IRS Provides Interim Guidance on Paperless SB/SE Process
AP-08-0321-0010
- Institutional AuthorsInternal Revenue Service
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- Tax Analysts Document Number2021-13102
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2021 TNTF 60-322021 TPR 14-12
Expiration Date: 03/22/2023
Affected IRMs: 8.2.1, 8.20.5, 8.20.6, 8.20.7
Date: March 22, 2021
MEMORANDUM FOR
APPEALS EMPLOYEES
FROM:
Steven M. Martin
Director, Case and Operations Support
SUBJECT:
Appeals Electronic Case Files Initiative (ECFI) for Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Field Examination Cases Pilot
This memorandum provides interim guidance for Appeals employees who are participating in the nationwide expanded pilot program to test the paperless process for unagreed cases received from SB/SE Field Examination. Specialty examination cases, and Employee Tax Compliance (ETC) cases are not included in the pilot program. Specialty examination cases involve cases under the Bank Secrecy Act program, employment tax, estate & gift tax, and excise tax. The Appeals ECFI for SB/SE Field Examination cases pilot program is a joint paperless initiative with SB/SE.
Please ensure that this information is distributed to all affected Appeals employees.
Purpose: This interim guidance provides the Appeals steps and procedures for the paperless Appeals ECFI for SB/SE Field Examination cases pilot program.
Background: Currently, SB/SE Field Examination maintains the administrative case file in paper form. Paper case files are shipped multiple times from function to function. Only the current holder of the physical file can access it. The current process is slow, costly and inflexible during emergencies such as pandemics and weather-related office closings. Further, the current process increases the risk of case file loss during shipping.
Appeals, in conjunction with SB/SE, is testing a paperless process to replace the current paper file system. Appeals is implementing this nationwide pilot program to test the paperless process for unagreed (non-docketed and docketed) cases received from approximately 19 SB/SE Field Examination groups. This will expand incrementally as more Field Examination groups are added to the pilot. Appeals will assess and refine the paperless process during the pilot program and then moving forward, along with SB/SE, fully implement a permanent paperless process for all cases originating from SB/SE Field Examination.
Instead of preparing a paper case file, SB/SE Field Examination will scan, upload and organize all relevant documents in an accessible format to Report Generation Software (RGS)/Correspondence Examination Automation Support (CEAS). SB/SE Field Examination will submit all new receipts included in this pilot through the Appeals Electronic Case Receipts (AECR) SharePoint site. The documentation, previously included in the physical case file used by Appeals, will now be accessed and viewed on RGS/Appeals CEAS View. A February 2021 update allows multiple documents to be downloaded at a time from Appeals CEAS View. Any Appeals generated documents and correspondence will be uploaded to the Appeals Centralized Database System (ACDS) by the Appeals employee. Closed cases will be stored electronically in ACDS.
The attachment below contains a step chart for Account and Processing Support (APS), Appeals Technical Employee (ATE) and Appeals Team Manager (ATM) procedures.
Effect on Other Documents: The temporary guidance is a deviation from the affected IRMs listed above, while this pilot is ongoing.
Effective Date: This guidance is effective as of the date of this memorandum and remains in effect through the end of the Appeals pilot program.
Procedural Change: See Attachment.
Contact: Appeals employees should follow existing procedures to elevate questions through their management chain and follow established procedures on How to Contact an Analyst.
Distribution:
cc: www.irs.gov
Attachment AP-08-0321-0010
Step Chart for the Appeals ECFI for SB/SE Field Examination Cases Pilot Program includes:
Returning case procedures to SB/SE Field Examination
APS carding procedures and ATM case assignment
AO working/closing procedures
ATM closing procedures
APS closing procedures
Returning case procedures to SB/SE Field Examination
Electronic case files received by APS with less than 365 days remaining on the assessment statute, will not be accepted by APS unless an exception applies (See IRM 8.20.5.3.1.2(2), Verifying Administrative File Contents). Electronic case files not meeting this criteria will be returned by APS via encrypted email to the Technical Services (TS) group manager, and alternate. See Technical Services Directory.
Do not attach the entire electronic case file to the encrypted email. Instead, APS will:
State "Short Statute Case" in the subject line and body of the email
List electronic case file identifying information (name, TIN, MFT, tax year(s), etc.)
Follow normal case procedures per IRM 8.20.7.52.1, Jurisdiction Released on Premature or Improper Referrals. Specifically:
Return Audit Information Management System (AIMS) controls to originating function
Attach Form 3210, Document Transmittal, identifying the earliest Assessment Statute Expiration Date (ASED) for each tax period being returned to originating function
Request that the TS group manager, or alternate, sign, date and return the Form 3210 to APS
Note: Follow IRM 10.5.1.6.8, Email, policy for encrypting all internal email messages that contain Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) data (including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and tax information) with IT-approved encryption technology including password-protected encrypted attachments.
If an ATE closes an electronic case as a premature referral, a Form 5402, Appeals Transmittal and Case Memo, will be prepared by the ATE following normal procedures. Upon receipt and processing of the Form 5402, APS will send the Form 5402 via encrypted email to the TS group manager, and alternate. See Technical Services Directory. The form includes all the information needed to identify the case and understand the reason(s) it was determined to be a premature referral.
