amount shall, when the decision of the Board has become final, be credited or refunded to the taxpayer. No such credit or refund shall be made of any portion of the tax paid more than two years before the filing of the claim or the filing of the petition, whichever is earlier.

(e) Tax withheld at source. For refund or credit in case of excessive withholding at the source, see section 144 (f).

ART. 1251. Authority for abatement, credit, and refund of tax.Authority for the credit and refund of any overpayment of any income tax imposed by the Revenue Act of 1928 is contained in section 322.

Section 273 (j) prohibits the filing of claims for abatement by taxpayers with respect to assessments of income tax imposed by Title I of the Revenue Act of 1928. (See article 1182.) The provisions of section 273 (j) do not impair the authority of the collectors to file claims with the Commissioner for relief from charges against them for uncollectible items, in accordance with section 3218 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, which provides:

SEC. 3218. Every collector shall be charged with the whole amount of taxes, whether contained in lists transmitted to him by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or by other collectors, or delivered to him by his predecessor in office, and with the additions thereto, with the par value of all stamps deposited with him, and with all moneys collected for penalties, forfeitures, fees, or costs; and he shall be credited with all payments into the Treasury made as provided by law, with all stamps returned by him uncanceled to the Treasury, and with the amount of taxes contained in the lists transmitted in the manner heretofore provided to other collectors, and by them receipted as aforesaid; also with the amount of the taxes of such persons as may have absconded, or become insolvent, prior to the day when the tax ought, according to the provisions of law, to have been collected, and with all uncollected taxes transferred by him or by his deputy acting as collector to his successor in office: Provided, That it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who shall certify the facts to the (First) Comptroller of the Treasury, that due diligence was used by the collector. And each collector shall also be credited with the amount of all property purchased by him for the use of the United States, provided he faithfully account for and pay over the proceeds thereof upon a resale of the same as required by law.

ART. 1252. Abatement, credit, and refund adjustments.-Overassessments and overpayments of income taxes will be adjusted by means of certificates of overassessment. Credits or refunds of overpayments on the basis of such certificates of overassessment may not be allowed or made, however, after the expiration of the statutory period of limitation properly applicable unless prior to the expiration of such period a claim therefor on Form 843 has been

filed by the taxpayer. The claim, together with appropriate supporting evidence, must be filed in the office of the collector for the district in which the tax was paid. Where an amount of tax in excess of that properly due has been paid by a withholding agent, the credit or refund of such excess amount shall be made to the withholding agent unless the amount of such tax was actually withheld by the withholding agent. (See section 144 (f).) As to interest in case of credits or refunds, see sections 614 and 615.

ART. 1253. Claims by collectors.-A collector may present blanket claims on Form 843 for the abatement of certain items which were erroneously assessed. Many of these items fall in a class where the error in assessment is apparent, and the abatement of such assessment by use of blanket claims serves to relieve the collector of the charge against him for such amounts and to relieve him in an expeditious manner of the duty of collecting from the taxpayer certain amounts which a summary examination clearly shows are not due from the taxpayer. Some of the items included in this class of cases are duplicate assessments, amounts assessed as unidentified collections and later identified, assessments resulting from errors in computation, and amounts assessed as excess collections which are subsequently credited against taxes later found to be due. The collector may include in such claims overassessments discovered by him in the audit of returns which he is authorized by the Commissioner to audit.

In the event any such assessment has been paid, the collector may file a blanket claim on Form 843 for credit of such amounts against any unpaid assessments standing against the taxpayer upon the assessment lists held by the collector. If there are no such unpaid assessments against which credit may be taken, the collector shall submit refund schedules to cover such amounts in accordance with instructions issued by the Commissioner. But no such credit or refund shall be allowed or made unless allowed or made within the statutory period of limitation properly applicable thereto.

The collector may also present claims for credit of taxes not erroneously assessed but found to be uncollectible. See section 3218 of the Revised Statutes, as amended. In such cases the collector or deputy collector who made the demand for payment and is conversant with the facts may prepare the claim for credit on Form 53. Even though the collector is so credited with the amount allowed as uncollectible, nevertheless the obligation to pay still remains upon the person assessed. It is the duty of the collector to use the same diligence to collect the tax after he has received credit for an amount as uncollectible as before the allowance of such credit. Collectors

should therefore keep a record of all taxes thus credited and of the persons from whom they are due and should enforce payment whenever it is in their power to do so.

ART. 1254. Claims for refund by taxpayers.-Claims by the taxpayer for the refunding of taxes, interest, penalties, and additions to tax erroneously or illegally collected shall be made on Form 843. A separate claim on such form shall be made for each taxable year or period. All facts relied upon in support of the claim should be clearly set forth in detail under oath. If a return is filed by an individual and a refund claim is thereafter filed by a legal representative of the deceased, certified copies of the letters testamentary, letters of administration, or other similar evidence must be annexed to the claim, to show the authority of the executor, administrator, or other fiduciary by whom the claim is filed. If an executor, administrator, guardian, trustee, receiver, or other fiduciary files a return and thereafter a refund claim is filed by the same fiduciary, documentary evidence to establish the legal authority of the fiduciary need not accompany the claim, provided a statement is made in the claim showing that the return was filed by the fiduciary and that the latter is still acting. In such cases, if a refund or interest is to be paid, letters testamentary, letters of administration, or other evidence may be required, but should be submitted only upon the receipt of a specific request therefor. If a claim is filed by a fiduciary other than the one by whom the return was filed, the necessary documentary evidence should accompany the claim. The affidavit may be made by the agent of the person assessed, but in such case a power of attorney must accompany the claim. Checks in payment of claims allowed will be drawn in the names of the persons entitled to the money and may be sent to such persons in care of an attorney or agent who has filed a power of attorney specifically authorizing him to receive such checks. The Commissioner may, however, send any such check direct to the claimant. In this connection, see section 3477 of the Revised Statutes, which provides:

