SN 99(14)

Designated Private Delivery Services

This publication has been cited in IP 2000(26); 
supplemented and superseded in part by AN 2001(9); and superseded by PS 2002(4)

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PURPOSE: The purpose of this Special Notice is to publish the list of private delivery services that are authorized to deliver returns, claims, statements or other documents ("documents"), or payments, for purposes of the "timely mailing as timely filing/payment" provisions set forth in Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa. The information contained in this Special Notice is applicable to all taxes administered by the Department of Revenue Services (DRS).

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EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1999, for documents or payments that are given by taxpayers to a designated private delivery service (PDS) on or after that date. This Special Notice does not apply to documents or payments that are given by taxpayers to a designated PDS before October 1, 1999, even if such documents or payments are delivered by the designated PDS on or after October 1, 1999.

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STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa, as amended by 1999 Conn. Pub. Acts 48, §1.

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BACKGROUND: Generally, a document is considered filed and a payment is considered made when it is received. Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa provides special rules that apply when a document is required to be filed with (or a payment is required to be made to) the Department of Revenue Services within a prescribed period or on or before a prescribed date. Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa provides that, if any document required to be filed with DRS, or any payment required to be made to DRS, is delivered by the United States mail to the Department of Revenue Services in a postage prepaid, properly addressed envelope or other appropriate wrapper ("envelope") after the date prescribed by law, the date of the United States postmark stamped by the United States Postal Service on the envelope in which such document or payment is mailed is considered to be the date of delivery or the date of payment, as long as the document or payment was deposited in the mail in the United States. Prior to the amendment made by 1999 Conn. Pub. Acts 48, §1, the "timely mailing as timely filing/payment" rule of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa did not apply to documents and payments delivered other than by United States mail.

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DESIGNATED PRIVATE DELIVERY SERVICES: 1999 Conn. Pub. Acts 48, §1 amended Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa by authorizing DRS to extend the "timely mailing as timely filing/payment" rule to documents and payments delivered by private delivery services designated by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States pursuant to Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code ("designated PDSs"). Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa now provides that any reference therein to the date of the United States postmark made by the United States Postal Service is to be treated as including the date recorded or marked in the manner described in Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code by any designated PDS. Also, any reference in Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa to United States certified mail or to United States registered mail is to be treated as including any equivalent of registered or certified mail designated by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States under Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code.

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LIST OF DESIGNATED PDSs, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 1999: Effective October 1, 1999, and until further notice, the following PDSs and the following specific types of delivery services are designated PDSs for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa. The date recorded or marked by a designated PDS in the manner described in Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code on documents or payments that it delivers to the Department of Revenue Services will be treated in the same manner as the date of a United States postmark made by the United States Postal Service:

• Airborne Express (Airborne):

• DHL Worldwide Express (DHL):

• Federal Express (FedEx):

• United Parcel Service (UPS):

Important: The above-listed designated PDSs are not designated with respect to any type of delivery service not identified above. Consequently, the "timely mailing as timely filing/payment" rule of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa does not apply to any other type of delivery service offered by the designated PDSs. Also, these designated PDSs are not permitted by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver items to Post Office boxes. Taxpayers must use the U.S. Postal Service to send any item to a DRS Post Office box address.

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UPDATE OF LIST OF DESIGNATED PDSs: In general, DRS will accept those PDSs that are currently designated by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code. The current list (effective September 1, 1999, until further notice) of PDSs that are designated by the Secretary of the Treasury is published in Notice 99-41, I.R.B. 1999-35, 325 (August 30, 1999). When the Secretary of the Treasury publishes a new list to add or remove a designated PDS (or type of delivery service) from the September 1, 1999 list, DRS will automatically accept the designated PDSs and types of delivery service on that list.

However, DRS retains the power to disqualify a designated PDS or a type of delivery service offered by a designated PDS, even if that PDS, or that type of delivery service, has not been removed from the current list of designated PDSs published by the Secretary of the Treasury. In such circumstances, DRS will issue an Announcement indicating the designated PDS or type of delivery service that has been disqualified. Also, a PDS that has not been designated by the Secretary of the Treasury will not be a designated PDS for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa.

