Let's look at this scenario from two different points of view: What if the timer does not start the clock? Are you going to go over and say definitely that time should come off? How could you know how much? If the ball is inbounded to a player who is clearly OOB (3 feet outside the line), then the touch may be legal, but it is simultaneous with the violation, it doesn't occur even 0.1 seconds later.

Now on the flip side, if the ball is inbounded to a player who is NOT clearly OOB (say the outside edge of his shoe is touching the line). In this case, the official should chop time as soon as the touch happens, and then look down to confirm their in-court status. As soon as the foot is observed OOB, boom, whistle. In that instance I can see time coming off, there still is an element of human reaction.

To summarize, I don't think there can be a hard and fast rule governing whether or not time MUST come off the clock. It really depends on how the paly is viewed/processed by the official.

The best example of whether time CAN come off or not is a play covered by two officials.....one administering the throwin and another covering the line in where the OOB situation occurs. The throwin official will chop time in, the covering official will stop the clock. Time can and should come off as each one properly did their job and signaled accordingly.