part35-3

Certain documents are served by the Tax Court on the parties. Applicable
procedures are described below.

Petition. Each petition filed with the Tax Court (including informal
communications treated as imperfect petitions) receives a docket number, which
is stamped on the original document and on all copies filed concurrently with
the original. Thereafter, on each subsequent pleading or other document filed
or lodged with the court, the docket number of the case must appear next to
the caption. Effective January 1, 1962, docket numbers assigned to new cases
filed with the court began with the number 101-62. The last two digits of
the document number indicate the calendar year in which the petition was docketed
with the court. Thus (with certain exceptions), the first petition filed each
year is numbered 101-XX, with the last two digits (XX) reflecting the year
in which the petition is filed.

Other Documents Filed as Petitions. Any doubt as to whether the initial
document received by the court from a taxpayer is intended to be a petition
is usually resolved by the court in favor of filing it as a petition, whether
or not the document was accompanied by a filing fee or whether the required
number of copies were received by the court.

Required Copies. The court will serve on the respondent a document filed
as a petition even though the filing fee has not been paid. In general, the
court will not serve upon the opposing party a motion, answer, or other document
(other than a petition), unless the required copies are filed with the court.
Generally, an original and four copies of papers are required to be filed
with the court. See T.C. Rule 23(b).
See also Tax Litigation Guidebook (new version of Office of Chief Counsel
Secretarial Handbook), which is available on the F&M Intranet website,
for the required number of copies of particular documents. The court, as a
general rule, will not duplicate a document for service on the opposing party
when sufficient copies have not been supplied to the court together with the
original. This general rule is equally applicable to the respondent and to
the petitioner.

Amended Petition. The Tax Court sometimes characterizes documents differently
than they are titled by the parties. For example, the court will may add the
word “Amended”
before the preprinted word ”
Petition”
on a form petition if a prior communication was treated as
the “Petition”
in the case. Any responsive pleading or
other document filed by the respondent should refer to the caption on the
document given by the Tax Court, not necessarily the one used by the petitioner.
The Tax Court’s web site (www.ustaxcourt.gov)
may be consulted to resolve questions concerning how the court characterized
a particular document for filing.

Inadequate Pleadings. The court generally will take no independent action
on the inadequacy of pleadings filed by the parties, except to issue an Order
for Proper Petition and Filing Fee in the case of a timely but facially defective
imperfect petition. If a document has been filed as a petition that respondent
believes should not have been treated as a petition or is otherwise insufficient
to confer jurisdiction on the court, it is the responsibility of the respondent
to file an appropriate motion in order to get a ruling with respect to the
perceived defect.

Service by the Tax Court. Petitions and any other documents to be served
upon respondent through the Tax Court are served upon the Chief Counsel by
the Clerk of the Court. T.C. Rule 21 also permits direct service on respondent
of documents other than petitions.

Most documents are served by the parties directly. Applicable procedures
are described below.

Pre-filing Review. See the Significant Issues List at Exhibit 35.11.1–1
for issues and/or documents which must be reviewed by an Associate office
before being served or filed.

Timeliness. Every effort should be made to ensure that answers, motions,
and other papers mailed directly to the Tax Court will be received by the
court by the due date. If proof of timely mailing is not apparent on the face
of the envelope transmitting the document or on the certificate of service,
the Tax Court may reject and return a document received after the due date.
The court may thereafter accept the document as timely if respondent can produce
a copy of a receipt for certified mail that bears a timely United States postmark,
a shipping document or receipt from respondent’s designated delivery
service, or other proof of timely mailing with respect to those documents
received after the due date. Establishing the timely mailing of a document
is cumbersome and may be avoided if the document is received by the due date.

Certificate of Service. With respect to documents directly served, there
is to be attached to each such document sent to the court a certificate of
service, showing service on petitioners or their counsel. Use Form 10, Tax
Court Rules, Appendix I. Where copies of the document directly served are
required to be filed with the court, a copy of the certificate of service
should be attached to each copy. In all cases, the certificate must be dated
and signed. The certificate of service for respondent must be executed by
an attorney admitted to practice before the Tax Court. T.C. Rule 21(b). Under
no circumstances may a certificate be signed by a secretary, law clerk, paralegal,
or other person not admitted to practice before the court.

