Rp 97-19

SECTION 9. DEFINITIONS
Except as otherwise provided in this
revenue procedure, the following terms
have the meaning given to them by Rev.
Proc. 92–20:
Under examination (See section 3.02
of Rev. Proc. 92–20);
Year of change (See section 3.03 of
Rev. Proc. 92–20); and
Filed (See section 3.04 of Rev. Proc.
92–20).

SECTION 9—ADMINISTRATIVE
REVIEW AND APPEAL PROCESS
FOR DENIAL OF DESIGNATION
SECTION 10—SPECIAL RULES
SECTION 11—ADVERTISING
STANDARDS FOR DESIGNATED
DELIVERY SERVICES
SECTION 12—MONITORING OF
DESIGNATED DELIVERY SERVICES
AND REVOCATION PROCEDURES

SECTION 10. EFFECT ON OTHER
REVENUE PROCEDURES

SECTION 13—EFFECTIVE DATE

Rev. Proc. 85–8, 1985–1 C.B. 495, is
modified.

SECTION 14—PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT

SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 15—DRAFTING
INFORMATION

This revenue procedure is effective
only for accounting method changes by
a bank for which the 1997 tax year is
the year of change.
DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal authors of this revenue
procedure are Laura Howell of the Office of Assistant Chief Counsel
(Passthroughs and Special Industries)
and Nicholas Bogos of the Office of
Assistant Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products). For further information regarding this revenue procedure,
contact Ms. Howell at (202) 622–3060
or Mr. Bogos at (202) 622–3920 (not
toll-free calls).
26 CFR 301.7502–1: Timely mailing treated as
timely filing.

Rev. Proc. 97–19
CONTENTS
SECTION 1—PURPOSE
SECTION 2—BACKGROUND
SECTION 3—SCOPE
SECTION 4—CRITERIA FOR
DESIGNATION
SECTION 5—CONTENT OF
APPLICATION
SECTION 6—APPLICATION
ADDRESSES
SECTION 7—APPLICATION
PERIODS
SECTION 8—NOTIFICATION OF
DESIGNATION

SECTION 1. PURPOSE
This revenue procedure provides the
criteria that will be used during the
interim period (defined in section 3.01
of this revenue procedure) to determine
whether a private delivery service
(‘‘PDS’’) qualifies as a designated private delivery service (‘‘designated
PDS’’) under § 7502(f) of the Internal
Revenue Code. This revenue procedure
also provides the procedures under
which a PDS can apply to become a
designated PDS during the interim period.
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 Generally, a document is considered filed when it is received. See, e.g.,
Emmons v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 342,
345–47 (1989), aff’d, 898 F.2d 50 (5th
Cir. 1990) (tax returns were filed on the
date received because § 7502 did not
apply). Section 7502 provides special
rules that apply when a document is
required to be filed (or a payment is
required to be made) within a prescribed
period or on or before a prescribed date
under the authority of any provision of
the internal revenue laws. These rules
can apply to documents filed at offices
of the Internal Revenue Service (‘‘Service’’) as well as the United States Tax
Court.
.02 Section 7502(a) provides the general rule that if a document (or payment) is delivered by the United States
mail after the due date in a postage
prepaid, properly addressed envelope,
then the date of the United States postmark is deemed to be the date of
delivery (or the date of payment) if the
date of the postmark is on or before the

