Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, (M:P), 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, Oxon Hill, MD 20745

R -- TREASURY COLLECTION-RELATED ACTIVITIES SOL TIRNO97H00005 DUE 032497 POC Contract Specialist, Helen Carmona, 202-283-1514 The Department of Treasury through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to issue a Request for Information (RFI/draft RFP) on or about February 24, 1997, for assistance with IRS' collection-related activities. The Department of Treasury through the IRS is soliciting comments on the entire RFI/draft RFP from the business community, with particular emphasis on the statement of work, method of payment, performance payment plan, and technical evaluation criteria. Those parties interested in receiving the RFI/draft RFP, TIRNO-97-H-00005, may obtain it electronically via modem from the IRS Procurement Bulletin Board (P/BBS) which may be reached at (202) 799-0943. The BBS protocol line requirements are: IRS Procurement BBS; no parity; 8 data bits; 1 stop bit; 9600 baud. The system will prompt for your name, business name and address, the kind of system being used, a user ID and a password of your choice. At the Main Systems Menu, type L and press the ENTER key. Type S to select a library and press ENTER. Type RFP and press ENTER. Type F and press ENTER to view a list of files. To download a file, enter D(filename)(ZMODEM) and press ENTER. (NOTE: COLLECT2.EXE is the filename for the collection-related activities RFI/draft RFP). To exit the BBS and/or any menu, type X. This BBS operates 24 hours per day, 7 days a week and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) terminal emulation is recommended. A copy of the RFI/draft RFP may be furnished via INTERNET transmission by submitting a request to contract.specialist@ccmail.irs.gov, and providing the complete, accurate INTERNET address. If interested parties do not have the capability to access the IRS P/BBS or receive INTERNET transmissions, they can obtain a copy on floppy disk in Wordperfect 6.0 or in hard copy by submitting a written request via facsimile to Helen D. Carmona, Contract Specialist, at 202-283-1514 or by writing to the above listed address. Copies of the RFI/draft RFP will not be provided in more than one medium. In order to minimize reproduction costs, electronic transmissions are preferred. The IRS takes no responsibility for undeliverable mail (electronic or postal). No further preliminary information or status updates will be provided to respondents unless by request in writing. Interested parties who have previously requested collection-related activities information will be furnished this synopsis announcement, but, must specifically request a copy of the RFI/draft RFP. No telephone inquiries will be accepted. Following the review of the RFI/draft RFP, interested parties should submit their questions/comments concerning all aspects of the document via INTERNET to contract.specialist@ccmail.irs.gov or by facsimile to Helen D. Carmona, Contract Specialist, at 202-283-1514 within fifteen (15) calendar days of the issuance date of the RFI/draft RFP. IRS project and procurement teams intend to hold discussions (interviews) with entities whose questions/comments display an overall basic understanding of the requirement and are aimed at improving the final solicitation. Individual meetings will be held as frequently as necessary, beginning the 15th day after issuance of the RFI/draft RFP until the closing date stated in the RFI/draft RFP. The IRS reserves the right to not consider questions/comments received after the RFI/draft RFP closing date. Such meetings will be limited in time and the IRS reserves the right to limit discussions with any individual vendor. It is anticipated that this phase will occur from approximately February 24, 1997 to March 24, 1997. Written responses to questions or concerns will not be provided on an individual basis, but will be reflected as appropriate in the final RFP to be issued on or about April 30, 1997. The actual submission date for proposals will be specified in the final RFP. The general requirements of the project are: (1) the IRS will deliver a specified number of cases to each awarded contractor relating to taxpayers who are delinquent in paying their tax obligations; (2) payments under the contract(s) will not be on a contingency-fee basis; (3) data for the cases will be provided by the Brookhaven Service Center in the Northeast Region and all cases will involve taxpayers whose current or last known address is within the states of New Jersey and New York; and (4) cases assigned to the contractors will include individual income and business tax debt cases, with taxes owed for one or more tax periods. The proposed start-up date for casework activity on this project is 90 days from contract award and the proposed period of performance will be for twelve (12) months with a one year option period. The statement of work will require that through the use of correspondence, locator and telephone techniques, the contractor will, if possible, contact the taxpayer with the following objectives: (1) remind the taxpayer of the amount owed; (2) inform the taxpayer of the IRS options for resolving the case and ensuring future compliance; (3) explain payment options which the IRS will allow for the resolution of the delinquency; and, (4) receive and forward taxpayer commitments to the IRS for approval. Disagreements or challenges by the taxpayer, for any reason, will be referred to IRS personnel for resolution. All taxpayer payments occurring as a result of a contractor's effort will be mailed by the taxpayer directly to a lockbox, or as otherwise specified by the IRS. Potential contractors and their employees will be subject to the disclosure laws (Internal Revenue Code section 6103), the Privacy Act, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, applicable sections of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and other provisions of law affording protections to taxpayers. This will be an unrestricted acquisition. The Standard Industrial Classification code is 7322 and the small business size standard is $5 million dollars of average annual receipts. (0036)

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