If the taxpayer provided electronic records, as uploaded to ACDS by the ATE, the ATE will include a note in the Remarks block of the Form 5402 to alert APS of these records and the names of the specific files. APS will return these by encrypted email with the Form 5402 to the TS group manager, and alternate. See Technical Services Directory.
If the taxpayer provided paper records that were not uploaded to ACDS, the ATE will include a note in the Remarks section of the Form 5402 instructing the SB/SE field examiner to contact the ATE by encrypted email with the shipping address so that the paper records can be forwarded directly to them. Upon receipt of these paper records, the SB/SE field examiner will review and digitize the relevant documents.
TS maintains a listing of Technical Service Codes (TSCs) and the corresponding managers on the MySB/SE website.
APS carding procedures and ATM case assignment
APS will follow the normal case procedures for carding cases but will access the documentation from the Appeals Electronic Case Receipts (AECR) SharePoint site, instead of looking through a physical case file for the necessary information. The APS Processing Team Manager (PTM) will access the AECR SharePoint site and assign the case to an APS Tax Examiner (TE) on the AECR site.
Steps | APS Action: For protested non-docketed cases: |
---|---|
1 | For non-docketed cases, the APS Tax Examiner (TE) will access the AECR site page and the Case Carding Check Sheet attachment to create an ACDS Work Unit Number (WUNO) (Case Card). |
2 | TE enters ACDS Feature Code "PL" (paperless workstream) which generates a notification in ACDS 2.0 (in Notification and Tools) to the ATM when a new paperless case is available to assign. |
3 | ATM will review the case in Appeals CEAS View and assign case in ACDS to the Appeals Officer (AO). |
4 | The AO will be notified of a new case assignment in ACDS 2.0. |
| APS Action: For docketed cases: |
1 | For docketed cases, the TE will forward the case information required on Form 14758, Appeals/Counsel Routing Coversheet, (orange coversheet) to Counsel through the Counsel Client Referral SharePoint site. |
2 | Counsel will complete their work (e.g., Answer) and respond to APS through SharePoint. |
3 | TE enters ACDS Feature Code "PL" (paperless workstream) which generates a notification in ACDS 2.0 (in Notification and Tools) to the appropriate ATM when a new paperless case is available for assignment to an AO. |
The AO will follow IRM 8.2.1, IRM 8.2.2, and IRM 8.4.1 to work the case, but will access Appeals CEAS View to review the file documents.
AO working/closing procedures
Steps | ATE Action |
---|---|
1 | AO will be notified of a new case in ACDS 2.0. The AO will no longer receive a paper file. The AO will access the case in Appeals CEAS View and will review the documents. The AO will verify that ACDS feature code "PL" (for paperless) was entered in ACDS. If not, the AO adds this feature code. |
2 | AO will access Employee User Portal (EUP), IDRS (RTVUE/TRDBV) or AMS to obtain copies of tax returns if necessary. The AO will work the case using normal case procedures. |
3 | AO will scan, if necessary, and upload to ACDS any Appeals generated documents and correspondence, using the ACDS existing case file naming convention. For example, an Appeals Case Memorandum (ACM) is uploaded as WUNO-XXXXXXXXXX-ACM (using the actual case WUNO in place of the X's). Other attachments that are uploaded will have a brief descriptive name following the WUNO. |
4 | The AO will close the case to the ATM. |
After the AO uploads the required closing documents to ACDS and places the case in AC/FR status, the ATM will receive a notification in ACDS 2.0. The ATM will follow normal case closing procedures as listed below.
ATM closing procedures
Steps | ATM Actions |
---|---|
1 | Sign and date Form 5402 and any agreement form(s) (e.g, Form 870-AD). Sign the closing letter(s) if applicable. |
2 | Upload the signed and dated Form 5402, the agreement form(s) and the signed closing letter to ACDS. |
3 | Enter ACDS ACAP date. |
After the ATM enters the ACAP date, it will generate an ACDS 2.0 Paperless Notification to the APS PTM. The PTM will assign the case to a TE for final processing. Each TE will identify the ECFI paperless case using their ACDS 2.0 Paperless Notifications. The TE will follow the established closing procedures under IRM 8.20.7 including performing the Appeals feedback loop procedures along with the items below.
APS closing procedures
Steps | APS Actions |
---|---|
1 | Appeals assessments to IDRS will have a Document Locator Number (DLN) with blocking series 77X to identify them as electronic. |
2 | If the case is agreed/settled and non-docketed:
|
3 | If the case is unagreed and non-docketed:
If the taxpayer doesn't petition the Tax Court:
If the taxpayer petitions the Tax Court:
|
4 | If the case is agreed/settled and docketed:
|
5 | If the case is unagreed and docketed:
|
6 | If the case is selected for Appeals Quality Measurement System (AQMS):
|
- Institutional AuthorsInternal Revenue Service
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- Tax Analysts Document Number2021-13102
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2021 TNTF 60-322021 TPR 14-12