5.4.13. General CCP and Clerical Procedures

(1) IRM 5.4.13, Case Processing, General CCP Procedures, contains procedures, guidance, and information for campus collection operations tax examining technicians. The content includes procedures for taxpayer authenticity, inputting miscellaneous transaction codes, entity changes, and provides the necessary steps tax examining clerks must take to ensure all CCP incoming mail and pull requests are completed correctly and forwarded to the correct function for processing.

(1) IRM 1.2.1.6.1, Policy Statement 5-1, Enforcement is a necessary component of a voluntary assessment system

(2) IRM 1.2.1.6.2, Policy Statement 5-2, Collecting Principles

(3) IRC 6159, Agreements for Payment of Tax Liability In Installments

(4) IRC 6103, Confidentiality and Disclosure of Returns and Return Information

(5) The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (IRS RRA 98), Section 3705(a), provides identification requirements for all IRS employees working tax related matters

(6) Taxpayer Bill of Rights, IRC 7803 (a)(3)

(1) The Director, Collection Policy, is the executive responsible for the policies and procedures in this IRM.

(2) The operations manager is responsible for managing campus collection activities including telephone, correspondence and systemic transactions, following the procedures in this IRM. They oversee department, team and employee responses to revenue officer requests, inquiries and responses concerning balances due.

(3) The department manager is responsible for overseeing team and employee responses to revenue officer requests for processing and inquiries, along with responses concerning systemic transactions, following the procedures in this IRM. They oversee team and employee actions to resolve balance due accounts owed by taxpayers.

(4) The team manager is responsible for overseeing employee responses to revenue officer requests for processing and inquires, along with responses concerning systemic transactions, following the procedures in this IRM. They oversee team and employee actions to resolve balance due accounts owed by taxpayers and clerical staff to sort, batch, ship, and retire case files to the appropriate function.

(1) Program Reports: The following daily and weekly reports are generated by management, and can assist with evaluating the performance of the balance due program:

• Embedded Quality Review System (EQRS) Reports

• National Quality Review Systems (NQRS) reports

• Week at a Glance Reports (WAAG)

• Monthly Monitoring Report (MMR)

• Work Planning & Control (WP&C) Reports

• Case Control Activity System (CCA) Reports

• Accounts Management System (AMS)

• Integrated Collection System (ICS)

• Overage Report Compiler and Sorter (ORCAS)

• CCP Mistle Report

(2) Program Effectiveness: The program results are housed on the Collection Program and Campus Reports SharePoint site in the Monthly Monitoring Report (MMR). The MMR captures NQRS results to show monthly and cumulative stats. Evaluative (EQRS) and national (NQRS) Quality reviews and consistency reviews are routinely conducted, along with Headquarters reviews to ensure case actions are timely and in accordance with the procedures in this IRM.

(1) Managers are required to follow program management procedures and controls addressed in:

• IRM 1.4.1, Management Roles and Responsibilities

• IRM 1.4.2, Monitoring and Improving Internal Controls

• IRM 1.4.55, SBSE Campus Collection Support Manager’s Guide

(2) Managers conduct workload reviews to ensure compliance with this IRM.

(3) The department and operations managers perform operational reviews annually to evaluate program delivery, conformance to administrative requirements and ensure compliance with this IRM.

(4) Headquarters Collection, Collection Policy, Campus Policy and Collection Campus Operations conduct program reviews as necessary to verify compliance with IRM requirements, address TIGTA/GAO findings, and address any trends that appear.

(5) ENTITY is the Workload Management System (WMS) used by Collection managers to extract and organize information about case activity and casework quality from ICS.

(6) Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) programming ensures that all revenue officer requests for terminal input are consistent with current account balances and status indicators.

(1) For a comprehensive listing of IRS acronyms, please refer to the Acronym database found at https://rnet.web.irs.gov/Resources/Acronymdb.aspx

(2) Below is a list of commonly used acronyms and definitions found in this IRM.

(1) Here is a listing of some helpful IRM resources:

(1) The IAT Disclosure Tool assists the user in verifying the identity of a caller and determining if the caller is authorized to receive confidential tax information or represent the taxpayer. The Disclosure Tool is accessed from the IAT Task Manager (ITM) toolbar.

(2) If the caller is a revenue officer (RO) - Request RO’s name and ID number. Request the following from the revenue officer about the taxpayer:

1. Tax Identification Number (TIN) --- (Social Security Number (SSN), Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), or Employer Identification Number (EIN).

