Prescribing the Use of the Revised Letter of Authority Form (BIR Form 19.65) and the Issuance of a Termination Letter in Lieu of the Letter of Confirmation

September 12, 1983 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 28-83 SUBJECT : Prescribing the Use of the Revised Letter of Authority Form (BIR Form 19.65) and the Issuance of a Termination Letter in Lieu of the Letter of Confirmation TO : All Revenue Service Chiefs, Regional Directors, Revenue District Officers, Revenue Examiners and All Others Concerned I. PURPOSE In line with announced policies for a more progressive tax administration geared towards a clearer definition of responsibility for the issuance of letters of authority to investigate tax cases, and a more effective supervision of the reporting and disposition of tax investigations, the following policies and procedures are hereby promulgated for compliance by all concerned: II. POLICIES A. The Letter of Authority Form revised in 1981 is prescribed for use as soon as the supply of the old letters of authority is exhausted. cd B. Letters of Authority shall be issued only by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or the Deputy Commissioners in accordance with the delegation of authority prescribed in RMO 6-81 dated March 31, 1981 or by other officials authorized by the Commissioner for Investigating Units in the National Office and by the Revenue Regional Directors in the Regional Offices. C. The issuance of Confirmation Letters prescribed under RMC 27-67 dated July 1, 1967 is hereby disauthorized. Instead, an appropriate Termination Letter (samples attached) shall be issued upon approval of the Report of Investigation submitted by the Investigating examiner. D. All existing procedures on the printing, custody, requisitioning and distribution of Letters of Authority shall continue to be in effect except the following: 1. Blank forms of letters of authority being accountable forms shall be in the custody of the Accountable Forms Division. 2. All requisitions of the form shall be addressed to the Chief, Accountable Forms Division. 3. The Accountable Forms Division shall maintain a permanent Record Book wherein issuance of the blank forms shall be recorded. The Record Book shall contain the following information: 1) Date of Requisition 2) Requisitioning office 3) Name & designation of Requisitioning Officer 4) Serial numbers of the letters issued III. PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES A. Issuance of Letters of Authority 1. Letters of Authority shall be prepared in the Audit Divisions in the National Office and in the Revenue District Offices in the Regional Offices. 2. Only one Letter of Authority shall be issued for the verification of the income and business tax liabilities of a taxpayer. 3. The Authority to investigate income and business tax liabilities of a taxpayer may be issued to only one examiner. However, where the complexity of a tax case so warrants, two or more examiners may be authorized to conduct the tax investigation. 4. The years for which the authority is issued shall be specified. However, the phrase "and all uninvestigated prior years" may be used in cases where the unverified years cannot be determined from the records of the investigating units. 5. The name and designation of the Division Chief or the Revenue District Officer concerned shall be indicated in the space provided at the bottom of the form under the caption "Important". 6. Erasures shall render the Letter of Authority null and void. 7. Letters of Authority shall be served to the taxpayer within thirty days from the date of issue. Reports of investigation on a tax case shall be submitted within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of issuance of the letter of authority. In case the final report cannot be completed within the required period, a progress report shall be submitted and the letter of authority shall be returned for revalidation. acd Letters of authority issued to a Revenue Examiner shall not, at any given time, be more than ten in the case of examiners in the investigating divisions in the National Office and twenty in the case of those in the revenue district offices. IV. REPEALING CLAUSE All revenue memorandum orders, revenue memorandum circulars and other issuances, or provisions thereof, which are inconsistent herewith are hereby revoked or amended accordingly. Strict compliance herewith is enjoined. (SGD.) RUBEN B. ANCHETA Acting Commissioner