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any error or delay by the Commissioner’s officers or employees in
performing a ministerial act; or (2) any payment of tax to the
extent any error or delay in such payment is attributable to such
officers or employees being erroneous or dilatory in performing a
ministerial act.7 An error or delay by the Commissioner can be
taken into account only if it occurs after the Commissioner has
contacted the taxpayer in writing with respect to the deficiency
or payment and if no “significant aspect” of the error or delay
is attributed to the taxpayer. Sec. 6404(e)(1); Nerad v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-376. A “ministerial act” does not
involve the exercise of judgment or discretion. Sec. 301.6404-
2T(b)(1), Temporary Proced. & Admin. Regs., 52 Fed. Reg. 30163
(Aug. 13, 1987). It is a procedural or mechanical act that
occurs during the processing of the taxpayer’s case after all
prerequisites to the act, such as conferences and review by
supervisors, have taken place. See id. Because Congress did not
intend for section 6404(e) to be used routinely, we order
abatement only “where failure to abate interest would be widely
perceived as grossly unfair.” Lee v. Commissioner, 113 T.C. 145,
149 (1999); H. Rept. 99-426, at 844 (1985), 1986-3 C.B. (Vol. 2)
7In 1996, sec. 6404(e)(1) was amended by the Taxpayer Bill
of Rights 2, Pub. L. 104-168, sec. 301, 110 Stat. 1452, 1457
(1996), to allow the Commissioner to abate interest for an
“unreasonable” error or delay resulting from “managerial” and
ministerial acts. The amendment is in effect for tax years
beginning after July 30, 1996, and thus is not applicable in this
case. See Woodral v. Commissioner, 112 T.C. 19, 25 n.8 (1999).
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