US lawmakers rejected a lobbying effort by Accenture Ltd., the world?s second-largest consulting firm, to ensure that it obtained an exemption from tax penalties on companies that incorporate in havens such as Bermuda.

A legislative package of so-called technical tax corrections introduced by the leaders of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees and endorsed by the Treasury Department omits the exemption Bermuda-based Accenture had sought.

?It?s just not in there,? Christin Baker, the spokeswoman for the Ways and Means Committee said when asked why it was omitted.

House Democrats had objected to the change to benefit Accenture.

A provision in last year?s $145 billion corporate tax bill designated companies that move to Bermuda and other tax havens as US-based for tax purposes, denying them tax breaks. The law exempts companies that completed a move prior to March 4, 2003.

The omission of the change Accenture sought may be a setback for the company, which said in public filings it is concerned the Internal Revenue Service may not recognise its overseas incorporation in the same way the tax agency does for Tyco International Ltd. and Ingersoll-Rand Ltd., which also are based in Bermuda. Accenture spokeswoman Roxanne Taylor didn?t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

In regulatory filings, Accenture said it didn?t believe it was subject to the provision maintaining US corporate taxes on companies that move to tax havens.

?However, we are not able to predict with certainty whether the US Internal Revenue Service will challenge our interpretation of the legislation,? the company said.

?Nor are we able to predict with certainty the impact of regulations or other interpretations that might be issued related to this legislation. It is possible that certain interpretations could materially increase our tax burden.?

Accenture had been seeking technical language to provide greater certainty that it would win in the event of an IRS challenge.

Aides to New York Congressman Charles Rangel, the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, said last month they objected to the proposed fix, complicating a process that usually requires the consensus of top congressional tax-writers, their aides, Treasury Department officials, and the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and Montana Senator Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the panel, said the list contained only provisions that met everyone?s approval. ?The process and test for technical corrections ensures that only provisions narrowly drawn to carry out congressional intent are included,? Baucus and Grassley said in a statement.

Accenture split from accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP in 2000 and established its legal address in Bermuda a year later. It also established a network of business entities in Switzerland and Luxembourg that allowed it to take advantage of tax treaties with the US that reduce or exempt income from intellectual property and finance operations.

The company?s US tax bill has declined at the same time its income from US sources has increased, according to its filings. Accenture earned $503 million in the US in 2004, up from $247.3 million in 2002.