55

due date. (See § 7502(e) for special
rules regarding the mailing of deposits.)
.03 Section
7502(c)
and
§§ 301.7502–1(c)(2) and (d)(1) of the
Procedure and Administration Regulations provide the rules applicable to
registered and certified mail. If a document or payment is sent by registered
mail, the date of the registration is
treated as the postmark date. If a document or payment is sent by certified
mail, the date of the postmark on the
sender’s receipt is treated as the postmark date. Proof of proper registration
of a document, or that a postmark
certified mail sender’s receipt was properly issued for a document, is prima
facie evidence of delivery of that document. For payments sent by registered
or certified mail, however, proof of
proper registration of an item, or that a
postmark certified mail sender’s receipt
was properly issued for an item, is not
prima facie evidence of delivery.
.04 Section 7502(d) provides exceptions to the general rule of § 7502. The
special filing and payment rules of
§ 7502 do not apply to the following:
(1) documents filed in, or payments
made to, any court other than the United
States Tax Court;
(2) currency or other medium of payment unless actually received and accounted for; and
(3) documents or payments that are
required to be delivered by any method
other than by mailing.
.05 Section 1210 of the Taxpayer Bill
of Rights 2, Pub. L. No. 104–168, 110
Stat. 1452, 1474–1475 (1996), amended
§ 7502 by adding subsection (f). Prior
to the amendment, the ‘‘timely mailing
as timely filing/paying’’ rule of
§ 7502(a) could not apply to documents
and payments delivered other than by
United States mail. Section 7502(f) authorizes the Service to expand the
‘‘timely mailing as timely filing/paying’’
rule to documents and payments delivered by certain PDSs. A PDS must be
designated by the Service before it will
qualify for the ‘‘timely mailing as
timely filing/paying’’ rule. Section
7502(f) also grants the Service authority
to accept the equivalent of registered or
certified mail services from designated
PDSs.
.06 In Announcement 96–108,
1996–44 I.R.B. 15, the Service invited
comments, and provided notice of a
public hearing, with respect to developing interim criteria for designating PDSs
for purposes of the ‘‘timely mailing as
timely filing/paying’’ rule of § 7502. A

public hearing was held on December 6,
1996. All comments were considered
during the drafting of this revenue procedure. The comments will also be
considered during the drafting of permanent guidance.
SECTION 3. SCOPE
.01 This revenue procedure provides
the rules for designating a PDS during
the interim period. The interim period
begins on February 25, 1997, and ends
on the date on which the Service issues
guidance superseding this revenue procedure.
.02 This revenue procedure provides
rules applicable for designation solely
for purposes of § 7502(f)(2). During the
interim period, there will be no designation for purposes of § 7502(f)(3) (services that are equivalent to United
States registered or certified mail).
.03 Designation will be determined
with respect to each type of delivery
service offered by a PDS (e.g., next
business morning delivery, next business
day delivery, etc.).
.04 PDSs will not be designated until
the time specified in section 8.01 of this
revenue procedure. Until such designation is announced, the ‘‘timely mailing
as timely filing/paying’’ rule of § 7502
is available only with respect to items
sent by United States mail.
SECTION 4. CRITERIA FOR
DESIGNATION
The following criteria must be satisfied for each type of delivery service for
which designation is sought.
.01 The delivery service offered must
be available to the general public.
.02 The delivery service offered must
be at least as timely and reliable on a
regular basis as United States First-Class
Mail.
.03 The delivery service offered must
provide for the recording or marking of
the date on which an item was given to
the PDS for delivery (the ‘‘received
date’’) under one of the following methods.
(1) The PDS must record electronically to its data base (kept in the regular
course of its business) the received date
and enter into, and comply with, a
written agreement with the Service that
addresses the period for which such data
must be maintained and the terms and
conditions under which the Service will
be provided with such data.
(2) The PDS must indelibly mark the
received date on the cover of the item

