Marine Wholesale & Warehouse Co.

BACKGROUND

6 On March 26, 2025, the Court issued the Scheduling Order, which identified the following as the Phase III issues to be resolved at the May 14, 2025 hearing: 1. Whether 26 U.S.C. § 5761(c) can itself be the basis for the imposition of tax liability (as distinguished from liability for the payment of a penalty) or whether this section only creates liability for the payment of penalties; 12 2. Whether a TTB Form 5220.4 qualifies as a "return" within the meaning of 13 26 U.S.C. § 6501; and 14 3. Whether a tax assessment be sustained on any applicable basis even if 15 that basis is not set forth in the assessment, or whether an assessment must 16 specify the correct code section(s) that is/are the basis for the tax liability in order 17 for an assessment to be valid.

19 II. RULINGS 22 A. Interpretation of 26 U.S.C. § 5761(c) 23 The Court concludes that 26 U.S.C. § 5761(c) does not itself provide an 24 independent basis for the imposition of tax liability but rather relates to the imposition of 25 penalties. The statutory language and the surrounding framework…