A bill to amend the Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950 to provide for the audit, by the Comptroller General, of the Internal Revenue Service and of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
PL 95-125 (S.213), enacted 10/07/1977

91 STAT. 1104 
PUBLIC LAW 95-125—OCT. 7, 1977 
Public Law 95-125 
95th Congress 
An Act 
Oct. 7, 1977 
[S. 213] 
Accounting and 
Auditing Act 
of 1950, 
amendments. 
IRS and Bureau 
of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, and 
Firearms, audits. 
26 u s e 6406. 
Records, access. 
26 u s e 6103. 
Nondisclosure. 
Violations. 
GAO employees 
with access to 
taxpayer 
information, 
list. 
Delivery to 
congressional 
committees. 
Commissioner of 
Internal 
Revenue, 
and Director of 
the 
Bureau of ATF. 
To amend the Aocounting and Auditing Act of 1950 to provide for the audit, 
by the Comptroller General, of the Internal Revenue Service and of the Bureau 
of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That section 117 of 
the Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 67) is amended 
by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: 
"(d) (1) The Comptroller General shall make, under such rules and 
regulations as he shall prescribe, audits of the Internal Revenue Serv-
ice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms of the Depart-
ment of the Treasury: Provided, That such audits shall not affect the 
finality of findings or decisions of the Secretary of the Treasury or 
his delegate under section 6406 of the Internal Revenue Code. 
"(2) For the purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, making 
the audits required by paragraph (1) of this subsection, representa-
tives of the General Accounting Office— 
" (A) shall, to the extent provided by, and subject to the require-
ments imposed by, section 6103 of such Code but notwithstanding 
the provisions of any other law, have access to returns and return 
information (as defined by section 6103(b) of such Code) ; and 
"(B) shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, 
have access to all other books, accounts, financial records, reports, 
files, papers, things, and property belonging to or in use by the 
Internal Revenue Service or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and 
Firearms: 
Provided, That no officer or employee of the General Accounting Office 
shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, divulge or make 
known in any manner whatever to any person, other than another officer 
or employee of such office whose official duties or responsibilities require 
such disclosure, any information described in clause (B) in a form 
which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indi-
rectly, a particular taxpayer. Any such officer or employee who makes 
a disclosure in violation of this proviso shall be subject to the penalties 
provided by law. 
" (3) The Comptroller General shall, from time to time, but not less 
often than once every six months, designate in writing the name and 
title of each officer and employee of the General Accounting Office 
who, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, 
is to have access to tax returns and tax return information, or any 
information described in clause (B) of such paragraph (2), in a form 
which can be associated with or otherwise identify, directly or 
indirectly, a particular taxpayer. Each such written designation, or a 
certified copy thereof, promptly shall be delivered to, the Committee 
on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
on Finance of the Senate, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Com-
mittee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Commis-
sioner of Internal Revenue, and the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, and Firearms. 
PUBLIC LAW 95-125—OCT. 7, 1977 
91 STAT. 1105 
" (4) The Comptroller General shall, as frequently as may be prac-
ticable, make reports to the Congress on the results of audit work 
performed. In addition, the CoHiptroUer General shall submit an 
annual written report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 
the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Committee on Government 
Operations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate which report shall include, but 
shall not be limited to, the following: 
"(A) The procedures and requirements which the General 
Accounting Office, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau 
of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms have established for protect-
ing the confidentiality of tax returns and tax return information 
made available to the Comptroller General under this subsection; 
"(B) the scope and subject matter of any audit or other exam-
ination or review authorized under paragraph (1) of this sub-
section; and 
"(C) any findings, conclusions, or recommendations developed 
by the Comptroller General as a result of any audit or other 
examination or review authorized under paragraph (1) of this 
subsection including any significant evidence of inefficiency or 
mismanagement.". 
Approved October 7, 1977. 
Reports to 
Congress. 
Annual report 
to congressional 
committees. 
Contents. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 95-480 (Comm. on Government Operations). 
SENATE REPORT No. 95-42 (Comm. on Governmental Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 123 (1977): 
Mar. 11, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 27, considered and passed House.