This IRM provides an overview of the ERCS responsibilities group and territory employees should understand and apply in the performance of their duties.

Users must be aware of the potential for Unauthorized Access of Taxpayer Accounts (UNAX) violations from the use of ERCS. Data from ERCS should be accessed only for IRS business purposes. Users should promptly retrieve ERCS reports from printers or fax machines in order to prevent unintentional disclosure. Audit trails are created and subject to review for all user accesses of taxpayer data. For more information about UNAX, see IRM 10.5.5, IRS Unauthorized Access, Attempted Access or Inspection of Taxpayer Records (UNAX) Program Policy, Guidance, and Requirements.

IRM 1.4.1, Management Roles and Responsibilities.

IRM 1.4.40, SB/SE Field and Office Examination Group Manager.

TMs have overall responsibility for territory operations which include ensuring appropriate internal controls are established and maintained; and the goals, policies, and directives of the Headquarters (HQ) Office as well as the area or practice area are followed.

Responsibilities of the TM include, but are not limited to:

Group or Team Managers have overall responsibility for group operations which include ensuring appropriate internal controls are established and maintained; and the goals, policies, and directives of the HQ Office as well as the area or practice area are followed.

Responsibilities of the Group or Team Manager include, but are not limited to:

Technical employees include revenue agents, tax compliance officers, tax examiners, etc., required to input technical time and who may be assigned an inventory of cases or may assist in the examination of cases assigned to another technical employee. Technical employees may also be limited access users who input their own technical time. Technical employees in the group initiate many actions that affect the ERCS database.

Responsibilities of technical employees include, but are not limited to:

Administrative support staff are an integral part of the ERCS support team. Their assistance is essential to ensure the smooth operation of the group. The administrative support staff often serves as the liaison between the employees in the group and the A/E staff. They are the last person to verify data prior to input into ERCS. By making sure updates are input accurately, they ensure the validity of the data.

Responsibilities of administrative support employees include, but are not limited to:

Reports are available that allow management to monitor inventory, statutes, closures, time input, and employee records. See IRM 4.7.6, Reports, for more information.

ERCS creates audit trails for selected changes to returns, employee records, and permission records. A special audit trail is also created when users enter a taxpayer identification number (TIN) or a taxpayer name on ERCS. See IRM 4.7.2, Security, for more information. IRM 4.7.2.3.4, Audit Trails, has a list of the changes in ERCS that produce an audit trail.

There are security checks within ERCS to ensure unauthorized users do not access programs and authorized users are kept within the boundaries of their permissions. These checks are performed automatically and silently each time a user attempts to access ERCS. The user has no ability to prevent the checks. For more information about permissions in ERCS, see IRM 4.7.2.3.2, Permissions.

See Exhibit 4.7.5-1, Acronyms and Definitions, for acronyms used in this IRM.

For questions regarding ERCS security and instructions for gaining access to ERCS refer to IRM 4.7.2, Security.

For general responsibilities of the Group or Team Manager, refer to IRM 1.4, Resource Guide for Managers.

The instructions for ERCS users at the territory level and above for navigating the ERCS programs can be found in the ERCS Territory Handbook.

The instructions for users at the group level for navigating the ERCS programs can be found in the ERCS Group Handbook.

The administrative support staff should be familiar with and have access to the ERCS User Handbooks, ERCS IRMs, and the ERCS book under the Exam Systems Knowledge Base in the virtual library.

Information from ERCS employee records and returns is used in a variety of applications. Administrative support staff should update ERCS as soon as changes are known to ensure the data extracted for reports and uploads to other systems is current.

The administrative support staff generates and distributes Forms 895, and alerts management if the forms are not returned timely. When completed forms are received they must be acknowledged in ERCS within three days of the manager’s approval, and then kept in the Form 895 Log File. If the manager maintains the log file, the forms will be returned to the manager. See IRM 4.7.3, Statute of Limitations for more specific information on statute control.

Changes to employee records and WSPs must be input before time is applied for the pay period.

It is recommended that time be input on a daily basis for tax compliance groups to avoid overage purge dates. The prior day's time should be input before printing the current Tax Auditor Daily for the employees in the group. It is recommended that time be input on a weekly basis for field groups to ensure time is completed by the end of the cycle. See IRM 4.7.5.8 (3) for the deadline for time input.

If any information on the time input document is questionable, illegible or invalid, the administrative support staff should contact the examiner or the manager, if the examiner is not available, for clarification.

Administrative support staff generate and distribute reports based on the guidance in IRM 4.7.6, Reports, and as requested by management.

