In general. In the absence of a showing of fraud, malfeasance, or misrepresentation of fact, if the tax matters partner enters into a settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service with respect to partnership items, including partnership-level determinations relating to any penalty, addition to tax, or additional amounts that relate to adjustments to partnership items, and expressly states that the agreement shall be binding on the other partners, then that agreement shall be binding on all partners except those who—

Are, as of the day on which the agreement is entered into, either notice partners or members of a notice group (see § 301.6223(b)-1(c)(4) for the date on which a partner becomes a member of a notice group); or

Have, at least 30 days before the day on which the agreement is entered into, filed with the Internal Revenue Service the statement described in paragraph (c) of this section.

Indirect partners—(1) In general. If, under paragraph (a) of this section, a pass-thru partner is not bound by an agreement entered into by the tax matters partner, all indirect partners holding an interest in the partnership through that pass-thru partner shall not be bound by that agreement. If, however, the pass-thru partner is bound by an agreement entered into by the tax matters partner, paragraph (a) of this section shall be applied separately to each indirect partner holding an interest in the partnership through the pass-thru partner to determine whether the indirect partner is also bound by the agreement.

Example. The following example illustrates the principles of this section:

Partnership P has over 100 partners. Partnership J is a partner in partnership P with a profits interest of less than 1 percent. Partnership J has three partners, A, B, and C. A is a member of a notice group with respect to partnership P, but B and C are not. On July 1, 2002, B filed the statement described in paragraph (c) of this section not to be bound by any settlement agreement entered into by the tax matters partner of partnership P. On August 1, 2002, the tax matters partner of partnership P enters into a settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service and states that the agreement is binding on other partners as provided in section 6224(c)(3). Because partnership J is bound by the settlement agreement, paragraph (a) of this section is applied separately to each of the indirect partners to determine whether they are bound. A is not bound by the agreement because A was a member of a notice group on the day the agreement was entered into and B is not bound because B filed the statement not to be bound at least 30 days before the agreement was entered into. C is bound by the settlement agreement.

Statement not to be bound—(1) Contents of statement. The statement referred to in paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall—

Be clearly identified as a statement to deny settlement authority to the tax matters partner under section 6224(c)(3)(B);

Identify the partner and partnership by name, address, and taxpayer identification number;

Specify the taxable year or years to which the statement applies; and

Be signed by the partner filing the statement.

Place where statement is to be filed. The statement described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section generally shall be filed with the Internal Revenue Service service center where the partnership return is filed. However, if the partner knows that the notice described in section 6223(a)(1) (beginning of an administrative proceeding) has already been mailed to the tax matters partner, the statement shall be filed with the Internal Revenue Service office that mailed that notice.

Consolidated statements. The statement described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section may be filed with respect to more than one partner if the requirements of that paragraph (c)(1) (including signatures) are satisfied with respect to each partner.

Effective date. This section is applicable to partnership taxable years beginning on or after October 4, 2001. For years beginning prior to October 4, 2001, see § 301.6224(c)-1T contained in 26 CFR part 1, revised April 1, 2001.