Justice Manual § 6-4.122

Tax Division Referrals for Prosecution. The Tax Division authorizes the United States Attorneys’ Offices to conduct grand jury investigations into matters arising under the internal revenue laws to the extent necessary to perfect those tax charges that the Tax Division refers for possible prosecution.

Tax Division Referrals for Grand Jury Investigation. The Tax Division authorizes the United States Attorneys’ Offices to conduct grand jury investigations into matters arising under the internal revenue laws to the extent necessary to 1) perfect the tax charges for which the Tax Division authorizes an investigation or 2) determine whether the Tax Division should authorize prosecution. See JM 6-4.242.

Expansion of Non-tax Grand Jury Investigation to Possible Federal Criminal Tax Violations. The Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, has delegated limited authority to the United States Attorneys’ Offices to expand non-tax investigations in order to inquire into possible federal criminal tax violations, designate targets (subjects), determine the scope of the expanded investigation, and terminate such proceedings. Before a United States Attorney’s Office may file an information or seek the return of an indictment on matters arising under the internal revenue laws in an expanded investigation, however, the Tax Division must first authorize the specific tax charges. See Tax Division Directive No. 86-59 (October 1, 1986), available in Criminal Tax Manual, Chapter 3.

IRS Direct Referrals for Prosecution. In limited categories of cases, the Tax Division authorizes the IRS to refer certain matters arising under the internal revenue laws directly to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution. See JM 6-4.243. In turn, the Tax Division authorizes the United States Attorney’s Office to conduct grand jury investigations into these matters, to the extent necessary to perfect the charges that the IRS has directly referred.