[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53426-53430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24911]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

48 CFR Parts 1009 and 1052


Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulations; Tax Check 
Requirements

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Interim rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, 
taxpayer return information, with few exceptions, is confidential. 
Under this authority, officers and employees of the Department of the 
Treasury may have access to taxpayer return information as necessary 
for purposes of tax administration. The Department of the Treasury has 
determined that an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contractor's 
compliance with the tax laws is a tax administration matter and that 
taxpayer return information is needed for determining an offeror's 
eligibility to receive an award, including but not limited to 
implementation of the statutory prohibition of making an award to 
corporations that have an unpaid Federal tax liability. This interim 
rule amends the Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulation 
(DTAR) for the purposes of

[[Page 53427]]

supplementing the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). This interim 
rule will amend the DTAR by adding a subpart titled ``Responsible 
Prospective Contractor'' and a paragraph concerning Representation and 
certifications regarding responsibility matters, for the purpose of 
directing IRS contracting officers to the newly added DTAR subpart 
titled ``Tax Check Requirement,'' which prescribes the policies and 
procedures for performing a tax check on the apparent successful 
offeror in order to determine eligibility to receive an award.

DATES: 
    Effective date: November 16, 2017.
    Comment due date: Interested parties should submit written comments 
to the Department of the Treasury on or before January 16, 2018 to be 
considered in the formation of the final rule.

