(a) Section 47 of the Internal Revenue Code designates the Secretary as the authority for the issuance of certifications of historic district statutes and of State and local historic districts, certifications of significance, and certifications of rehabilitation in connection with certain tax incentives involving historic preservation. These certification responsibilities have been delegated to the National Park Service (NPS); the following office issues those certifications: National Park Service, Washington Area Service Office, Technical Preservation Services, Heritage Preservation Services (WASO), 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.

(b) NPS WASO establishes program direction and considers appeals of certification denials. It is the responsibility of owners wishing certifications to provide sufficient documentation to the Secretary to make certification decisions. These procedures, upon their effective date, are applicable to future and pending certification requests, except as otherwise provided herein.

(c) States receiving Historic Preservation Fund grants from the Department participate in the review of requests for certification, through recommendations to the Secretary by the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). The SHPO acts on behalf of the State in this capacity and, therefore, the NPS is not responsible for any actions, errors or omissions of the SHPO.

(1) Requests for certifications and approvals of proposed rehabilitation work are sent by an owner first to the appropriate SHPO for review. State comments are recorded on National Park Service Review Sheets (NPS Forms 10-168 (d) and (e)) and are carefully considered by the Secretary before a certification decision is made. Recommendations of States with approved State programs are generally followed, but by law, all certification decisions are made by the Secretary, based upon professional review of the application and related information. The decision of the Secretary may differ from the recommendation of the SHPO.

(2) A State may choose not to participate in the review of certification requests. States not wishing to participate in the comment process should notify the Secretary in writing of this fact. Owners from such nonparticipating States may request certifications by sending their applications directly to the appropriate NPS WASO listed above. In all other situations, certification requests are sent first to the appropriate SHPO.

(d) The Internal Revenue Service is responsible for all procedures, legal determinations, and rules and regulations concerning the tax consequences of the historic preservation provisions described in this part. Any certification made by the Secretary pursuant to this part shall not be considered as binding upon the Internal Revenue Service or the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to tax consequences under the Internal Revenue Code. For example, certifications made by the Secretary do not constitute determinations that a structure is of the type subject to the allowance for depreciation under section 167 of the Code.