Opinion
1668-21
12-07-2021
Safiya K. Bourne Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
Maurice B. Foley, Chief Judge
The petition in the above-docketed matter was filed on January 4, 2021, and 2017 was referenced as the taxable year in dispute. Attached to the petition was a notice of deficiency dated February 18, 2020, issued to petitioner with respect to the 2017 taxable year. An answer to the petition followed on May 10, 2021, but did not address jurisdictional matters.
Thereafter, and unexpectedly given the state of the record, the parties on August 16, 2021, submitted a stipulated decision resolving the case and reflecting no deficiency due from petitioner for 2017. Nonetheless, review of the record continues to suggest a fundamental jurisdictional defect that would prevent entry of the just-referenced decision. In particular, the date of the notice of deficiency underlying this proceeding indicates a statutory deadline for filing a petition pursuant to section 6213(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) that expired on May 18, 2020. Conversely, the envelope in which the petition was received had been sent by UPS 2nd Day Air and bears a ship date of December 29, 2020. An additional envelope within suggests that the petition may previously have been sent via UPS 3 Day Select with a ship date of May 18, 2020, and thereafter returned, but UPS 3 Day Select is not a designated private delivery service for purposes of the section 7502, I.R.C., timely mailing provisions.
The premises considered, it is
ORDERED that, on or before December 30, 2021, the parties shall show cause in writing why this case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, on the ground that the petition was not mailed to or filed with the Tax Court within the time prescribed by section 6213(a) or 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.).