so that it is readable by the human eye
without mechanical assistance. A method
does not qualify if only the sender or
the sender’s agent (instead of the PDS)
marks the received date.
.04 The delivery service offered must
provide for delivery to all street addresses within the United States to
which documents and payments subject
to § 7502 must be sent (e.g., all Service
offices and the United States Tax
Court).
.05 The delivery service offered must
have established security procedures that
prevent unauthorized access to the contents of an item by any person (e.g.,
employees, contractors/agents, and third
parties).
.06 The name of the PDS and the
type of delivery service being used must
always be clearly identified on each
item delivered by the PDS to an office
described in § 7502.
.07 The PDS must comply with all
requirements of the Private Express
Statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 1693–1699 and
39 U.S.C. §§ 601– 606). (See generally
39 C.F.R. Parts 310 and 320.)
SECTION 5. CONTENT OF
APPLICATION
.01 To receive designation, a PDS
must submit a written application. If a
PDS uses a single application to request
designation with respect to more than
one type of delivery service it offers, the
PDS must include all of the required
information for each type of delivery
service.
.02 The application must include the
name and address of the principal place
of business of the PDS and the name
and telephone number of a contact person.
.03 The application must describe
how the PDS satisfies each of the
requirements of section 4 of this revenue procedure. In particular, an application should address the following topics.
(1) In addressing the requirement under section 4.02 of this revenue procedure, the PDS should discuss whether it
guarantees delivery within the time
specified for the type of delivery service
and, if so, it should provide information
on that program.
(2) In addressing the requirement under section 4.03 of this revenue procedure, the PDS must discuss its recording
or marking procedures, including the
security procedures that prevent falsification of the recording or marking of

56

the received date. The PDS must also
submit an example of a cover of an
item. If the PDS is applying for qualification under section 4.03(1), it must
describe its current data storage periods
and all of the methods it currently
provides for senders or recipients to
obtain information concerning the received date (e.g., toll-free telephone
number, Internet access, software/
modem connection).
(3) In addressing the requirement under section 4.04 of this revenue procedure, the PDS must discuss how often
and under what circumstances it uses
contractors/agents in providing nationwide delivery.
(4) In addressing the requirement under section 4.07 of this revenue procedure, the PDS must include a statement
that it certifies it is in compliance and
will remain in compliance.
.04 A PDS should identify any information within its application that it
considers to be confidential trade secrets.
.05 The application must include the
following statement:
Under the penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this application and any accompanying information,
and to the best of my knowledge and
belief it is true, correct, and complete.
This applicant will provide prompt written notification to the Service if any
application information changes during
the time it is under consideration for
designation. This applicant will comply
with all of the provisions of Rev. Proc.
97–19 during the time it is a designated
private delivery service if it is designated during the interim period. I understand that noncompliance will result in
the revocation of designation. I am
authorized to make and sign this statement on behalf of this applicant.
.06 The application must be signed
and dated by an authorized official of
the private delivery service (not the
applicant’s representative) who has personal knowledge of the application information and whose duties are not
limited to making the application. A
stamped signature is not permitted.
.07 A PDS must submit an original
and two copies of its application.
SECTION 6. APPLICATION
ADDRESSES
A PDS may submit its written application by either mailing it to:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: Chief, Taxpayer Service T
Room 3408
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20044,
or hand delivering it between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to:
Courier’s Desk
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: Chief, Taxpayer Service T
Room 3408
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
SECTION 7. APPLICATION PERIODS
.01 During the interim period, there
will be an initial application period and
subsequent application periods.
(1) The initial application period ends
on March 14, 1997.
(2) Subsequent application periods
will end on each June 30th and December 31st thereafter.
.02 Once a PDS is designated, it does
not need to reapply during the interim
period unless it desires to receive designation with respect to a new type of
delivery service it offers.
SECTION 8. NOTIFICATION OF
DESIGNATION
.01 After reviewing those applications
filed during the initial application period, the Service anticipates that by
March 31, 1997, it will issue the first
notice that lists the PDSs that are designated under these interim procedures.
That notice will specify the period during which the designated PDSs will be
designated. This period will not begin
earlier than the date the notice is issued,
and the period may begin either on the
date the notice is issued or shortly
thereafter. Except as provided in section
12 of this revenue procedure, this period
will not end earlier than March 1, 1998,
regardless of the time permanent guidance is issued.
.02 The Service will issue additional
notices providing a revised list of the
designated PDSs on or before September 1st and March 1st of each year of
the interim period.
.03 In unusual circumstances, the
Service may issue additional notices at
other times. (See, for example, section
12.06 of this revenue procedure.)
SECTION 9. ADMINISTRATIVE
REVIEW AND APPEAL PROCESS
FOR DENIAL OF DESIGNATION
.01 A PDS that has been denied designation has the right to an administra-

