§ 16-01 General – Definition and Nature of Letter Rulings.
RCNY § 16-01
(a)A letter ruling is a written statement setting forth the applicability of statutory and regulatory provisions of any tax or charge administered by the Department of Finance, to a specified set of facts. Letter rulings are issued on behalf of the Commissioner of Finance by the Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs, to whom the Commissioner of Finance's authority to issue letter rulings is delegated.
(b)Areas in which letter rulings may be requested. Any person may request a ruling relating to any tax or charge administered by the Department of Finance. A letter ruling may be sought with respect to a substantive question or a procedural one. Rulings may be requested with respect to questions arising in the course of an audit or an examination of a tax return, or with respect to questions relating to a taxpayer's claim for refund or credit.
(c)Areas in which letter rulings will not be issued. No ruling will be issued: (1) covering an issue or set of facts regarding which a notice of determination or a notice of disallowance of a claim for refund or credit has been issued to the taxpayer; or (2) covering an issue or set of facts regarding which any taxpayer has been granted leave to appeal or regarding which the Department of Finance is seeking or has been granted leave to appeal an adverse decision to any court of the State of New York or the United States; or (3) covering an issue which is clearly and adequately addressed by statutes, regulations, published rulings or other official pronouncements of the Department of Finance; or (4) where the issue presented pertains to subject matter which, in accordance with a public pronouncement, is under study by the Department of Finance; or (5) if the conclusion reached in such a ruling would require a factual determination which is properly an audit function.
(d)Areas in which rulings will be issued at the discretion of the Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs. The Department of Finance reserves the right not to issue a ruling on hypothetical facts.
