Owen J. Roberts

“ The function of the statute, like that of limitations generally, is to give protection against stale demands. The function of the regulation is to facilitate research.' In the cited case, and others decided at about the same time, we held that, while the Commissioner might have enforced the regulation and rejected a claim for failure to comply with it in omitting to state with particularity the grounds on which the claim was based, he was not bound to do so, but might waive the requirement of the regulation and consider a general claim on its merits. ”

“ Before the Commissioner had acted on the claim for refund the respondent, in an effort to evidence continuity and identity of claim, filed its so-called statement perfecting and completing the claim for refund. This abandoned the grounds originally alleged in support of the claim. The position taken in the amendment was that the taxpayer had no income whatever and that, if the Commissioner refused refund on the basis of a rejection of the deductions claimed from gross income in the original demand, he should find that the taxpayer's operations were not productive of any income to it. ”

“ Andrews, supra, it is necessary only to inquire in the instant case whether the original claim was specific and the so-called amendment completely shifted to a totally different ground for refund.
The transactions of the taxpayer which gave rise to its tax liability were exceedingly simple, due to the fact that it had resorted to distribution of all the oil produced, partly to its lessors as royalty and partly to its stockholders in return for their advancing the corporate expenses. If it was liable for income tax, the method of calculation it adopted was apparently the correct one. ”