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2. Equivalent Hearing
In lieu of a hearing under section 6330(b), the Appeals
Office granted petitioner a so-called equivalent hearing. During
the motions hearing in this case, the Court raised the question
whether the equivalent hearing might be considered a waiver by
respondent of the 30-day filing period in which a taxpayer must
file a request for an Appeals Office hearing under section
6330(a)(2) and (3)(B) and (b). Respondent argued that there was
no such waiver. We agree.
We note that section 6330 does not authorize the
Commissioner to waive the time restrictions imposed therein.
Equally important, in Offiler v. Commissioner, supra, we
indicated that, where the taxpayer failed to file a timely
request for an Appeals Office hearing in respect of a notice of
intent to levy, an Appeals Office review of the taxpayer’s case
pursuant to the Collection Appeals Program did not result in a
determination within the meaning of section 6320 or 6330. Upon
reflection, we are satisfied that the decision to grant
petitioner an equivalent hearing in this case simply reflects
respondent’s good faith effort to further a fundamental policy
underlying section 6330; i.e., to provide a taxpayer with a final
opportunity for administrative review before proceeding with
enforced collection. Consistent with the foregoing, we hold that
the decision to conduct an equivalent hearing did not result in a
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