2. Name – as it appears on the tax return for the tax period(s) in question.

(3) If the caller is a taxpayer – Repeat Callers for Manually Monitor Installment Agreement (MMIA)/In-Business Trust Fund (IBTF)/Part Pay Installment Agreement (PPIA) (Non-Mandatory 2-year follow-up review) – IMF, request the following information:

1. TIN - SSN, ITIN, or EIN – If the taxpayer is inquiring about an IMF jointly filed return, only one TIN is necessary, preferably the primary number.

2. Secondary TIN may be required if the primary is unavailable, or for use as an additional authentication check.

3. Name as it appears on the tax return for the tax period(s) in question, including spouse’s name for joint IMF, or Doing Business As (DBA) for BMF Sole Proprietor/Partnership.

   Note: If the caller is unable to provide "a" or "b", and "c" above, advise the caller that we are unable to disclose the information and terminate the call.

4. Current Address including zip code – If taxpayer fails to provide the correct address of record, but correctly responds to all of the other items (IMF – name, SSN), you may request additional taxpayer authentication pursuant to IRM 21.1.3.2.4, Additional Taxpayer Authentication. If you are unable to verify address on IDRS, request address as it appears on the last tax return or as modified by IRS records.

   Note: If you are in doubt of the validity of the caller, conduct full disclosure; refer to IRM 21.1.3.2.3, Required Taxpayer Authentication and IRM 21.1.3.2.4, Additional Taxpayer Authentication.

(4) If the taxpayer calls for PPIA (Mandatory 2-year follow-up review), request the following:

1. TIN - SSN, ITIN, or EIN – If the taxpayer is inquiring about an IMF jointly filed return, only one TIN is necessary, preferably the primary number.

2. Secondary TIN may be required is the primary is unavailable, or for use as an additional authentication check.

3. Name – as it appears on the tax return for the tax period(s) in question, including spouse’s name for joint IMF, or Doing Business As (DBA) for BMF Sole Proprietor/Partnership.

   Note: If the caller is unable to provide "a" or "b", and "c" above, advise the caller that we are unable to disclose the information and terminate the call.

4. Current Address including zip code – If taxpayer fails to provide the correct address of record, but correctly responds to all of the other items (IMF – name, SSN, filing status and date of birth), you may request additional taxpayer authentication pursuant to IRM 21.1.3.2.4, Additional Taxpayer Authentication.

5. Date of Birth (DOB) of primary or secondary taxpayer (IMF)—If the taxpayer fails the DOB probe, but correctly responds to all other items above (name, SSN, address and filing status), you may request additional taxpayer authentication pursuant to IRM 21.1.3.2.4, Additional Taxpayer Authentication.

   Note: If there is a discrepancy with the DOB on IRS records (CC INOLE) but you are confident (taxpayer has passed authentication requirements) you are speaking with the taxpayer, advise the taxpayer to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 1-800-772-1213 to correct the error.

(5) The IRS may work directly with a taxpayer with a POA to resolve an issue on the taxpayer’s account. If the taxpayer initiates the contact expressing a specific desire to resolve the issue without the involvement of the power of attorney, advise the taxpayer of the current representations. The taxpayer’s decision not use their representative (per Centralized Authorization File (CAF) for that tax period and form) to resolve the issue must be properly documented on AMS.

• Third party designees (check box authority) and unauthorized third parties do not have the authority to enter the taxpayer into an extension or a formal installment agreement.

• Always check the authority level of a valid Power of Attorney, per CC RFINK and CFINQ, before granting an extension or an installment agreement.

(6) For required BMF Taxpayer Authentication, see IRM 21.1.3.2.3, Required Taxpayer Authentication, and obtain the following information:

1. TIN - EIN, SSN, ITIN

   Note: If the customer is unable to provide the TIN but correctly responds to the name probe, request additional authentication. See IRM 21.1.3.2.4 , Additional Taxpayer Authentication . For example, a previously issued EIN that has not been recently used or an EIN that was recently assigned.

2. Name of Company – Full Name on Return (including DBA or Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). See IRM 11.3.2.4 , Persons Who May Have Access to Returns and Return Information Pursuant to IRC 6103(e).

