251.98—Appeal record.
The following rules apply only to the appeal record for appeals at the first level ( § 251.87 (a), (b) ):
(a)
It is the responsibility of the Reviewing Officer to maintain in one location the documents related to the appeal.
(b)
The record consists of the documents filed with the Reviewing Officer including, but not limited to, the notice of appeal, responsive statement, replies to submissions by various parties to the appeal, orders and determinations made on the conduct of the appeal, and correspondence.
(c)
The Reviewing Officer has discretion to remove from the record documents that were not sent to all parties to an appeal.
(d)
Unless the Reviewing Officer has ordered otherwise, the appeal record closes with the expiration of the time period for filing of the reply(ies) to the responsive statement, or at the conclusion of an oral presentation, if there is one. The Reviewing Officer shall notify all parties to an appeal of the closure of the record.
(f)
In appeals involving initial decisions of the Chief ( § 251.87(a) ), the establishment of an administrative record as defined in paragraph (a) of this section shall not begin unless the Secretary elects to review the appeal. Except for the initial notice of appeal, any filings made previous to the Secretary's election to review will not be accepted.