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postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. Fujioka v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1999-316. We rely on the credible testimony of the
witness from the U.S. Postal Service and find that the normal
delivery time for first-class mail between Mobile, Alabama, and
Washington, D.C., is approximately 3 days. Cf. Beacham v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-226. In the instant case, the
petition was received by this Court 14 days after the date shown
on the private postmark. Because the petition was not delivered
within the normal delivery time, petitioner will not be entitled
to relief unless he can establish: (1) The actual date of
mailing was prior to the expiration of the 90-day period; (2)
that the delay in delivery was attributable to a delay in the
transmission of mail; and (3) the cause of such delay. Fujioka
v. Commissioner, supra; sec. 301.7502-1(c)(1)(iii)(b), Proced. &
Admin. Regs.
Petitioner contends that his case is similar to that in
Rotenberry v. Commissioner, 847 F.2d 229 (5th Cir. 1988), revg.
and remanding an Order of this Court, where the petition was
mailed 2 days before Christmas and received by this Court 8 days
later. We find that case distinguishable on its facts.
Petitioner states in his opposition to the motion to dismiss that
there was a delay in the delivery of the petition and that the
delay was attributable to one or more of the following factors:
(a) the fact that May 24, 1999 was one week before the
Memorial Day celebration on May 31, 1999, a federal holiday,
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