   Caution: If the caller is inquiring about multiple tax periods and MFT's you must be certain that the individual is authorized to receive information on each tax period and MFT.

3. Current address including Zip Code - If taxpayer fails to provide the correct address of record, you may request additional taxpayer authentication pursuant to IRM 21.1.3.2.4, Additional Taxpayer Authentication.

4. The caller's position with Company.

   Note: For further BMF Taxpayer Authentication probes use the Technical Communication Document (TCD) 0143 in SERP. This shows you the authorization to disclose information to different entities e.g. Sole proprietor, Partnership, Corporations / S Corporations, etc.

5. Are you legally binding, for the Company? Are you able to sign the return?

   Note: TP must respond "yes" to both questions. If TP is unable to respond "yes" then let them know, you are unable to disclose information to them.

(1) When responding to a third party (anyone other than the taxpayer), who indicates they have a third party authorization on file, complete the appropriate search. For POA and TIA, research the Centralized Authorization File (CAF) using CC CFINK before providing any tax account information. See IRM 21.1.3.3 , Third Party (POA/TIA/F706) Authentication - and IRM 21.1.3.3.2, Oral Disclosure Consent/Oral TIA (Paperless F8821).

(2) To verify that the caller is an authorized third party of the taxpayer, research the CAF. In order to research the CAF, you need the following information:

1. Taxpayer’s Name

2. Taxpayer’s TIN

3. Third Party’s Name

4. Third Party’s Number (also known as: Rep number, CAF number)

5. Tax Period(s) in Question

6. Tax Form(s) in Question

(3) If the caller does not have their CAF number available, request their name and address and use this information to verify that the caller is CAF authorized to receive the requested information.

(4) Do not provide the CAF number shown on RPINK or CFINK to the caller if you are unable to authenticate the caller. Advise them that you will mail the CAF number to the POA address of record. Use the IAT Letter tool to send Letter 1727-C," Power of Attorney Representative Number".

(5) If the caller states that their CAF number is lost, advise them that you will mail the CAF number to the third party address of record.

(6) See IRM 21.3.7.6.1, Form 706 Screening, Coding and Editing, and IRM 21.3.7.6.2, Processing of Form 706 for Form 706 and IRM 21.3.7.5.2, Form 2848 and form 8821 Screening, Coding and Editing, and IRM 21.3.7.5.3, Form 2848 and Form 8821 Research and Processing for Form(s) 2848 and 8821., to research:

1. CAF

2. Form 2848 - Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative (POA)

3. Form 8821 - Tax Information Authorization (TIA)

4. Oral Form 8821- (Oral TIA)

5. Form 706 - Estate Tax Return (Processed as POA)

6. Limited or one time authority POA (Specific Use Authorization)

7. Civil Penalty authorizations see paragraph (7) below.

(7) Civil Penalty and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) authorizations are posted into the CAF and can be researched as follows:

1. IMF -- Master File Transaction - MFT 55

2. BMF -- MFT 13

3. NMF -- MFT 51

4. TFRP -- MFT 55

(8) For additional CAF authentication information on Civil Penalties (Form 8278, Assessment and Abatement of Miscellaneous Civil Penalties), and TFRP ( Form 2749, Request for Trust Fund Recovery Penalty Assessment(s)), see IRM 21.3.7.8.2, Civil Penalty Authorizations.

(9) For additional authentication information on Form 8821, see IRM 11.3.3, Disclosure to Designees and Practitioners.

(10) For authenticating an Oral Disclosure Consent (ODC) designee, research TXMOD history items. You need to know the form and tax period in question, along with the following:

1. Taxpayer's name

2. Taxpayer's TIN

3. Third party name

4. Third party phone number

(1) Stamp incoming paper receipts with the date received. A Form 3210 (Document Transmittal) must be attached to the new receipts. Stamp the transmittal with the received date, verify and sign that the work was received on the Form 3210. Return a signed acknowledgement copy of the transmittal, within 7 business days, to the originator via EFax or scan/email. In the rare circumstance electronic routing is unavailable (e.g. no fax number provided by originator), mail the Acknowledgement Copy to the originator in a double-stuffed envelope in the event the first envelope gets damaged.

(2) Maintain copy of Form 3210, Refer to Document 12990, IRS Records Control Schedules (RCS) 28, Item 26 for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) approved Form 3210, Document Transmittal retention and disposition requirement.