Unadmitted Practitioner. Where the petitioner’s attorney, CPA,
or other representative is not admitted to practice before the Tax Court,
service of papers must not be made on the unadmitted practitioner. Service
will be made on petitioner, and the unadmitted practitioner should be notified
by letter that the petitioner was served because the Tax Court does not recognize
the individual as petitioner’s representative. If counsel who signs
the petition is unadmitted at the time the petition is filed but is admitted
prior to the filing of the answer, and enters an appearance in the case by
the filing of an entry of appearance, service will be made on counsel. Otherwise,
service will be made on petitioner.

Manner of Service. Respondent will utilize service by mail for most
documents filed with the Tax Court. On occasion, service may be made by personal
delivery. Service by facsimile or other electronic transmission is not authorized
under the Tax Court’s rules.

Timely Service. Documents will be served the same day they are mailed
to the Tax Court.

Accuracy of Certification. The Field attorney will ensure that service
is made on the date stated in the certificate of service.

Improper Service. If service is made on the wrong person(s), an incorrect
address is used, or the served document is returned for any reason, a reasonable
attempt should be made to re-serve the document with a cover letter to counsel
or petitioner, indicating the circumstances surrounding the original service.
An original document entitled “Amended Certificate of Service,
”
which bears the caption of the case, describes the document in question,
and shows that the document was re-served, should be prepared and filed with
the court. The document to which the Amended Certificate of Service pertains
may be attached to the document as an exhibit. The Amended Certificate of
Service should itself be served on the opposing party, along with the document
being re-served, and have a certificate of service attached to it.

Transmittal to Tax Court. Documents will be sent for filing with the
Tax Court by direct overnight mail through the contract carrier (e.g., United
Parcel Service or other). If there is any doubt as to whether a document will
be received by the Tax Court on or before the due date, the Field attorney
should work with the local support staff to ensure there is proof of timely
mailing. Although the Tax Court will accept a UPS air bill as proof, the court
cannot associate an air bill with an individual document mailed together with
other papers in a transmittal package to the court. Thus, critical, time-sensitive
documents for which respondent is relying on the timely-mailing rule to meet
a court-imposed due date should be mailed individually. These overnight mail
procedures are currently used for all transmittals to the Tax Court and for
any other situations requiring that mail be expedited. Routine mail procedures
will generally be used for transmittal of documents if circumstances do not
require expedited handling.

Contents of Mailing to Tax Court. Two copies of Form 8692 should be
included in the envelope containing the documents to be directly filed with
the Tax Court. The Form 8692 should be dated. The form will reflect the UPS
air bill receipt number, petitioner’s name(s), docket number(s), and
the type of document(s) transmitted. The number of copies of documents to
be provided to the court is stated in Exhibit 35.11.1–2. In the event
the document served and/or directly filed pertains to more than one docket
number such as for consolidated cases, an additional copy must be included
for each additional docket number.

Transmittal Form 8692. The Form 8692 will generally be typed and must
have correct spelling of petitioner’s name(s) and correct docket number(s).
All documents transmitted in regard to a particular case should be listed
consecutively on the form.

Acceptance by Court. A docket clerk at the Tax Court will check to see
if all listed documents are, in fact, in the envelope. That clerk will then
stamp one copy of Form 8692 and return it to respondent’s Docket and
Records Section; one copy will be retained by the Court. The Docket and Records
Section will send the stamped copy to the Field Counsel office originating
the transmission. The Tax Court’s docket clerk will note any omissions
on the stamped copies of Form 8692. The stamped copy of Form 8692 sent to
the field should be compared against the retained copy of Form 8692 to confirm
that all documents listed on the transmittal were received by the court; both
forms should be filed in the Field Counsel office with the retained documents
evidencing timely mailing (e.g., UPS air bill).

