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returned the September 3 envelope to Reynolds; (2) Reynolds
removed the petition from the September 3 envelope and placed it
in a new FedEx envelope (the September 16 envelope). Reynolds
also enclosed affidavits from Brown and himself; and (3) Reynolds
deposited the September 16 envelope with FedEx for delivery to
the Tax Court.
FedEx delivered the September 16 envelope to the Tax Court
on September 17, 1999.
Discussion
The issue raised by respondent’s motion to dismiss is
whether petitioner timely filed the petition. Resolution of this
question depends on whether the envelope containing the petition
was properly addressed within the meaning of section
7502(a)(2)(B). This is the first case in which we must decide
whether a petition sent to the Court by a private delivery
service under section 7502(f) was timely filed for purposes of
section 7502(a)(2)(B).
A. Timely Mailing Is Timely Filing
To maintain an action in this Court, a taxpayer must file a
timely petition. See sec. 6213. Failure to timely file prevents
this Court from acquiring jurisdiction. See Estate of Cerrito v.
Commissioner, 73 T.C. 896, 898 (1980); Stone v. Commissioner, 73
T.C. 617, 618 (1980).
A petition is timely if it is filed with the Court within 90
days after the notice of deficiency is mailed. See sec. 6213(a).
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