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SPECIAL RULES FOR DETERMINING DATE RECORDED OR MARKED BY A DESIGNATED PDS: Section 7502(f)(2)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code requires a designated PDS to either (1) record electronically to its data base the date on which an item was given to the designated PDS for delivery, or (2) mark that date on the cover of the item. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa, the date recorded or the date marked under Section 7502(f)(2)(C) is treated as the postmark date for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa.

Date recorded electronically; Airborne, DHL and UPS: Airborne, DHL and UPS record electronically the date on which an item was given to them for delivery. For items that are delivered by one of these three designated PDSs after the due date prescribed by law for such items, the postmark date is presumed to be the day that precedes the delivery date by an amount of time that equals the amount of time it would normally take for an item to be delivered under the terms of the specific type of delivery service used (e.g., two days before the actual delivery date for a two-day delivery service).

Taxpayers who wish to prove otherwise will need to show that the date recorded in the electronic data base is on or before the due date. For example, a taxpayer could obtain written confirmation, produced and issued by the designated PDS, before the expiration of the period for storing the date recorded in its electronic data base. Taxpayers who wish to maintain this type of proof for their records should request it from the designated PDS before the expiration of that PDS’s data storage period.

Airborne, DHL and UPS entered into agreements with the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to Rev. Proc. 97-19, 1997-1 C.B. 644, that require them to store (electronically or by microfiche) the dates recorded in their electronic data bases for at least 6 months. Although Airborne, DHL and UPS may choose to store the dates for more than 6 months, the agreements do not require them to do so. Prior to the expiration of the data storage period, senders or recipients may obtain information concerning the date recorded to the electronic data base by contacting Airborne, DHL or UPS. The toll-free telephone numbers for these designated PDSs are as follows:

Date marked on the cover; FedEx only: An electronically generated label is applied to the cover of all items delivered by FedEx, including those items that already have an airbill attached. The date on which an item is given to FedEx for delivery is marked on the label. There are two types of labels (which are distinguishable from each other). One type of label is generated and applied to an item by a FedEx employee. The other type of label is generated (using computer software and/or hardware provided by FedEx) and applied to an item by the customer. The date that will be treated as the postmark date for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa is determined under the following rules:

If an item has a label generated and applied by a FedEx employee, the date marked on that label is treated as the postmark date for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa, regardless of whether the item also has a label generated and applied by the customer.

If an item has a label generated and applied by the customer, the date marked on that label is treated as the postmark date for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-39aa, if the item is received within the normal delivery time. (Normal delivery time is one day for FedEx Priority Overnight and FedEx Standard Overnight, or two days for FedEx 2Day.) If an item is not delivered within the normal delivery time, the person required to file the document or to make the payment must establish (1) that the item was actually either given to, or picked up by, a FedEx employee on or before the due date and (2) the cause of the delay in delivery of the document or payment.

The information recorded electronically to the data base of FedEx (in the regular course of its business) may be used to show that the item was actually given to, or picked up by, a FedEx employee on or before the due date when an item has a label generated and applied by a customer, or when an item has a label generated and applied by a FedEx employee, but the date is illegible or otherwise unavailable.

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EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS:  None affected.

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EFFECT OF THIS DOCUMENT: A Special Notice is a document that announces a new policy or practice in response to changes in State or federal laws or regulations or to judicial decisions. A Special Notice indicates the Department’s informal interpretation of Connecticut tax law and may be referred to for general guidance by taxpayers or tax practitioners.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please call the Department of Revenue Services, Taxpayer Services Division during business hours, Monday through Friday:

• 1-800-382-9463 (toll-free from within Connecticut), or
• 860-297-5962 (from anywhere).
• TTY, TDD and Text Telephone users only may transmit inquiries 24 hours a day by calling 860-297-4911.

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FORMS AND PUBLICATIONS: Forms and publications are available all day, seven days a week:

• Internet: preview and download forms and publications from the DRS web site or
• Telephone: Call 1-800-382-9463 (toll-free from within Connecticut), and select Option 2; or 860-297-4753 (from anywhere).

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SN 99(14)
Private Delivery Services
Issued: 9/29/99