Monitoring Tax Court Receipt of Documents. Field Counsel offices should
maintain an accurate filing system for the Forms 8692. If the stamped copy
of Form 8692 is not received within 21 days after the mailing date to the
Tax Court, the Field attorney should contact the Docket and Records Section
to check the status. Each Field Counsel office should develop its own internal
procedures to implement and facilitate direct filing.

Discovery. Interrogatories and requests for the production of documents
and things and responses thereto will be sent directly by the Field attorney
to petitioner or petitioner’s counsel, since these documents are not
filed with the court.

Direct Service on Respondent. A response to a document filed by the
petitioner generally should not be filed unless directed by the court. Nevertheless,
if a document requiring a response is served directly on a Field attorney,
the Field attorney should promptly commence preparation of the response and
not wait for a notice of filing or other order directing a response from the
court, since the court may set an imminent hearing date that gives insufficient
time to prepare the response. Consideration should be given to requesting
leave to file a response even if not ordered by the court. The response should
be prepared early so that it can be sent to any appropriate Associate office
in time for adequate review and timely filing.

Any motion or document that is not on the list of direct filed documents
in Exhibit 35.11.1–2 must be sent to the Technical Services Support
Branch (TSS4510) with a copy to any Associate office attorney previously assigned
for review prior to filing with the Tax Court. The Field attorney may transmit
documents as e-mail attachments, which should also be directed to Technical
Services Support Branch. The e-mail message should identify the case and document
for review; specify the due date; indicate that the reviewer has approved
the document; and mention any previous involvement by a member of an Associate
office. The e-mail must not be designated”
Private.”
Documents other than briefs requiring Associate office review
generally are required to be submitted at least five business days prior to
the due date to permit adequate review.

Review by Associate Office if Significant Issue. When a case involves
a significant, sensitive, or unusual issue or a substantive issue that is
on the list of issues for Associate coordination and review or when a case
has been reported on the significant case report, the Field attorney should
coordinate with the appropriate Associate office prior to filing any document
with the Tax Court. This guideline applies to any document included in Exhibit
35.11.1–2 and to notices of objection or other response to motions filed
by the petitioner.

T.C. Rule 25 provides a method for computing time for an act, event,
or default from which a designated period of time begins to run. The day of
the act shall not be included, and the last day of the period so computed
shall be included. If service is made by mail, then a period of time computed
with respect to the service shall begin on the day after the date of mailing.
Saturdays, Sundays, and all legal holidays shall be counted, with the following
exceptions:

Pursuant to T.C. Rule 25(c), the Tax Court in its discretion may make
longer or shorter any period provided by the Tax Court Rules. However, if
the period is fixed by statute, the Tax Court cannot extend or shorten the
period.

The Tax Court, on the first document served upon the respondent, will
note thereon the postmark date as shown on the envelope in which the document
was mailed to the court and the manner of mailing, i.e., regular, postmetered,
registered, or certified mail. If the postmark date is illegible, it will
be so noted. If a purported copy of the statutory notice is not attached to
the original petition, the court will stamp the notation “Def.
Notice NOT Attached to Orig.”

It may be assumed that the original of the petition or motion is duly
executed even though the served copy is not conformed. If the original petition
is unsigned, the court will usually note that fact on the copy served on respondent.
A petition executed by a representative admitted to the Tax Court will have
stamped next to the representative’s name the notation ”
Admitted U.S. Tax Court.”
A petition that is executed by an unadmitted
practitioner or other representative will have stamped on the served copy
beside the conformed signature of such individual the notation ”
Not Admitted U.S. Tax Court.”
In addition, if the court does not recognize
a practitioner who is admitted to the court as the petitioner’s representative
(for example, because the attorney listed did not actually sign the document),
the court will stamp the notation “Admitted, Not Recognized
”
on the service copy. Such notations are notifications to respondent
that appropriate action should be taken to resolve any jurisdictional defects
resulting from the signatures on the petition and to ensure that service of
papers is made on the proper person.