Disallowing Revenue Regional Directors from Making Assignments of Collection Men to Assessment Functions

March 5, 1963 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 13-63 TO : All Revenue Regional Directors and Others Concerned This Office has observed that some Regional Directors are making assignments of duties to the personnel under them other than those covered by their respective appointments without the prior approval of this Office and of the Secretary of Finance, pursuant to Section 12 of the National Internal Revenue Code. This is particularly true in the case of Revenue Seizure Agents or other personnel engaged in collection work as a result of which the Collection Department is greatly depleted in the number of personnel charged with the duty of collecting internal revenue taxes previously assessed or demanded, or in enforcing the collection of such taxes by the summary remedies of distraint and levy. This lack of personnel results in the increasing delinquencies year by year and unless this practice of Regional Directors is stopped, we run the risk of accumulating very substantial number of delinquent cases involving substantial amounts. cdt The Government does not intend to live or to be supported in its multifarious activities by the mounting delinquencies. Actual collection of all taxes legally assessed is the demand of the times. Accordingly, Revenue Regional Directors and others concerned are hereby advised that they are not under the law authorized to make assignments of collection men to assessment functions without the previous authority of this Office. In fact, under Section 12 of the National Internal Revenue Code, even assignments made by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue which involved the performance of duties other than those covered by the respective appointments of any personnel belonging to the Bureau of Internal Revenue need the prior approval of the Secretary of Finance. Accordingly, all previous Regional Memorandum Orders or Travel Assignment Orders made by Regional Directors involving assignments as hereinabove stated are hereby recalled and are of no force and effect. Personnel affected by those Regional assignments should, therefore, be returned to their respective positions and required to perform the duties appertaining thereto. cd Strict adherence to this Order is hereby enjoined. (SGD.) JOSE B. LINGAD Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue