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under section 6201(a)(3).”
On October 2, 2000, a hearing on respondent’s motions was
held at the Court’s trial session in Columbia, South Carolina.
Discussion
The trustees seek judicial review of administrative actions
instituted by respondent to recover what respondent alleges were
erroneous refunds paid to the trusts. As described below, the
administrative collection procedures instituted by respondent are
distinct from the deficiency procedures upon which this Court’s
jurisdiction is generally predicated.
Section 6201 authorizes and requires the Secretary “to make
the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes * * *
imposed” by the Internal Revenue Code. The assessment of tax,
which is ordinarily the first step in the collection process, is
accomplished by recording the taxpayer’s liability in the office
of the Secretary. See sec. 6203.
In certain circumstances, pursuant to the general authority
of section 6201, the Commissioner can summarily (immediately)
assess certain amounts, including overstatements on a return or a
claim for refund of the credit for income tax withholdings. See
sec. 6201(a)(3).
In other circumstances, the Commissioner cannot assess the
tax until he has followed deficiency proceedings. In particular,
if the Commissioner determines that there is a deficiency in the
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