ADDRESSES: Treasury invites comments on the topics addressed in this 
interim rule. Comments may be submitted to Treasury by any of the 
following methods: by submitting electronic comments through the 
federal government e-rulemaking portal, www.regulations.gov or by 
sending paper comments to Department of the Treasury, Office of the 
Procurement Executive, Attn: Thomas O'Linn, 1722 I Street NW., 
Mezzanine--M12C, Washington, DC 20006.
    In general, Treasury will post all comments to www.regulations.gov 
without change, including any business or personal information 
provided, such as names, addresses, e-mail addresses, or telephone 
numbers. All comments, including attachments and other supporting 
materials received are part of the public record and subject to public 
disclosure. You should submit only information that you wish to make 
publicly available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas O'Linn, Procurement Analyst, 
Office of the Procurement Executive, at (202) 622-2092.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The DTAR, which supplements the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR), is codified at 48 CFR Chapter 10.
    A. General. It is in the interest of the United States Government 
to only award contracts to entities that are responsible and law 
abiding. This is codified in FAR 9.104 by requiring contracting 
officers to perform a responsibility determination prior to each 
contract award by using the standards at FAR 9.104-1, as well as 
consider information submitted by the contractor and information they 
research or acquire from other sources. The IRS administers the 
Internal Revenue Code as enacted by Congress. Since fiscal year 2012, 
language in the annual Consolidated Appropriations Act has prohibited 
the Federal Government under various conditions from using appropriated 
funds to enter into a contract with a prospective contractor unless the 
prospective contractor certifies in writing that it has not been 
notified of any unpaid Federal tax assessment. Most recently, Sections 
744 and 745 of Division E of the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) prohibits the Federal 
Government from entering into a contract with any corporation where the 
awarding agency is aware of an unpaid Federal tax liability.
    For purposes of tax administration, the IRS has access to taxpayer 
return information that is not otherwise available to other Federal 
Agencies pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6103(h)(1). The Department of the 
Treasury has determined that an IRS contractor's compliance with the 
tax laws is a tax administration matter. Additionally, 26 U.S.C. 
6103(c) authorizes the IRS to disclose a taxpayer's return information 
to such person(s) as the taxpayer may designate in a consent to such 
disclosure. In many cases, however, the official signing a contract 
proposal on behalf of an offeror will not be an official to whom the 
IRS is authorized to disclose the offeror's tax information. Thus, in 
order to ensure that IRS is authorized is to discuss the offeror's own 
tax information with an authorized official of the offeror, a consent 
to disclosure is required. This consent to disclosure must be in the 
form of a separate written document pertaining solely to the authorized 
disclosure and must be signed and dated by an authorized person as 
required and defined in 26 U.S.C. 6103(c) and 26 CFR 301.6103(c)-
1(e)(4).
    This interim rule amends the DTAR to establish policies and 
procedures that facilitate successful, timely, and economical execution 
of IRS contractual actions in compliance with the FAR and various 
appropriation restrictions. Specifically, this interim rule establishes 
an express requirement for IRS contracting officers to use taxpayer 
return information that is available only to IRS to perform a tax check 
on the apparent successful offeror for purposes of determining 
eligibility to enter into a contract with the IRS. The IRS has 
established an internal Procedure, Guidance and Information (PGI) that 
further supplements the DTAR requirement for IRS contracting officers 
to use when conducting a tax check. To ensure compliance with 26 U.S.C. 
6103(h)(1) and to safeguard taxpayer return information, the PGI 
restricts the number of personnel within the IRS Office of Procurement 
who have access to tax compliance information. The PGI also limits the 
amount of information provided to the contracting officer regarding a 
delinquent Federal tax liability. Upon notification by the contracting 
officer that the offeror has a delinquent Federal tax liability, the 
offeror may provide the contracting officer with documentation that 
demonstrates the offeror's tax status as paid-in-full or that an 
approved payment agreement has been reached, at which time the 
contracting officer will coordinate with the appropriate office within 
IRS to validate the offeror's tax status (see FAR 9.104-5(a)(1), (b)(1) 
and (e)).
    The offeror may want to take steps to confirm it does not have a 
delinquent Federal tax liability prior to submission of its response to 
the solicitation. If the offeror recently settled a delinquent Federal 
tax liability, the offeror may want to take steps to obtain information 
in order to demonstrate the offeror's responsibility to the contracting 
officer, if such information is requested (see FAR 9.104-5(a)(1) and 
(b)(1)).
    B. FAR supplement. This interim rule will supplement paragraph (b) 
of FAR 9.104-5, Representation and certifications regarding 
responsibility matters, for the purpose of directing IRS contracting 
officers to the newly added DTAR subpart 1009.70, which prescribes the 
policies and procedures for performing a tax check on the apparent 
successful offeror to determine eligibility to receive an award.
    C. Subpart. This interim rule will add DTAR subparts 1009.1, 
Responsible Prospective Contractors, and 1009.70, Tax Check 
Requirements. This latter subpart prescribes the policies and 
procedures IRS contracting officers will use for performing a tax check 
on the apparent successful offeror to determine eligibility to receive 
an award. Definitions of terms ``authorized representative(s) of the 
offeror,'' ``delinquent Federal tax liability'' and ``tax check'' are 
included within this subpart. The definition of ``authorized 
representative(s) of the offeror'' is the person(s) identified to the 
IRS contracting officer by the offeror as authorized to represent the 
offeror in disclosure matters pertaining to the offer. The definition 
of ``delinquent Federal tax liability'' is derived from language within 
the FAR concerning Federal tax delinquency and unpaid Federal tax 
assessment (see FAR 9.104-

[[Page 53428]]

5). The definition of ``tax check'' is an IRS process that accesses and 
uses taxpayer return information, that is available only to IRS, to 
support the Government's determination of an offeror's eligibility to 
receive an award, including but not limited to implementation of the 
statutory prohibition of making an award to corporations that have an 
unpaid Federal tax liability (see FAR 9.104-5(b)).
    D. Provision. This interim rule will add a provision to be inserted 
in all IRS solicitations regardless of dollar value, including those 
for commercial items. The provision will notify offerors that the IRS 
will conduct a tax check because the Department of the Treasury has 
determined that an IRS contractor's compliance with the tax laws is a 
tax administration matter, and that taxpayer return information is 
needed for determining an offeror's eligibility to receive an award, 
including but not limited to implementation of the statutory 
prohibition of making an award to corporations that have a unpaid 
Federal tax liability (see FAR 9.104-5(b)). The provision will also 
contain a consent to disclosure to be signed and dated by a person 
authorized to act on behalf of the offeror as defined in 26 CFR 
301.6103(c)-1(e)(4). The consent to disclosure will authorize the 
officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury, including the 
IRS, to disclose the results of the tax check to the person(s) 
authorized by the offeror via the signed consent to disclosure.

