R861-1A-34. Private Letter Rulings Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. Section 59-1-210

A. Private letter rulings are written, informational statements of the commission's interpretation of statutes or administrative rules, or informational statements concerning the application of statutes and rules to specific facts and circumstances.

1. Private letter rulings address questions that have not otherwise been addressed in statutes, rules, or decisions issued by the commission.

2. The commission shall not knowingly issue a private letter ruling on a matter pending before the commission in an audit assessment, refund request, or other agency action, or regarding matters that are pending before the court on judicial review of a commission decision. Any private letter ruling inadvertently issued on a matter pending agency or judicial action shall be set aside until the conclusion of that action.

3. Requests for private letter rulings must be addressed to the commission in writing. If the requesting party is dissatisfied with the ruling, that party may resubmit the request along with new facts or information for commission review.

B. The weight afforded a private letter ruling in a subsequent audit or administrative appeal depends upon the degree to which the underlying facts addressed in the ruling were adequate to allow thorough consideration of the issues and interests involved.

C. A private letter ruling is not a final agency action. Petitioner must use the designated appeal process to address judiciable controversies arising from the issuance of a private letter ruling.

1. If the private letter ruling leads to a denial of a claim, an audit assessment, or some other agency action at a divisional level, the taxpayer must use the appeals procedures to challenge that action within 30 days of the final division decision.

2. If the only matter at issue in the private letter ruling is a challenge to the commission's interpretation of statutory language or a challenge to the commission's authority under a statute, the matter may come before the commission as a petition for declaratory order submitted within 30 days of the date of the ruling challenged.