It is essential to maintain the accuracy of the ERCS database to ensure the data extracted is reliable. ERCS provides reports designed to assist in identifying possible issues. These reports must be worked timely to resolve identified issues. The reports include but are not limited to the following:

Only selected updates on ERCS require managerial approval, including several Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) fields. Some updates require approval no matter who the user is. Some updates do not require approval if they are input by a manager. Changes by Group users requiring managerial approval include the following and items marked with an asterisk (*) require TM approval if input by a manager:

If an update or closure is input incorrectly on ERCS, depending on the update, it may be reversed (set back to the previous value) by the user prior to the manager approving the update.

If a statute is updated incorrectly and is still pending managerial approval, it can be changed back to the previous statute which will remove the managerial approval record. The user can then update the return with the correct statute which will create a new managerial approval record.

Although a requisition cannot be reversed by the user, if data was input incorrectly on a requisition the data can be corrected prior to the manager approving the requisition.

Transfers to another practice area (LB&I) on returns controlled on AIMS cannot be reversed prior to manager approval. If input in error, the user should alert the manager to disapprove the transfer.

Status code updates input in error can be reversed back to the previous status code prior to approval.

Changes to the employee ID, if input incorrectly, may be reversed using either the Correct a Single Tax Return or Correct Multiple Tax Returns option under the Correct or Display Records menu.

Changes to the SBC or EGC may only be reversed if the user has write permissions for both the old and new codes and the original change was made in the Correct or Display Records menu. The reversal can be made in the Correct or Display Records menu option. If the user does not have permission for both AACs, the user should alert the manager to disapprove the transfer.

When a manager executes the program to approve all returns in an AAC, all the returns matching the AAC and pending approval are locked. This prevents another user with approval permission for the group from accessing the same returns on the approval screen. The returns are unlocked when the program runs to completion.

Updates requiring approval are grouped by the following categories:

When approving a requisition, the manager should ensure the information on the screen is correct. If any of the information is incorrect on the approval screen, the manager should skip the return and have the information corrected. Then the requisition can be approved.

When a requisition is disapproved, the record is closed to Status 90 on ERCS. If there is any time applied to the record, the user is prompted to enter a below the line activity code, and the time is moved to the activity code entered.

When approving a Non-master File to Master File conversion, a Master File requisition is forwarded to AIMS. The examiner should complete Form 10904, and forward it to the A/E staff to close the Non-master File AIMS record with DC 28.

When a Non-master File to Master File conversion is disapproved, the Non-master File record is restored to the previous values.

When a requisition, update, or closure impacting AIMS is approved, AIMS is updated when the daily ERCS to AIMS uploads are run.

When an update or closure is disapproved, the change is reversed back to the previous value.

If changes are pending approval to returns in an acting or temporary manager's inventory they will not display on the first level approval screen. Only a user with second level approval, usually the TM, can approve these updates.

A manager can grant temporary permission for any AAC to which they have first level approval, to another user through the option Grant Temporary Permission, providing the following requirements are met:

The manager should only delegate a user permission for the length of time the permission is needed, not to exceed 30 days. Technical employees should not routinely be given write permission during a temporary assignment.

For the purpose of this IRM Transfer refers to the following:

When updates are required to the ERCS employee record, fields that may need to be updated include the AAC, position code, grade, POD and start date.

When an administrative support employee transfers to another group, CCP, or PSP, their ERCS employee record must be updated to the new AAC, along with any additional fields as needed. The start date should be the first day the employee reports to the new group.

When an audit account aide or tax examiner transfers to another group, CCP, or PSP, their ERCS employee record must be updated to the new AAC, along with any additional fields as needed. The start date for the new group should be the next day after the last day time was applied in the old group.

When a group or team manager transfers to another group, CCP, or PSP, their ERCS employee record must be updated to the new AAC, along with any additional fields as needed. The start date for the new group should be the next day after the last day time was applied in the old group.

For detailed information regarding field and office examiner transfers, see Exhibit 4.7.5-2, Field Examiner Transfers, and Exhibit 4.7.5-3, Office Examiner Transfers. For any other situations concerning employee transfers not covered here or in the exhibits, the user should contact their local A/E staff for guidance.

For the purpose of this IRM Detail refers to the following:

When updates are required to the ERCS employee record, fields that may need to be updated include the AAC, position code, grade, POD and start date.

When a technical employee is detailed to another exam group within SB/SE or LB&I and the employee's position code does not change, an ERCS detail record can be created which allows the employee to temporarily keep inventory in both groups. Inventory and time reports may be pulled for the employee in both the employee's permanent group and the employee's detailed group. During the length of the detail, the detailed group is responsible for the employee's time input on ERCS.

