The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 resulted in a complete restructuring and reformatting of the IRM to align with IRS business processes. One of the primary goals of IRS modernization was to restore and maintain the IRM as the single, official compilation of IRS policies, procedures, and guidelines. The IRM is the primary source of instructions to staff.

See IRM 9.1.2, for the delegated authority relating to 9.12.1 Miscellaneous Administrative Procedures.

Written communications involving matters to which access is limited should be mailed in double sealed envelopes marked, "to be opened by addressee only." This applies to:

Official matters should not be discussed in public or within the hearing of the public (see IRM 9.3.1).

The designations "Top Secret", "Secret", and "Confidential" may be used only on documents containing information affecting the national security of the United States as defined in Executive Order 12958, Classified National Security Information as amended.

Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) shall be the primary term used to mark sensitive but unclassified information originating within Treasury/Bureau offices. Previous designations to label sensitive information like Limited Official Use (LOU), For Official Use Only (FOUO), Eyes Only, etc. shall be discontinued in identifying SBU information produced within Treasury/Bureaus unless a particular term is authorized by law, statute or agency regulation or as identified by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the Privacy Act. Except for the term “Law Enforcement Sensitive” used by Criminal Investigation (CI), no other terms shall be applied to Treasury/Bureau originated sensitive information determined to be SBU unless authorized by law, statute, or regulation.

Any documents that retain the designation “LOU”, “FOUO”, “OUO”, etc. should be considered as designated SBU/Law Enforcement Sensitive.

When transmitting documents by regular mail, registered mail, certified mail or other express service, confirmation of delivery will be used if any of the following documents are included in the transmittal:

Should confirmation of delivery not be received by the office transmitting such files or documents within a reasonable period, not to exceed 15 days, inquiry is to be made through the regular channels of the delivery service in regard to the apparent failure of registered mail or express service to reach the addressee.

The legal restrictions for facsimile transmission of tax information is the same as for responding to an inquiry for tax information by telephone or mailing tax information to third parties. Guidelines regarding the faxing of return and return information can be found in IRM 11.3.1, Introduction to Disclosure.

Employees may not use e-mail to transmit SBU data unless they use the IRS Secure Messaging (SM) system. Secure Messaging allows users to encrypt e-mail messages and attachments for transmission between IRS employees. However, both the sender and recipient must have SM to protect the e-mail.

See IRM 11.3.1 (subsection 11.3.1.14.2, Electronic Mail and Secure Messaging, and IRM 10.8.1, Policy and Guidance (subsection 10.8.1.4.6.3, Electronic Mail (E-Mail) Security) for additional information regarding e-mail guidelines.

The Criminal Investigation Chief’s Award may be presented to individuals who have made a significant contribution benefiting CI nationwide. Those who may qualify for this award are both internal and external. CI and IRS employees, as well as law enforcement or regulatory officials, state attorneys, Department of Justice Attorneys, Assistant United States Attorneys and United States Attorneys whose contribution was national in scope will be considered.

The Chief’s award can be granted when the Services, or other personal efforts performed by an individual official or an organization, have substantially exceeded normal standards and expectations and have a national impact on the CI mission.

Submit the request in writing, to the respective Director, Field Operations or the Headquarters Directors' for Operations, Policy and Support; Strategy; Refund Crimes; or Technology Operations and Investigative Services for approval. This request should be submitted at least 60 days prior to the date needed to ensure sufficient time to order the award and engraving.

Written request for the Chief’s award must contain the following information:

After approval by the Director, Field Operations, or HQ Director, the request will be forwarded to the Director, Communications & Education to coordinate final approval by the Chief, CI.

If approved by the Chief, CI the respective Director, Field Operations or HQ Director will be responsible for planning the award presentation at a time convenient for both the Chief, CI and the recipient. This will be coordinated with the Director, Communications & Education.

Should a request for this award be disapproved, a local field office award may be given subject to the approval of the SAC.

In grand jury investigations and investigations pending legal action, any decisions to limit or suspend activities must be closely coordinated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Some financial crimes and tax evasion schemes, such as profiteering and price gouging, proliferate during and after disasters. Criminal Investigation may wish to focus attention on these areas as a potential source of investigations.

The SAC may wish to consider making special agents available to assist local law enforcement authorities in a disaster. General Legal Services shall be consulted to determine the legal authority and potential liability issues involved before any such assistance is provided.

The successful completion of a pre-employment background investigation is required for CI employees to access the CI system network and applications.

The completion and approval of the TFO application, Memorandum of Understanding, and CI TFO Mandatory Briefings Certification is required for CI TFOs to access the CI system network and applications.

Contracts for individuals requiring CI network access will include a requirement that the contracting company provide results showing the individual assigned to a CI contract has passed a drug test and preliminary background investigation prior to access being granted to the CI system network and applications. The test must check for the drugs specified by the IRS Drug Free Work Program and be dated no earlier than 30 days prior to the request for CI system network and applications access.

All CI employees, TFOs, and contractors will be granted access to the CI network and appropriate applications following a request by the first-line manager. In making a request for access the CI network, the manager will:

In instances where there is a bona fide business need for non-CI personnel to access the CI network, a request for CI system access and CI hardware will be made by the SAC or appropriate management official to their Executive Director.

A template for the access request is available through the CI Unified Checklist or current document management system. The request must include:

The Executive Director will either approve or disapprove the access request.

The Executive Director will forward the approved access request to the Executive Director of Technology Operations and Investigative Services for review to ensure consistency throughout CI. The SAC or management official will ensure non-CI personnel complete the System Access Computer Security briefing. The establishment of an account will be made through the Director, Technology Operations and Investigative Services or their designee.

The account will remain active until:

An extension of the access period can be requested by the originating SAC or management official and approved by the Executive Director by e-mail. The approved extension will be forwarded to the Executive Director, Technology Operations and Investigative Services.

Non-CI personnel granted access to the CI network will be allowed access only through CI imaged hardware. Connectivity to the CI network will not be allowed through use of another IRS business unit, agency, or contractor computer.