Applicability to Contracts at or Below the Simplified Acquisition 
Threshold and for Commercial Items, Including Commercially Available 
Off-the-Shelf Items

    This provision will apply to all IRS solicitations regardless of 
the dollar value, including commercial items (including Commercially 
Available Off-the-Shelf items). This determination is consistent with 
the FAR requirements regarding the inclusion of the provisions 52.209-
5, 52.209-11 and 52.212-3 as well as various appropriation 
restrictions.

Regulatory Planning and Review

    Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess 
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O. 
13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, 
of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. 
This is not a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not 
subject to review under section 6(b) of E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning 
and Review, dated September 30, 1993. This rule is not a major rule 
under 5 U.S.C. 804.

Determination To Issue an Interim Rule

    Tax liability is a serious matter and there have been a number of 
congressional hearings and subsequent actions taken by Congress to 
ensure that appropriated funds are not spent with entities with a 
delinquent Federal tax liability. Most recently, Section 744 of 
Division E of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations 
Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) (and similar provisions in prior 
appropriations acts since 2012) prohibits the Federal Government from 
entering into a contract with any corporation where the awarding agency 
is aware of an unpaid Federal tax liability, unless the agency has 
considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a 
determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the 
interests of the Government. This prohibition has been implemented in 
the FAR under FAR 9.104-5. Considering all these factors, it is in the 
interest of the United States Government to only award contracts to 
entities that are responsible and law abiding.
    As such a determination has been made under the authority of the 
Secretary of Treasury that urgent and compelling reasons exist to 
promulgate this interim rule without prior opportunity for public 
comment. Even absent this rule, IRS would have a duty under the 
appropriations act provision not to award contracts to entities with 
delinquent tax liability, and to review available tax information for 
this purpose. However, IRS would not have clear authority to discuss 
any adverse information with the offeror to which it pertained. The 
only effect of delaying the rule to consider public comment would be to 
increase the likelihood that offerors will be disqualified due to 
adverse tax information that could have been clarified or resolved if 
the rule were in place. For the same reason, the effective date is set 
as immediately upon publication. However, pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1707 
and FAR 1.501-3(b), Treasury will consider public comments received in 
response to this interim rule in the formation of the final rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) generally 
requires agencies to conduct an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 
and a final regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements, unless the agency certifies 
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    It is hereby certified that this interim rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
This interim rule will amend the DTAR to establish an internal process 
that strengthens IRS' compliance with appropriation act restrictions 
and the FAR prohibition of entering into a contract with contractors 
having a delinquent Federal tax liability (see FAR subpart 9.1) and 
should not have significant economic impacts on small entities other 
than the potential for not receiving award if the small entity has a 
delinquent Federal tax liability. This rule does not impose any new 
reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements. The rule 
does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules. 
No significant alternatives were identified during the development of 
this rule. Notwithstanding this certification, the Department welcomes 
comments on the potential impact on small entities.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 1009 and 1052

    Government procurement.

    Accordingly, the Department of the Treasury amends 48 CFR Chapter 
10 as follows:

PART 1009--CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 1009 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  41 U.S.C. 418(b).


0
2. Add subpart 1009.1 to read as follows:

Subpart 1009.1--Responsible Prospective Contractors


1009.104  Standards.


1009.104-5  Representation and certifications regarding responsibility 
matters.

    (b) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contracting officers shall 
comply with the requirements of subpart 1009.70 once an offeror has 
been identified as the apparent successful offeror.

0
3. Add subpart 1009.70 to read as follows:

[[Page 53429]]

Subpart 1009.70--Tax Check Requirements
Sec.
1009.7000 Scope of subpart.
1009.7001 Definition.
1009.7003 Policy.
1009.7004 Procedure.
1009.7005 Solicitation provision.

Subpart 1009.70--Tax Check Requirements


1009.7000  Scope of subpart.

    This subpart prescribes the IRS policies and procedures for 
performing a tax check on the apparent successful offeror to determine 
eligibility to receive an award.


