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Special agents may make seizures for evidence during an investigation. This section covers the policies and procedures relating to the seizure of assets and property as evidence.

Gathering information necessary for the enforcement and administration of tax laws is granted to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue through Treasury Order 150-10. It is further clarified in Policy Statement 1-1.

See IRM 9.1.2, Authority for the delegated authority relating to IRM 9.7.12, Evidence Seizures.

The authority for seizing evidence with a search warrant in accordance with the Fourth Amendment arises from 26 USC 7608.

The Director, ARIS is responsible for developing, maintaining, and overseeing this IRM and ensuring compliance with current policies and procedures.

The Director, ARIS will:

The Director, ARIS will review and oversee their program as well as ensuring employee compliance with all applicable elements of this IRM.

The following table lists the terms and acronyms used throughout this IRM section and their definitions:

IRM 9.7.2, Civil Seizure and Forfeiture.

IRM 9.7.8, Disposition of Seized and Forfeited Property.

At least quarterly, the AFC should provide each SSA with an AFTRAK report (for all currency, firearms, and evidence valued at $500 or more) and field office database report (for evidence valued at below $500) for each of their assigned cases for reconciliation and validation. The SSA will review the accuracy of the reports and notify the AFC of any discrepancies.

The AFC will conduct a mid-year and fiscal year-end inventory of property seized as evidence in accordance with instructions from ARIS to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the AFTRAK system.

When property seized as evidence is no longer needed, it should be returned unless a determination has been made to pursue forfeiture of the property through a forfeiture proceeding.

The case agent is responsible for notifying the AFC when any property seized as evidence is returned.

When property seized as evidence is returned, the case agent will complete a Release of Claim and Form 5914, Release and Receipt of Property, and obtain the signature of the person to whom the property is returned. A copy of these forms can be found at IRS Forms and Pubs. If the property cannot be returned, the case agent and/or AFC will prepare the proper disposal or abandonment paperwork.

The seized property contractor cannot take custody of property seized solely as evidence. If property seized as evidence is determined to be subject to forfeiture, the property may be transferred to the seized property contractor.

Safe deposit boxes are the preferred storage method to securely store small items of property seized as evidence that have significant value. To preserve the chain of custody, strict procedures will be followed in using a safe deposit box for storage:

If a safe deposit box cannot be secured, a secure safe within the field office must be used. Access to this safe should be limited to the AFC and a member of field office management (i.e. SSA, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC), or Special Agent in Charge (SAC)). The same procedures described above to maintain chain of custody should be followed.

When a computer is seized as evidence, the CIS should retrieve the stored data for evidentiary purposes. Once the evidence has been retrieved, the seized computer may be returned to the owner. If the computer hardware has evidentiary value or may be subject to forfeiture, it shall remain in the custody of the CIS until it no longer has evidentiary value.

Approval must be obtained to hold currency seized as evidence for Title 18 and Title 26 violations.

If the amount of seized currency to be held as evidence is less than $5,000, written approval to hold the currency must be granted at a supervisory level within the US Attorney's Office (USAO). Such approval must be provided to CI within 60 days of seizure or within 10 days of indictment, whichever comes first.

In a Title 18 investigation, if the amount of seized currency to be held as evidence is $5,000 or more, approval to hold the currency as evidence must be obtained by the local USAO from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), who has authority to approve exceptions to the DOJ Seized Cash Management Policy. The case agent or AFC may need to inform the Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) responsible for the investigation of this policy.

CI shall promptly submit a copy of the approval document issued by MLARS to the Director, Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF), through the Director, Global Operations Policy and Support (GO).

In a Title 26 investigation, if the amount of seized currency to be held as evidence is $5,000 or more, written approval to hold the currency as evidence must be obtained from the Director, GO

After the initial written approval is obtained, the case agent or AFC will verify and document during the mid-year and fiscal year-end inventory whether the AUSA wants CI to continue to hold the seized currency as evidence.

A safe deposit box is the preferred method of storage for currency seized as evidence. If a seizure of currency is made during hours when access to a safe deposit box is not possible, currency may be stored temporarily in a CI safe, provided access to the safe is limited and a log containing the information described in subsection 9.7.12.3.2 is maintained.

Currency seized as evidence shall not be deposited to the Treasury Suspense Account (TSA) or the IRS Suspense Account unless and until it is determined to be subject to forfeiture and no longer has evidentiary value.

Any currency deposited to the TSA or IRS Suspense Account is presumed to be subject to forfeiture for purposes of the time limits for sending written notice to interested parties. Approval for any exceptions to this policy must be requested by memorandum from the SAC to the Director, ARIS, justifying the reason and legal basis to deposit seized currency held as evidence.

Some forfeiture AUSAs may recommend or require a seizure warrant to re-seize property previously seized as evidence for forfeiture. Other AUSAs may feel it is not necessary to get a seizure warrant and re-seize property seized as evidence if there was probable cause to believe property was subject to forfeiture before and the property was seized during a lawful search or arrest or where an exception to the Fourth Amendment would apply. It is the recommendation of the TEOAF and IRS Criminal Tax (CT) Counsel that a seizure warrant be obtained to re-seize property for forfeiture which was previously seized as evidence.

If property is seized solely as evidence (i.e., there is no intent of forfeiting), the 60¨Cday notice provisions required by 18 USC 983(a) do not apply because there will not be a forfeiture proceeding.

If there is a remote chance that the property seized will be forfeited in a non-judicial civil forfeiture proceeding, notice should be sent no more than 60 days after the date of seizure. (see IRM 9.7.2, Civil Seizure and Forfeiture, for additional guidance on notice issues relating to non-judicial forfeiture investigations.)

If a forfeiture action is initiated against property needed for evidence and the property is subsequently forfeited, the disposition of the property can be delayed until the property is no longer needed for evidence.

Thorough documentation is required to show that the property was held as evidence in good faith and not for purposes of delaying notice of the forfeiture action.