(3) Follow procedures in IRM 21.7.7.6.27, Discovered Remittance Guidelines, and IRM 3.8.46.1, Discovered Remittances, for any discovered remittance.

(4) Sort work into the following categories:

(5) Utilize the IAT SBSE DM Batcher Tool for batching all CCP case work. Manual batching should only be done when the tool is not available/functional. For additional information, see IAT Job Aids https://irsgov.sharepoint.com/sites/IAT.

(1) When assigning inventory and controlling all CCP case work utilize the IAT SBSE DM Batcher Tool. Manual controlling should only be done when the tool is not available/functional. For additional information, see IAT Job Aids https://irsgov.sharepoint.com/sites/IAT.

(2) To control cases on a specific account using CC ACTON, you must determine:

1. Status Code, for example, "A", "C", "M" . See Document 6209, Sec. 14-8, Case History Status Codes.

2. Control Category Codes, for example, IRRQ, SPC1, OTHE, SIXD, SPC3, and 195E. See Document 6209, Sec. 14-9, Category Codes.

3. Unit profile number.

(3) Control each case to the assigned unit profile number on IDRS using ACTON. See IRM 2.3.12.3, Case Control Using Command Code ACTON.

(4) Enter the correct IRS Receive Date when controlling the case. See IRM 21.5.1.4.2.4, Received Date - Determination.

(5) Case assignment is usually on specific TXMODs. However, the following Forms must be controlled on ENMOD:

1. Installment Agreements - Form 433-D, Form 2159, or Form 4844, if request is for IA revision or Continuous Wage Levy (CWL).

2. TC 130 requests

3. Address changes -Form 2363 or Form 3177.

4. Name changes - Form 2363 or Form 3177.

   Note: If the tax period identified is not on SUMRY control the case on ENMOD. Control one tax period per form. If there is no data on SUMRY or ENMOD, notate "No Data".

(1) Completed electronic case work will be forwarded via email, to Program Analysis System (PAS) Quality. CCP employees are responsible for updating the subject line, to properly identify the contents as classified waste (CW) or source document (SD).

(2) CCP employees will follow local procedures for electronic routing of source documents to the CCP clerical function. Clerks will print SDs from the applicable mailbox, and route them to campus files within five (5) workdays of input. See IRM 21.5.2.4.24, Shipment of Source Documents.

(3) Re-routes are considered completed work for CCP clerical function. CCP employees must follow local procedures for electronic routing of specific cases. Case work that cannot be routed electronically, must be physically re-routed by the clerical function. Re-routes are not to be forwarded to PAS for quality sampling. See IRM 21.10.1.3.3.1, Selecting the Quality Sample.

(4) CCP technical teams must follow interim procedures for electronic routing of statute cases to the designated point of contacts within Accounts Management Statute function, for review.

(5) Form 3210 and a Form 9814 must be utilized when routing paper cases outside the Campus. All interoffice paper case re-routes should be distributed using a local routing slip.

(6) Monitor suspense files to ensure acknowledgement is received per IRM 3.13.62.8.2, Suspense Copies, Form 3210. If no reply is received within 20 workdays contact the receiving office and notate the follow-up on the form. Additional information in preparing the form can be found in IRM 3.13.62.8.1, Form 3210 Document Transmittal.

(1) The following guidance addresses various clerical procedures related to CCP mail and case file research and processing.

(1) If the following cases are erroneously received for closed case processing, reroute them to the appropriate function as follows:

1. TFRP Cases – Return to the originator. See IRM 5.7.10.2, Automated Trust Fund Recovery.

2. IBTF Cases – Route cases not marked "Closed" or "Completed" to the CCP MMIA function.

3. CWL (Continuous Wage Levy), DDIA (Direct Debit Installment Agreements) or Pre-Assessed IA – Route cases not marked "Closed" or "Completed" to the CCP MMIA function.

4. TC 914 (Criminal Investigation Cases), Route cases not marked "Closed" or "Completed" to CCP FORT function.

(1) The Junior program is an inventory system designed to track closed case files for Case Processing. This database allows user to know at a glance the location and status of a closed case file, whether it is sitting in a box in CCP’s designated housing area in Philadelphia, or in a box in one of the 14 Federal Record Centers (FRC), Exhibit 5.4.13-1 , or in the hands of another agency such as Government Accountability Office (GAO).

