[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 20]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR801.6]

[Page 162-163]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 801_BALANCED SYSTEM FOR MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE 
WITHIN THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 801.6  Business results measures.

    (a) In general. The business results measures will consist of 
numerical scores determined under the Quality Measures and the Quantity 
Measures described elsewhere in this section.
    (b) Quality measures. The quality measure will be determined on the 
basis of a review by a specially dedicated staff within the Internal 
Revenue Service of a statistically valid sample of work items handled by 
certain functions or organizational units determined by the Commissioner 
or his delegate such as the following:
    (1) Examination and Collection units and Automated Collection System 
units (ACS). The quality review of the handling of cases involving 
particular taxpayers will focus on such factors as whether Internal 
Revenue Service personnel devoted an appropriate amount of time to a 
matter, properly analyzed the issues presented, developed the facts 
regarding those issues, correctly applied the law to the facts, and 
complied with statutory, regulatory and Internal Revenue Service 
procedures, including timeliness, adequacy of notifications and required 
contacts with taxpayers.
    (2) Toll-free telephone sites. The quality review of telephone 
services will focus on such factors as whether Internal Revenue Service 
personnel provided accurate tax law and account information.
    (3) Other workunits. The quality review of other workunits will be 
determined according to criteria prescribed by the Commissioner or his 
delegate.
    (c) Quantity measures. The quantity measures will consist of 
outcome-neutral production and resource data, such as the number of 
cases closed, work items completed, customer education, assistance and 
outreach efforts undertaken, hours expended and similar inventory, 
workload and staffing information, that does not contain information 
regarding the tax enforcement result reached in any case involving 
particular taxpayers.
    (d) Definitions--(1) Tax enforcement result. A tax enforcement 
result is the outcome produced by an Internal Revenue Service employee's 
exercise of judgment recommending or determining whether or how the 
Internal Revenue Service should pursue enforcement of the tax laws.
    (i) Examples of tax enforcement results. The following are examples 
of a tax enforcement result: a lien filed; a levy served; a seizure 
executed; the amount assessed; the amount collected; and a fraud 
referral.
    (ii) Examples of data that are not tax enforcement results. The 
following are examples of data that are not tax enforcement results: 
case closures; time per case; direct examination time/out of office 
time; cycle time; number or percentage of overage cases; inventory 
information; toll-free level of access; talk time; number and type of 
customer education, assistance and outreach efforts completed; and data 
derived from a quality review or from a review of an employee's or a 
work unit's work on a case, such as the number or percentage of cases in 
which correct examination adjustments were proposed or appropriate lien 
determinations were made.
    (2) Records of tax enforcement results. Records of tax enforcement 
results are data, statistics, compilations of information or other 
numerical or quantitative recordations of the tax enforcement results 
reached in one or more cases, but do not include tax enforcement results 
of individual cases when used to determine whether an employee exercised 
appropriate judgment in pursuing enforcement of the tax laws based upon 
a review of the employee's work on that individual case.
    (e) Permitted uses of records of tax enforcement results. Records of 
tax enforcement results may be used for purposes such as forecasting, 
financial planning, resource management, and the formulation of case 
selection criteria.
    (f) Examples. The following examples illustrate the rules of this 
section:


[[Page 163]]


    Example 1. In conducting a performance evaluation, a supervisor may 
take into consideration information showing that the employee had failed 
to propose an appropriate adjustment to tax liability in one of the 
cases the employee examined, provided that information is derived from a 
review of the work done on the case. All information derived from such a 
review of individual cases handled by an employee, including time 
expended, issues raised, and enforcement outcomes reached may be 
considered in evaluating the employee.
    Example 2. When assigning a case, a supervisor may discuss with the 
employee the merits, issues and development of techniques of the case 
based upon a review of the case file.
    Example 3. A supervisor may not establish a goal for proposed 
adjustments in a future examination, based upon the tax enforcement 
results achieved in other cases.
    Example 4. A headquarters unit may use records of tax enforcement 
results to develop methodologies and algorithms for use in selecting tax 
returns to audit.

                         PART 802	END [RESERVED]