or the Directors of Pre-Filing & Technical
Guidance, International, or Field Specialists may assemble Emerging Issue
Teams, which may recommend coordination, administrative guidance, or published
legal guidance for emerging issues. In most instances, these teams will include
Industry Counsel. -
Industry projects and cases will occupy a substantial part of the Industry
Counsel’s workload. Each Industry Counsel and supervisor will give industry
assignments priority over other work assigned. Other work will be reassigned
when necessary to accommodate this priority. -
Associate Offices. An Associate Office, at the request of Division Counsel
(LMSB), may appoint an attorney to be available for coordination of industry
issues with the Industry Counsel and Technical Advisor.
-
Technical Advisors are responsible for developing coordination of key
industry compliance issues. One tool used by Technical Advisors to ensure
nationwide examination consistency in development and treatment of an issue
is the Coordinated Issue Paper (CIP). The CIP is processed by the Director
(Pre-Filing &Technical Guidance) and approved by an Associate Chief Counsel
office. After review and approval, the CIP is distributed to the field managers.
-
Overview. The CIP is submitted to the Director
(Pre-Filing & Technical Guidance). The Director (PFTG) forwards the paper
to the Division Counsel (LMSB) headquarters (attn: Senior Legal Counsel (PFTG)).
Division Counsel (LMSB) controls and forwards the CIP to Technical Services
Section (TSS) for assignment to the Associate Chief Counsel office with primary
issue jurisdiction. To the extent possible, Division Counsel indicates the
appropriate Associate office for assignment. The Associate office has 90 days
to review the CIP once received by TSS. The prime Branch is responsible for
ensuring that all issues in the CIP are properly coordinated with the Associate
office(s) having jurisdiction over the relevant issue. These coordination
efforts must be completed within the time allowed for review and the prime
Branch issues one response that contains all Counsel comments on the proposed
CIP. TSS runs a report of the pending CIP assignments monthly. Copies of this
report are furnished to each Associate and Division Counsel (LMSB). -
Initial Contact with LMSB. Within seven calendar
days, the prime attorney should contact the Technical Advisor responsible
for drafting the CIP and Division Counsel (LMSB) to inform them that the CIP
is under review. -
Request for Assistance from Other Associates.
If the prime attorney identifies issues that are outside the prime Associate
office’s jurisdiction, an assistance request should be prepared within
seven calendar days of assignment. Division Counsel (LMSB) should be notified
of assistance requests.-
The prime attorney will send an assistance request, along with a WLI TECHMIS
control sheet for the assistance WLI, to each office providing assistance.
All relevant background material (e.g., draft CIP, prior legal advice) will
be attached to each assistance request. It is the responsibility of the attorney
to ensure that the WLI assistance information is entered into TECHMIS. -
The assistance request must state the date by which the prime attorney
needs the response in order to respond within 90 days. Generally, the office
providing assistance should have no less than 45 calendar days to respond. -
It is the prime attorney’s responsibility to follow up on all requests
for assistance to ensure that the response is received in time to be incorporated
into Counsel’s response. Late outstanding assistance requests should
be promptly elevated to a Branch reviewer.
-
-
Scope of Review. In general, the Associate Chief
Counsel reviews proposed CIPs for technical accuracy. Counsel will also evaluate
and comment on the appropriateness of the CIP in light of factors such as
pending or anticipated guidance or litigation activities. Counsel may approve
the CIP as written or recommended changes. If Counsel concludes that the CIP
has technical flaws, it will state its reasons, outline the problems that
need to be addressed and recommend solutions.-
The prime attorney is encouraged to work directly with the Technical Advisor
and Industry Counsel informally (by telephone, email, fax, memoranda, or conference)
to revise or supplement the CIP, as needed. The CIP remains assigned to the
prime attorney pending the resolution of any questions or suggested revisions.