When an employee required to input technical time is detailed outside of SB/SE and LB&I the employee's permanent group is responsible for the employee's time input on ERCS. Time is to be charged to the appropriate "Details out of Division or Area" activity code. A list of miscellaneous examination activity codes with definitions can be found in IRM 4.9.1 Exhibit 4.9.1-1, Definitions of Miscellaneous Examination Activity Codes..

When an administrative support employee transfers to another group, CCP, or PSP, their ERCS employee record must be updated to the detailed AAC, along with any additional fields as needed. The start date should be the first day the employee reports to the new group.

When a group or team manager is detailed to another group, CCP, or PSP, their ERCS employee record must be updated to the new AAC, along with any additional fields as needed. The start date for the new group should be the next day after the last day time was applied in the old group.

For detailed information regarding field and office examiner details, see Exhibit 4.7.5-4, Field Examiner Details, and Exhibit 4.7.5-5, Office Examiner Details. For any other situations concerning employee details not covered here or in the exhibits, the user should contact their local A/E staff for guidance.

For the purpose of this IRM Temporary Acting Assignment refers to the following:

If an employee is on a temporary acting assignment:

Returns can be received in the group from the Campus, PSP, or from another group. The group can also request to establish controls of a previously closed case. Returns that are already on ERCS may be "claimed" into the group from the Campus or from PSP. Claiming a return establishes ERCS control, but additional steps are needed to secure the return or case file and to update AIMS. See IRM 4.7.5.7.1 (16) for more information on claiming returns.

Before applying time to a new case on ERCS or IMS, the statute, source code, project code, tracking code, claim amount, and ARC should be verified.

Form 5345-D, is used to establish a record on ERCS. The examiner should give the completed form along with the appropriate transcripts, AMDISA, IMFOLT/BMFOLT, IMFOLR/BMFOLR, INOLES/INOLET and TRDBV, to the manager for review.

When completing Form 5345-D, users should pay special attention to ensure the values used to identify the return on ERCS and AIMS, the statute, and the values used in reporting time charges are correct. These values include the following:

Input errors of the TIN, MFT, and tax period fields will cause delays in getting the proper controls on ERCS and AIMS.

On a Master File requisition of a filed return, the default statute on the ERCS request screen should not be changed unless the user has verified the statute on Form 5345-D against IMFOLT or BMFOLT to ensure it is correct. When the record is fully established on AIMS (the record has been processed against Master File and the Master File statute has come down to AIMS), the AIMS statute will be compared to the ERCS statute. The AIMS statute will overwrite the ERCS statute if either of the following are true:

For requisitions of Non-master File, Non-filers, and ERCS only records requiring a statute, the default statute on the requisition screen should be corrected if the return was not timely filed or if an alpha code is needed.

There are a number of reasons why it is critical to get the activity code correct or at least the best guess on an ERCS requisition.

The tracking code should be checked for accuracy prior to input. If input incorrectly, it requires assistance from PSP or the A/E staff to change it.

Some codes on returns such as source, tracking, project, and aging reason are not associated with the time charges until the end of the cycle when the time data is extracted from ERCS. So as long as corrections are made to these codes prior to the end of the cycle, the correct data will be sent forward.

The claim amount is used to determine if protection of revenue base (P of RB) codes "P" or "R" are valid for time applied to the return. If the taxpayer has requested a claim for refund and the issues will be worked on the requested return, a claim amount must be entered.

If the return is part of a related case the key case information must be entered on Form 5345-D.

Once the manager's review of Form 5345-D has been completed, the administrative support staff should review the transcripts prior to input into ERCS. A review of the AMDISA ensures the return is not already on AIMS. A review of the INOLES shows the exact input of the name or name control.

After the requisition is input on ERCS and approved by the manager, it is sent to AIMS. The Check AIMS Results menu option should be used daily to check for rejects. The Overage Requisition Report can also be used to monitor the status of requisitions and should be checked weekly.

ERCS has different options for different types of requisitions. If the requisition will be sent to AIMS, users should utilize the Request Return option. If the user needs to add a penalty control, the Control Penalty Investigation option should be used. For other types of non-AIMS controls, the Control Non-AIMS DET Item option should be used. The Control Collateral Examination option should only be used if directed to do so by HQ.

A return already on ERCS and AIMS may be "claimed" into the group's inventory from PSP or the Campus by changing the AAC or by applying time to the return. When claiming a return from the Campus the group should follow local procedures to get control of the return. In order to claim a return on ERCS certain rules apply such as:

When the group claims ERCS control of a return, no updates are sent to AIMS. It is the group's responsibility to ensure the owner of the return, either the Campus or PSP, transfers AIMS control of the return to the group. The AAC Difference Report should be used to monitor the status of the transfer on AIMS.

