The rules of administrative finality apply to initial determinations where a defective
notice was sent (e.g., the appeal paragraph was omitted) the same as to initial determinations
where a correct notice was sent. The time limits for reopening in both situations
are counted from the date of the notice (GN 03101.050).
If we send a totally incorrect notice (e.g., we send an allowance notice and it should
have been a denial), this would not meet the requirements of the regulations for a
notice. When we discover the error and send the correct notice, we would count the
time for reopening from the date of the correct notice. If there is some correct and
some incorrect information on the notice, it would have to be decided on a case by
case basis as to whether we told the claimant enough correct information to say we
had made an initial determination.