Court Finds IRS Summons to Be a Necessary Annoyance


A case out of the Ninth Circuit demonstrates the importance of keeping copies of all documents provided to IRS auditors.  In Action Recycling, Inc. v. United States, the Court approved the IRS summons requesting records which one Revenue Agent had already spent approximately 85 hours reviewing.  Although the Court noted that Congress enacted a prohibition of “unnecessary” summonses, it went on to find that the IRS does not already “possess” documents, simply because a Revenue Agent has previously reviewed them. 
 
What does this mean for those currently undergoing an IRS audit?  To avoid what the Court calls “unnecessary annoyance,” provide your auditor with copies and retain the originals. 

This blog is not intended to be legal advice.  The full opinion of the Action Recycling case may be found here:  http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/12-35338/12-35338-2013-07-09.pdf. 

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