Any inventory coming into the group, regardless of the source, should be checked for accuracy on ERCS. Once a requisition is fully established, it should be checked for any changes that may have been overwritten by the values on AIMS.

When updates or changes to the ERCS record are required, the examiner should complete Form 5348 and give it to the manager for approval. Updates should be made as soon as it is determined there are changes to the return and prior to charging time to the return.

The administrative support staff should review Form 5348 prior to updating ERCS. Any questions or concerns should be brought to the manager's attention.

Changes to returns are uploaded to AIMS by the A/E staff usually twice a day. Most changes are immediately ready for uploading to AIMS, some require the manager's approval on ERCS before the change is sent. Other updates must wait for additional actions to occur first, such as second level approval.

Some updates can only be sent to AIMS if the record is fully established. The following updates to skeletal records on ERCS are held until the AIMS record is fully established.

If the AAC on ERCS and AIMS are different, updates are held until the differences are resolved and the AACs match.

Occasionally an update made on ERCS will reject when sent to AIMS. When users access ERCS the following message appears on the Main Menu screen if there are uploading issues that need to be resolved: "There are ERCS-AIMS Uploading results to check. Use the ‘Check AIMS Results’ selection to View/Print or Delete results file(s)" . These reports must be worked daily and issues resolved timely. Once all issues from a report have been resolved, the user should delete the report.

Items to consider when requesting updates:

When a return is ready to be closed on ERCS, it is recommended that the examiner's time sheet be completed to date with all time applied to the return and given to the administrative support staff for input. If the time applied to the return is entered into ERCS prior to closure, it will make it easier for the administrative support staff to compare the time on the ERCS closing screen to the hours on the Form 5344, Examination Closing Record, to ensure they match. A Case Time Analysis report should be run to reconcile hours charged prior to submitting the case for closure. Discrepancies in the time on ERCS and the time on Form 5344 should be reported to the manager.

The manager should review the return for closure while it is still in a group status. Once the manager has approved the closure, the returns should be closed on ERCS.

When reviewing and approving a return to be closed using a non-examined DC, the manager should check for time applied to the return to make sure it is not excessive. The amount of time considered to be excessive is to be determined by the local area or practice area office.

When reviewing and approving a return to be closed using an examined DC, the manager should check for time applied to the return on ERCS to make sure it matches the time on Form 5344.

If an examined return is not an ERCS penalty, collateral, or a non-AIMS control record, it must be fully established on AIMS prior to closure.

During the closing process, information entered into ERCS should be complete and accurate, including the electronic case file designation. Managers should disapprove closures with incomplete or missing information. Once the manager approves returns closed to Status Codes 21, 41 or 51, establish control must be used to pull the return back to a group status code on ERCS in order to correct missing or incorrect data.

Once the closing status and DC are entered, ERCS determines what other data items are required. If dollar amounts for deficiency, penalty, adjustments, or interest are required they should be entered accurately. This information may be monitored and compared with AIMS or Master File data to check for input errors.

The following chart shows the statuses and forms used when closing returns using examined DCs:

The following chart shows the statuses and forms used when closing returns with non-examined DCs:

A valid NAICS code is required when closing some types of returns with examined DCs. If a valid NAICS code is required, it must be updated before the case may be closed.

If the amount claimed is $1, it should be updated to the correct amount prior to closing the return.

After the data is input for the closure, the user enters the information to create the Form 3210. If there is an error or change needed in an address listed the user may update the address on the Form 3210 being generated. The user should contact the A/E staff to make permanent changes to the addresses.

Once a return is closed on ERCS, the administrative support staff should notify the manager the closure is ready for approval on ERCS. The closure should be approved within two business days. When the status code update is reflected on AIMS the cases should be shipped to the receiving function within three business days. See Document 13056, Shipping Procedures for Personally Identifiable Information (PII), for packaging procedures for returns.

The group remains responsible for the returns while they are in transit (Status Codes 21, 41, and 51) and must follow-up on any unacknowledged Form 3210 after 21 calendar days for Status Codes 21 and 41, and 30 calendar days for Status Code 51. When the Form 3210 is acknowledged or when ERCS and AIMS are updated to another status code within these functions, the responsibility for the returns shifts to the receiving function.

For transfers out of area or practice area, users should refer to local procedures. LB&I and Specialty administrative support staff must be granted permission for DC 30 in order to transfer returns to another area or practice area.