tive review and appeal. During the administrative review and appeal process,
the denial of designation remains in
effect.
.02 If the Service has denied designation with respect to any type of delivery
service offered by a PDS, the Service
will issue a letter of denial that explains
to the applicant why the Service rejected
the request for designation.
.03 An applicant that receives a letter
of denial may obtain administrative review by mailing or delivering, within 30
calendar days of the date of the letter of
denial, a written response to the Service
at one of the application addresses listed
in section 6 of this revenue procedure.
The applicant’s response must address
the Service’s explanation for the denial
of designation.
.04 Upon receipt of an applicant’s
written response, the Service will reconsider its denial of designation. The Service may (1) designate the applicant by
issuing a notice that provides a revised
list of the designated PDSs, or (2)
confirm its denial of designation by
issuing a letter to the applicant.
.05 If an applicant receives a letter
confirming the denial of designation, the
applicant is entitled to an appeal, in
writing, to the National Director of
Appeals.
.06 The appeal must be mailed or
delivered to the Service at one of the
application addresses listed in section 6
of this revenue procedure within 30
calendar days of the date of the letter
confirming the denial of designation. An
applicant’s written appeal must contain a
detailed explanation, with supporting
documentation, of why the denial should
be reversed. In addition, the applicant
must include a copy of the applicant’s
original application, a copy of the letter
of denial, a copy of the applicant’s
request for administrative review, and a
copy of the letter confirming the denial.
.07 Failure to respond within the 30day periods described in sections 9.03
and 9.06 of this revenue procedure irrevocably terminates an applicant’s right
to an administrative review or appeal.
.08 A PDS that has been denied designation during any application period
may reapply during the next application
period.
SECTION 10. SPECIAL RULES
.01 A PDS is required to provide
prompt written notification to the Service at one of the application addresses
listed in section 6 of this revenue proce-

57

dure if any application information
changes during the time the PDS is
under consideration for designation or
during the time it is a designated PDS.
.02 If a designated PDS delivers an
item that is sent by itself, a related
person within the meaning of § 267, or
a member of an affiliated group of
which the designated PDS is also a
member within the meaning of § 1504,
such item will not qualify under the
‘‘timely mailing as timely filing/paying’’
rule unless the item is received by the
addressee no later than two business
days after the due date.
.03 For purposes of the postage prepaid requirement of § 7502(a)(2)(B), a
sender is permitted to use a billing
method other than advance payment if a
designated PDS offers such billing
method in accordance with established
industry practices and the recipient is
not charged without its permission. An
item will not qualify under the ‘‘timely
mailing as timely filing/paying’’ rule if
the recipient is charged without its permission. Moreover, the Service will not
accept delivery of an item if the Service
is billed for the delivery charge without
its permission. Similarly, the United
States Tax Court may not accept delivery of an item if it is billed for the
delivery charge without its permission.
SECTION 11. ADVERTISING
STANDARDS FOR DESIGNATED
DELIVERY SERVICES
.01 No designated PDS may, in any
way, use or participate in the use of any
form of public communication containing a false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, unduly influencing, coercive, or
unfair statement or claim.
.02 A designated PDS must adhere to
all relevant federal, state, and local
consumer protection laws that relate to
advertising and soliciting.
.03 A designated PDS must not use
the name of the Treasury Department,
the Service (e.g., ‘‘Internal Revenue Service’’ or ‘‘IRS’’), or the United States
Tax Court within its name.
.04 Advertising materials shall not
carry the seal of any office within the
Treasury Department or of the United
States Tax Court.
.05 If a designated PDS uses any
audio or video media (including radio,
television, and the Internet) to advertise
its status as a designated PDS, the
broadcast must be pre-recorded. The
designated PDS must keep a copy of
such pre-recorded advertisement for a

