It's All Happening at the Service Center

[BobKamman]

Some gems from the latest TIGTA report about IRS operations:

The Tax Processing Centers use the Service Center Automated Mail Processing System (SCAMPS) to process incoming mail.

SCAMPS does not effectively identify remittances included with mail being processed. This functionality is so poor that the Kansas City Tax Processing Center has turned off its remittance detection technology because it was inaccurately reading correspondence mail as having a check remittance. The IRS has 12 SCAMPS machines in operation. The SCAMPS automatically open, count, sort, and detect remittances at a rate of between 15,000 to 25,000 per hour.

The IRS Processing function process does not place a high-level reliance on the SCAMPS machine to identify and isolate remittances due to its limitations. Instead, the SCAMPS machine is used to open the envelopes and do a preliminary sort to identify those with a high potential for a remittance. These envelopes are then routed to staff to extract the contents and identify remittances for further processing. This is contributing to delays in depositing those remittances. In CY 2021 through June 3, 2021, the IRS lost $56.2 million in interest because remittances were not deposited within 24 hours of receipt.

We observed at least five jams of the SCAMPS machine during a 10 to 15 minute period due to the SCAMPS equipment in Kansas City not having updated dust collectors to properly clear debris from the machines and prevent jams. We were advised that equipment was so aged that the Kansas City Tax Processing Center could not obtain appropriate supplies to help alleviate these jams. Similar problems were occurring previously in both Austin and Ogden; however, each site had purchased updated equipment independently to address this concern.

Slicers at times cut the correspondence along with the envelope, necessitating IRS employees to reconstruct and tape this correspondence. During our walkthrough, the IRS noted that this is an ongoing issue that has yet to be addressed. The operators of SCAMPS machines monitor the operation of the slicers, and they or the on-site technical representative can adjust the misaligned slicers. This issue is resolved once identified at the local level and is not an issue that is elevated to Submission Processing Headquarters. When we brought our concern to management’s attention, they responded that some cut or sliced mail is unwelcome but an inevitable result of mechanical operation.

[garman22]

That was a hard read. 😂🤣