1009.7001  Definition.

    As used in this subpart--
    Authorized representative(s) of the offeror means the person(s) 
identified to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) within the consent to 
disclosure by the offeror as authorized to represent the offeror in 
disclosure matters pertaining to the offer.
    Delinquent Federal tax liability means any unpaid Federal tax 
liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and 
administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is 
not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the 
authority responsible for collecting the tax liability.
    Tax check means an IRS process that accesses and uses taxpayer 
return information to support the Government's determination of an 
offeror's eligibility to receive an award, including but not limited to 
implementation of the statutory prohibition of making an award to 
corporations that have a delinquent Federal tax liability (see FAR 
9.104-5(b)).


1009.7003  Policy.

    (a) There are various Federal laws and regulations that in 
aggregate prohibit the Federal Government from entering into a contract 
with an entity where the awarding agency is aware of an unpaid Federal 
tax liability (see FAR subpart 9.1) unless the agency has considered 
suspension or debarment and has made a determination that this further 
action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.
    (b) IRS contracting officers shall include a provision in all 
solicitations regardless of dollar value, which contains a consent to 
disclosure to be signed and dated by a person authorized to act on 
behalf of the offeror as defined in 26 CFR 301.6103(c)-1(e)(4). The 
consent to disclosure will authorize officers and employees of the 
Department of the Treasury, including the IRS, to disclose the results 
of the tax check to the authorized representative(s) of the offeror. In 
the absence of a signed and dated consent to disclosure in an offer, 
taxpayer return information of the offeror may not be disclosed, which 
subsequently may remove the offeror from eligibility to receive an 
award.


1009.7004  Procedure.

    IRS contracting officers shall not proceed with award, at any 
dollar value, until a tax check has been performed on the apparent 
successful offeror. See IRS Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI) 
9.1.
    (a) The contracting officer, regardless of an offeror's response in 
paragraph (a)(1) of the provision 52.209-5, Certification Regarding 
Responsibility Matters, paragraph (b)(1) of the provision at FAR 
52.209-11, or paragraphs (h) and (q)(2)(i) of the provision at FAR 
52.212-3 (see FAR 9.104-5(b)), shall request a tax check through the 
IRS designated point of contact. The request shall include only the 
information required for purposes of conducting the tax check.
    (b) If the result of the tax check demonstrates the offeror as 
having a delinquent Federal tax liability, the contracting officer 
shall--
    (1) Confirm the offer includes a signed and dated consent to 
disclosure (see 1052.209-70, Notice and Consent to Disclose and Use of 
Taxpayer Return Information), the absence of which may remove the 
offeror from eligibility to receive an award under the solicitation 
because taxpayer return information of the offeror may not be 
disclosed.
    (2) If the consent to disclosure is completed in the offer, notify 
the authorized representative(s) of the offeror that a delinquent 
Federal tax liability exists and therefore the offeror is ineligible 
for award.
    (i) If upon notification the offeror provides the contracting 
officer with documentation, within the timeframe specified by the 
contracting officer, that demonstrates the offeror's tax status as 
being paid-in-full or that an approved payment agreement is in place, 
the contracting officer will coordinate with the appropriate office 
within IRS to validate the tax status. If the offeror is found to be 
tax compliant, the contracting officer will notify the offeror of such. 
Assuming the offeror meets all other standards of responsibility, the 
offeror is eligible for award.
    (3) Notify, in accordance with IRS PGI 9.1, the Department of the 
Treasury official responsible for suspension and debarment for purposes 
of requesting a determination in accordance with FAR 9.104-5(a)(2) and 
FAR 9.104-5(b)(3) respectively before an award to that contractor can 
be made.
    (c) If the result of the tax check demonstrates the offeror as tax 
compliant then the offeror is eligible for award, assuming all other 
standards of responsibility have been met.
    (d) The contracting officer shall include in the contract file 
documentation that verifies the tax check was conducted and if the 
results confirm a delinquent Federal tax liability existed at the time 
of award, confirmation that the offeror was notified of such.