period of at least 36 months from the
date of the last transmission or use.
.06 If a designated PDS uses any
written media (including newspapers, direct mail, billboards, and fax communications) to advertise its status as a
designated PDS, the designated PDS
must retain a copy (or example) of such
advertisement, along with a list or other
description of the persons to whom the
communication was directed, for a period of at least 36 months from the date
of the last communication.
SECTION 12. MONITORING OF
DESIGNATED DELIVERY SERVICES
AND REVOCATION PROCEDURES
.01 The Service may monitor designated PDSs to ensure compliance with
the requirements of this revenue procedure. If the Service finds that a designated PDS failed to comply with the
requirements of this revenue procedure,
the Service will issue a warning letter
that describes specific corrective action
that must be taken in order to retain
designation.
.02 If the designated PDS fails to
take the appropriate corrective action
within the time specified in the warning
letter, a proposed revocation letter will
be issued. If a designated PDS receives
a proposed revocation letter, the designated PDS is entitled to an appeal, in
writing, to the National Director of
Appeals.
.03 The appeal must be mailed or
delivered to the Service at one of the
application addresses listed in section 6
of this revenue procedure within 30
calendar days of the date of the proposed revocation letter. A designated
PDS’s written appeal must contain a
detailed explanation, with supporting
documentation, of why the revocation
should not be made. In addition, the
designated PDS must include a copy of
the warning letter and a copy of the
proposed revocation letter. Failure to
appeal within the 30-day period irrevocably terminates a designated PDS’s
right to an appeal.

.04 If a designated PDS fails to file a
timely appeal or if an appeal is denied,
the Service will revoke the designation.
The revocation may be either with respect to a single type of delivery service
offered by the designated PDS or with
respect to all types of delivery services
offered, depending on the nature of the
violation. The revocation will be effective after issuance of a notice that
provides a revised list of the designated
PDSs.
.05 A PDS is not permitted to reapply
for designation under the provisions of
this revenue procedure if, after consideration of an appeal if timely requested,
there has been a complete or partial
revocation of its status as a designated
PDS. The permanent guidance may also
preclude such a PDS from reapplying
for an additional specified period of
time.
.06 In exceptional circumstances, the
Service may revoke the status of a
designated PDS before the appeals process is completed. Such revocation will
be effective after issuance of a notice
that provides a revised list of the designated PDSs. If, after consideration of an
appeal, it is determined that a PDS is
qualified for designation, the PDS will
be redesignated. Such redesignation will
be effective after issuance of a notice
that provides a revised list of the designated PDSs.
SECTION 13. EFFECTIVE DATE
This revenue procedure is effective
February 25, 1997.
SECTION 14. PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
The collections of information contained in this revenue procedure have
been reviewed and approved by the
Office of Management and Budget in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduc-

58

tion Act (44 U.S.C. § 3507) under control number 1545–1535.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless the collection of information displays a valid control number.
The collections of information in this
revenue procedure are in sections 4.03,
5, 9.03, 9.06, 10.01, 11.05, 11.06, and
12.03. This information is required for
the Internal Revenue Service to determine whether a private delivery service
should be a ‘‘designated’’ private delivery service. This information will be
used to ensure that a private delivery
service conforms to the requirements set
forth in this revenue procedure. The
collections of information are required
to obtain a benefit. The likely respondents are businesses or other for-profit
institutions.
The estimated total annual reporting
and/or recordkeeping burden is 3,069
hours.
The estimated average annual burden
per respondent/recordkeeper is 614
hours. The estimated number of respondents and/or recordkeepers is five.
The estimated frequency of responses
is on occasion.
Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as
long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns
and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. § 6103.
SECTION 15. DRAFTING
INFORMATION
The principal authors of this revenue
procedure are Robert J. Basso and
Renay France of the Office of Assistant
Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting). For further information regarding this revenue procedure, contact
Ms. France at (202) 622–6232 (not a
toll-free call).