(2) A closed case in Junior has basically five stages during its life in the system:

1. NEW: When a closed case file comes to Philadelphia that has never been input into JUNIOR, this case is considered to be a NEW case to JUNIOR. The clerk has two options. First, if no customer [e.g., GAO] has requested the closed case file, then the case is input into JUNIOR and placed into a designated cardboard box (BOXED). Second, if a customer has requested the case, then it is shipped out without first going into a box (SHIPPED).

2. BOXED: When a closed case is sitting in a box in Philadelphia, its fate is twofold. First, it may be requested by a customer (e.g., an RO), and shipped out (SHIPPED). Second, the box in which the case is sitting is sealed and shipped to Philadelphia’s FRC (STORED).

3. SHIPPED: When a closed case file has been sent to a customer, it remains with the customer until they decide to return it to Philadelphia. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, it is returned to a new cardboard box (BOXED).

4. STORED: At set intervals, a predetermined set of boxes are sealed and shipped to the FRC in Philadelphia for storage. The boxes, containing closed cases, remain at the FRC until a particular closed case is needed. At that time, the FRC ships out a closed case to Philadelphia, who in turn ships it out to the customer that requested it in the first place. The closed case then goes from STORED status to SHIPPED status. If the closed case sits in the FRC beyond the destroy date (usually 3 years from date of storage), then the physical case is destroyed.

5. ARCHIVED: Once a closed case in the database, no matter its state, has exceeded four (4) years in age (from the creation date), the record data is moved to an archive table and can no longer be viewed by the user.

(1) Cases are shipped to the Federal Records Center once preparation has been completed.

(2) CNC and Mixed boxes are shipped separately.

(3) Request accession numbers for each box type through Facilities using a SF 135 (Standard Form). This form can be found on the Disclosure and Privacy Knowledge Base site, SF 135.

(4) The clerical manager is responsible for the following:

• Requesting approval from Privacy, Governmental Liaison & Disclosure (PGLD) for a new shipment

• Providing the accessioning information to the designated clerks, needed for packaging

• Contacting PGLD when the shipment is ready for pick-up

• Ensuring the request to move boxes, through Logistics Services Contract (LSC), is established and processed

• Communicating the ticket information to all required parties including CCP management staff, PGLD Records and Information Management (RIM), and your local Records Specialist.

  Note: For a listing of local Records Specialist refer to the Disclosure and Privacy Knowledge Base site, Records Specialist. Also, refer to IRM 1.15.4, Retiring and Requesting Records, and the PGLD Records and Information Management (RIM) SharePoint for guidance at PGLD Records and Information Management (RIM).

(5) Enter accession numbers on each box (e.g. 1 of 10) then place box reports in each individual box.

(6) Boxes are folded closed and placed in box number order on pallets with 50 boxes on each.

(7) Boxes are transported to the FRC through Facilities using "pallets".

(8) Accession number sheets are taped on the four corners of the outside of each pallet.

(9) FRC will return the SF 135 through Facilities with location numbers after they have completed the accessioning process, via email.

(10) Update the Junior System using the "Global Update Menu" with the FRC information.

(1) Request for retrieval of closed cases from the FRC should be sent through secured e-mail or fax using a Form OF-11, "Request for Closed Case Form", https://www.archives.gov/frc/forms.

(2) Cases closed subsequent to May 2010 that are maintained in the Junior System. Research the case on the Junior System using the Search Menu. See (5) and (6) below.

(3) If the case is still being stored at the Philadelphia Campus, pull the case, update the "Box Report" and the Junior System; using the Input Menu, indicating where the case was sent. See (5) and (6) below.

(4) Research the appropriate database to locate the requested case. Exhibit 5.4.13-1, for a listing of available databases and where the closed case records are serviced.

(5) To retrieve cases from a Federal Records Center (FRC), prepare a Form OF-11, https://www.archives.gov/frc/forms (Optional Form) and send the request to the designated Records Specialist in PGLD. Do not contact the FRC directly or Facilities Management and Security Services (FMSS). The FRC will send the requested case to the individual requesting the case within 10 business days.

(6) E-mail the status of the request to the originator using secured E-mail.

(1) NQRS replaces the Collection Quality Management System (CQMS).

(2) Per IRM 5.13.1.9.1 Collection Quality staff pulls Field Collection closed cases virtually on a weekly basis off ICS. Randomly selected closed cases will be placed on a sample template.