Gregorio and Viviana Mankita - Page 10




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               Respondent mailed the notice of deficiency on March 24,                
          1994.  Petitioners delivered a petition to the U.S. Embassy in              
          Mexico City on August 17, 1994.  It was not an abuse of                     
          discretion for respondent not to abate interest for the period              
          from March 25 to August 17, 1994, because respondent made no                
          error or delay in performing a ministerial act.  See sec. 6404(e)           
          (flush language).                                                           
               6.   August 18, 1994, to September 30, 1996                            
               Petitioners’ petition was received by the U.S. Embassy in              
          Mexico City on August 17, 1994, and by this Court on September 6,           
          1994.  An unexplained delay in transferring a file is a                     
          ministerial error.  See, e.g., sec. 301.6404-2T(b), Example (1),            
          Temporary Proced. & Admin. Regs., 52 Fed. Reg. 30163 (Aug. 13,              
          1987) (a delay in transferring a case, after transfer was                   
          approved, is the result of a ministerial act).  However, we do              
          not believe that the delay in the Tax Court’s receipt of the                
          petition affected the pace of settlement of the case, discussed             
          below, nor did it cause petitioners to delay the payment of                 
          interest.                                                                   
               We received petitioners’ petition on September 6, 1994, and,           
          on October 21, 1994, we granted respondent's motion to dismiss              
          the petition for lack of jurisdiction because it was not timely             
          filed.                                                                      
               Between October 21, 1994, and February 1, 1995, Dietz asked            
          respondent to reconsider petitioners’ case, and Keenan obtained             




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