Md. Code Regs. 03.01.05.03

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 24, December 2, 2024

Section 03.01.05.03 - Petition for Private Letter Ruling

A. A petition for private letter ruling shall be submitted with respect to a specific party and a specific, actual, and prospective transaction or situation.

B. A petition for private letter ruling may be submitted by either:

(1) A person who is a party to the subject transaction; or

(2) An authorized representative on behalf of a party to the subject transaction.

EXAMPLE: The president of a trade association may submit a petition for private letter ruling on the taxability of a transaction contemplated by the trade association, such as whether a prospective purchase by the non-profit trade association is exempt from sales and use tax.

C. A petition for private letter ruling may not be submitted by:

(1) A group of persons that are not related parties in the subject transaction, or a person acting on their behalf;

(2) A person that is not a party to the subject transaction;

(3) A person that is not an authorized representative of the party to the subject transaction; or

(4) An anonymous or hypothetical party.

EXAMPLE: The president of a trade association may not submit a petition for private letter ruling on the taxability of a type of transaction that some or all its members are contemplating, because the trade association is not itself a party to the transaction and does not represent any party to the transaction in the transaction.

D. A petition for private letter ruling shall be submitted in the form and manner required by the Comptroller. The petition shall:

(1) Identify the petitioner and all parties involved in the transaction or question;

(2) Contain a concise statement of the question or issue on which the petition is based;

(3) Contain a detailed statement of the facts on which the petition is based;

(4) Contain a redacted or anonymized version of the statement of facts upon which the petition is based, which may be published under Regulation .06 of this chapter;

(5) Identify all statutes, regulations, judicial decisions, or other published federal or state guidance relevant to the petition, including authority adverse to the petitioner's position;

(6) Include a discussion of whether, and in what manner, the statutes, regulations, judicial decisions, and other published federal or state guidance apply to the petitioner under the facts outlined in the petition;

(7) Contain a description of the petitioner's interest in the private letter ruling, which shall include:

(a) A statement as to whether the private letter ruling sought is intended to affect the tax consequences of any transaction or transactions entered into or contemplated by the petitioner, its vendors, customers, clients, or any other person who is a party to the transaction described in the petition, which are known by the petitioner to be the subject of a Comptroller inquiry, audit, refund, or assessment proceeding or any inquiry, audit, refund, or assessment proceeding conducted on behalf of and with the approval of the Comptroller;

(b) A statement as to whether the private letter ruling sought is intended to affect the petitioner's status under any of the licensing, regulatory, or statutory provisions administered by the Comptroller, which is known by the petitioner to be the subject of an inquiry, inspection, investigation, audit, refund request, voluntary disclosure, or other proceeding in the Comptroller's Office; and

(c) An explanation of the circumstances surrounding the inquiry, audit, refund, assessment, inspection, investigation, or other proceedings, if any;

(8) Contain a statement as to whether the petitioner has sought or is seeking a private letter ruling or other guidance from the Internal Revenue Service, another state, or another taxing authority on the transaction or question that is the subject of its petition for a private letter ruling to the Comptroller of Maryland and, if so, from what other state or taxing authority;

(9) Contain, if the petitioner asserts a position or alternative positions, a concise proposed draft ruling;

(10) Contain the signature of the petitioner or the petitioner's authorized representative; and

(11) Include, if the petition is submitted by an authorized representative, a completed Maryland Form 548 Power of Attorney.

Md. Code Regs. 03.01.05.03

Regulation .03 adopted effective 50:26 Md. R. 1131, eff. 1/8/2024