SEC. 3477. All transfers and assignments made of any claim upon the United States, or of any part or share thereof, or interest therein, whether absolute or conditional, and whatever may be the consideration therefor, and all powers of attorney, orders, or other authorities for receiving payment of any such claim, or of any part or share thereof, shall be absolutely null and void, unless they are freely made and executed in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, after the allowance of such a claim, the ascertainment of the amount due, and the issuing of a warrant for the payment thereof. Such transfers, assignments, and powers of attorney, must recite the warrant for payment, and must be acknowledged by the person making them, before an officer having authority to take acknowledgments of deeds, and shall be certi

fied by the officer; and it must appear by the certificate that the officer, at the time of the acknowledgment, read and fully explained the transfer, assignment, or warrant of attorney to the person acknowledging the same.

The Commissioner has no authority to refund on equitable grounds penalties or other amounts legally collected. As to claims for refund of sums recovered by suit, see articles 1255 and 1256.

ART. 1255. Claims for refund in case of judgment obtained against collector. (a) Claims for the amount of a judgment against a collector of internal revenue for the recovery of taxes, penalties, or other sums should be made on Form 843 and filed with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Washington, D. C. The claimant should state the grounds of his claim under oath, giving the names of all the parties to the suit, the cause of action, the date of its commencement, the date of the judgment, the court in which it was recovered, and its amount. To this affidavit there should be annexed a certified copy of the final judgment in duplicate, a certificate of probable cause, and an itemized bill of the costs paid, receipted by the clerk or other proper officer of the court. In this connection section 989 of the Revised Statutes provides:

SEC. 989. When a recovery is had in any suit or proceeding against a collector or other officer of the revenue for any act done by him, or for the recovery of any money exacted by or paid to him and by him paid into the Treasury, in the performance of his official duty, and the court certifies that there was probable cause for the act done by the collector or other officer, or that he acted under the directions of the Secretary of the Treasury, or other proper officer of the Government, no execution shall issue against such collector or other officer, but the amount so recovered shall, upon final judgment, be provided for and paid out of the proper appropriation from the Treasury.

(b) If the judgment debtor shall have already paid the amount recovered against him, the claim should be made in his name. A certificate of the clerk of the court in which the judgment was recovered (or other satisfactory evidence), showing that the judgment has been satisfied and specifying the exact sum paid in its satisfaction, with a detail of all items of costs which were paid by the judgment debtor or for which he is liable, should accompany the claim. (See further article 1254.)

ART. 1256. Claims for refund in case of judgment obtained against the United States. Claims for the amounts of judgments rendered by United States District Courts and the United States Court of Claims against the United States for the recovery of taxes, penalties, or other sums shall be made on Form 843 in the manner prescribed by

paragraph (a) of article 1255 in the case of judgments against collectors, except that

(a) A certificate of probable cause is not required;

(b) The claims shall be executed in duplicate; and

(c) In the case of a judgment rendered by the Court of Claims there may be submitted, in place of a certified copy of the final judgment, a certificate of the judgment issued by the clerk of the court and two copies of the court's opinion, if any was rendered.

ART. 1257. Limitations upon the crediting and refunding of taxes paid. (a) Except as provided in (b) of this article, (1) the Commissioner is prohibited from making credits or refunds of income tax imposed by the Revenue Act of 1928 after two years from the time the tax was paid unless before the expiration of such two-year period a claim there for is filed, and (2) the amount of such credit or refund shall not exceed the portion of the tax paid during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the allowance of the credit or refund, or, if the credit or refund is based upon a claim, the amount of the credit or refund shall not exceed the portion of the tax paid during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of filing such claim.

(b) In any case where a person having a right to file a petition with the Board of Tax Appeals with respect to a deficiency in income tax imposed by the Revenue Act of 1928 files such petition within the prescribed time, no credit or refund of the tax for the year to which the deficiency relates shall be allowed or made, and no suit for the recovery of any part of such tax shall be instituted by the taxpayer, except that

(1) If the Board finds that there is no deficiency but that the person has overpaid his tax for the year to which the notice of deficiency relates, and the decision of the Board as to the amount overpaid has become final (see section 1005 of the Revenue Act of 1926), the overpayment shall be credited or refunded, but no such credit or refund shall be made of any portion of the tax paid more than two years before the filing of the refund claim therefor or the filing of the petition, whichever is earlier.

(2) In the case of a jeopardy assessment made under section 273, if the amount which should have been assessed as determined by a decision of the Board which has become final is less than the amount already collected, the excess payment shall be credited or refunded subject to the limitation provided in (b) (1) of this article.

(3) If the amount of the deficiency determined by the Board (in a case where collection has not been stayed by the filing of a bond)