1009.7005  Solicitation provision.

    (a) The contracting officer shall insert the provision 1052.209-70, 
Notice and Consent to Disclose and Use of Taxpayer Return Information, 
in all IRS solicitations regardless of dollar value, including 
solicitations for acquisition of commercial items (including 
Commercially Available Off-The-Shelf items).

PART 1052--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES

0
4. The authority citation for part 1052 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  41 U.S.C. 1707.


0
5. Add 1052.209-70 to subpart 1052.2 as follows:


1052.209-70  Notice and Consent to Disclose and Use of Taxpayer Return 
Information.

    As prescribed in 1009.7005, insert the following provision:

NOTICE AND CONSENT TO DISCLOSE AND USE OF TAXPAYER RETURN INFORMATION--
(NOV 2017)

    (a) Definitions. As used in this provision--
    Authorized representative(s) of the offeror means the person(s) 
identified to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) within the consent to 
disclose by the offeror as authorized to represent the offeror in 
disclosure matters pertaining to the offer.
    Delinquent Federal tax liability means any unpaid Federal tax 
liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and 
administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is 
not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the 
authority responsible for collecting the tax liability.
    Tax check means an IRS process that accesses and uses taxpayer 
return information to support the Government's determination of an 
offeror's eligibility to receive an award,

[[Page 53430]]

including but not limited to implementation of the statutory 
prohibition of making an award to corporations that have an unpaid 
Federal tax liability (see FAR 9.104-5(b)).
    (b) Notice. Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6103(a) taxpayer return 
information, with few exceptions, is confidential. Under the authority 
of 26 U.S.C. 6103(h)(1), officers and employees of the Department of 
the Treasury, including the IRS, may have access to taxpayer return 
information as necessary for purposes of tax administration. The 
Department of the Treasury has determined that an IRS contractor's 
compliance with the tax laws is a tax administration matter and that 
the access to and use of taxpayer return information is needed for 
determining an offeror's eligibility to receive an award, including but 
not limited to implementation of the statutory prohibition of making an 
award to corporations that have an unpaid Federal tax liability (see 
FAR 9.104-5).
    (1) The performance of a tax check is one means that will be used 
for determining an offeror's eligibility to receive an award in 
response to this solicitation (see FAR 9.104). As a result, the offeror 
may want to take steps to confirm it does not have a delinquent Federal 
tax liability prior to submission of its response to this solicitation. 
If the offeror recently settled a delinquent Federal tax liability, the 
offeror may want to take steps to obtain information in order to 
demonstrate the offeror's responsibility to the contracting officer 
(see FAR 9.104-5).
    (c) The offeror shall execute the consent to disclosure provided in 
paragraph (d) of this provision and include it with the submission of 
its offer. The consent to disclosure shall be signed by an authorized 
person as required and defined in 26 U.S.C. 6103(c) and 26 CFR 
301.6103(c)-1(e)(4).
    (d) Consent to disclosure. I hereby consent to the disclosure of 
taxpayer return information (as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6103(b)(2)) as 
follows:
    The Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, may 
disclose the results of the tax check conducted in connection with the 
offeror's response to this solicitation, including taxpayer return 
information as necessary to resolve any matters pertaining to the 
results of the tax check, to the authorized representatives of [insert 
OFFEROR NAME] on this offer.
    I am aware that in the absence of this authorization, the taxpayer 
return information of [insert OFFEROR NAME] is confidential and may not 
be disclosed, which subsequently may remove the offer from eligibility 
to receive an award under this solicitation.


I consent to disclosure of taxpayer return information to the following 
person(s):

[insert PERSON(S) NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION]:-----------------------

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I certify that I have the authority to execute this consent on behalf 
of [insert OFFEROR NAME].

Offeror Name:----------------------------------------------------------

Offeror Taxpayer Identification Number:--------------------------------

Offeror Address:-------------------------------------------------------

Name of Individual Executing Consent:----------------------------------

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Title of Individual Executing Consent:---------------------------------

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Signature:-------------------------------------------------------------

Date:------------------------------------------------------------------

(End of provision)

    Dated: November 6, 2017.
Iris B. Cooper,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of the Procurement Executive.
[FR Doc. 2017-24911 Filed 11-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P