(a) The Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals may appoint an administrator to evaluate Applications under guidelines established by the Office of Hearings and Appeals. The administrator, if he is not a Federal Government employee, may be compensated from the funds referred to in the Remedial Order or Consent Order. The administrator may design and distribute an optional application form for the convenience of the applicants.

(b) The Office of Hearings and Appeals or its designee may initiate an investigation of any statement made in an Application and may require verification of any document submitted in support of a claim. In evaluating an Application, the Office of Hearings and Appeals or its designee may solicit and consider information obtained from any source and may on its own initiative convene a hearing or conference, if it determines that a hearing or conference will advance its evaluation of an Application.

(c) The Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals or his designee shall conduct any hearing or conference convened with respect to an Application for Refund and shall specify the time and place for the hearing or conference and notify the applicant. The official conducting the hearing may administer oaths and affirmations, rule on the presentation of information, receive relevant information, dispose of procedural requests, determine the format of the hearing and otherwise regulate the course of the hearing. The provisions of § 205.8 of this part which relate to subpoenas and witness fees shall apply to any hearing convened with respect to an application for refund, except that § 205.8(h) (2), (3) and (4) shall not apply.

(d) Upon consideration of an Application and other relevant information received during the course of a refund proceeding, the Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals or his designee shall issue an order granting or denying the Application. The order shall contain a concise statement of the relevant facts and the legal basis for the order. A copy of the order, with such modification as is necessary to ensure the confidentiality of information protected from public disclosure by 18 U.S.C. 1905,may.