After completing the review (and receiving assistance, if any, from other
Associate offices), the prime attorney prepares and forwards, through normal
review channels, a final comment memorandum. The final comment memorandum
will describe or include a version of the CIP that can be approved by Counsel
without further substantive review. Alternatively, if the CIP cannot be revised
to be legally correct or, if the issue addressed is inappropriate for a CIP,
the final comment memorandum will state that conclusion. For procedures regarding
resolution of conflicting views, see IRM 4.40.3.1.2.2. If, at any time during
its review of the CIP, the prime attorney briefs the Associate Chief Counsel
relative to the CIP or its issue, the Director (Pre-Filing & Technical
Guidance) and Division Counsel (LMSB) will be advised of, and may be invited
to participate in, the briefing. -
Signature level and Case Closure. Counsel’s comment memorandum regarding
the CIP is signed by the Associate Chief Counsel and forwarded, via the Division
Counsel (LMSB), to the Director (PFTG). The CIP file should be organized and
submitted for closing and all TECHMIS assignments, including all WLIs, should
be closed.
-
-
The review of CIPs will be completed within 90 days of receipt and assignment
by TSS. The review is complete when the Associate Chief Counsel executes Counsel’s
final comment memorandum. If completion cannot occur within the 90 days, the
prime attorney will communicate the reasons for the delay, and the expected
completion date, directly to the Technical Advisor and the Division Counsel
(LSMB), with information copies to the Associate Chief Counsel, Director (PFTG)
and TSS.
-
The Senior Legal Counsel (Pre-Filing and Technical Guidance) in the
Office of the Division Counsel (LMSB) will be the primary contact to inquire
about the status of any proposed CIP which is under development or pending
review in Counsel.
-
Coordination with Industry Counsel is required whenever Counsel attorneys
encounter issues in these areas. -
Practice group attorneys should coordinate industry and issue specialization
issues, in both docketed and nondocketed cases, with Industry Counsel. Practice
group attorneys (including Special Trial Attorneys) in all Divisions will
contact Industry Counsel on issues which (a) are the subject of a coordinated
issue paper or the Industry Issue Resolution process, (b) have been identified
as emerging industry issues on the relevant Industry Technical Advisor website,
(c) have the potential to become an industry issue, or (d) may significantly
affect an industry issue. For assistance in determining whether an issue requires
coordination, the attorney may consult the LMSB Technical Advisors web pages,
which include specific industry guides (available through the Service’s
LMSB PFTG site), or contact either the Industry Counsel or Technical Advisor.
If the practice group attorney and Associate Area Counsel remain uncertain
about which Industry Counsel should be contacted, they should contact their
Associate Area Counsel (Industry Programs) for assistance. Responsibility
for assuring appropriate coordination resides with the practice group Associate
Area Counsel. -
The Industry Counsel may take an active role in cases affecting industry
issues. Unless otherwise agreed, the practice group attorney will retain primary
responsibility for handling an industry issue. The practice group attorney
will informally coordinate with the Industry Counsel via telephone and email
to ensure that industry issues are developed and handled in a manner that
promotes consistency and the proper legal outcome. Practice group attorneys
will send to the Industry Counsel copies of their written advice (including
email messages) on industry issues. If there is a disagreement between the
practice group attorney and Industry Counsel that cannot be resolved between
them, they must elevate the issue to their respective managers for resolution. -
When an Industry Counsel is contacted on an issue arising from a specific
audit, the Industry Counsel must advise the Associate Area Counsel responsible
for the audit location. When a taxpayer contacts an Associate Chief Counsel
Office concerning a significant industry issue, the attorney in the Associate
Office should notify the Industry or Issue Counsel. When an Industry Counsel
receives an inquiry directly from an audit team or field attorney, the Industry
Counsel should coordinate with the Technical Advisor and Associate Chief Counsel,
as appropriate. -
Industry Counsel should coordinate with the appropriate Associate Chief
Counsel Office to assure an issue reflects the correct interpretation of the
law as applied to the facts of the particular case. The Industry Counsel should
consult with the Technical Advisor concerning proposals for published guidance
that may affect industry issues.
