taken and the reasons therefor, and other pertinent information such as the action taken upon an application for refund shall constitute the written record in each case.

[37 FR 26097, Dec. 8, 1972]

§ 92.7 Register of waivers-Report.

(a) Each agency or department concerned shall maintain a register, and where appropriate separate registers, one for employees and one for members, each register shall show the disposition of each claim of the United States for erroneous payment of pay and allowances considered for waiver. The registers, together with the written record as described in § 92.6, shall be available for review by the General Accounting Office.

(b) Within 60 days after the close of each fiscal year, the head of each agency or the Secretary concerned exercising waiver authority shall furnish a consolidated report to the Comptroller General of the United States showing the total amount waived by the agency including the number of waiver requests granted in full and the dollar amount waived; number of waiver requests denied in entirety and the amount thereof; number of claims which have been waived in part including the aggregate amount waived and the aggregate amount denied in this category; and the number of requests transmitted to the General Accounting Office for waiver action. There should also be furnished a report of the amount refunded as a result of waiver action by the head of the agency or Secretary concerned and the amount refunded as a result of waiver action by the Comptroller General.

[37 FR 26096, Dec. 8, 1972, as amended at 40 FR 36099, Aug. 19, 1975]

§ 92.8 Referral of claims for collection or litigation.

(a) If the head of the agency or Secretary concerned has considered

waiver and has denied waiver in whole or in part he shall so advise the General Accounting Office when referral for collection is made to it pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 71.

(b) No claim for the recovery of an erroneous payment of pay and allowances, which is under consideration for waiver shall be referred to the Attorney General unless the time remaining for suit within the applicable limitation does not permit such waiver consideration prior to referral

[37 FR 26096, Dec. 8, 1972, as amended at 40 FR 36099, Aug. 19, 1975; 43 FR 56011, Nov. 30, 1978]

§ 101.1 Prescription of standards.

The regulations in this chapter, issued jointly by the Comptroller General of the United States and the Attorney General of the United States under section 3 of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, 80 Stat. 309, prescribe standards for the administrative collection, compromise, termination of agency collection, and the referral to the General Accounting Office, and to the Department of Justice for litigation, of civil claims by the Federal Government for money or property. Additional guidance is contained in Title 4 of the General Accounting Office Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies. Regulations prescribed by the head of an agency pursuant to section 3 of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 will be reviewed by the General Accounting Office as a part of its audit of the agency's activities.

[44 FR 22701, Apr. 17, 1979]

cation of fraud, the presentation of a false claim, or misrepresentation on the part of the debtor or any other party having an interest in the claim, or to any claim based in whole or in part on conduct in violation of the antitrust laws. Only the Department of Justice has authority to compromise or terminate collection action on such claims. However, matters submitted to the Department of Justice for consideration without compliance with the regulations in this chapter because there is an indication of fraud, the presentation of a false claim, or misrepresentation on the part of the debtor or any other party having an interest in the claim, may be returned to the agency forwarding them for further handling in accordance with the regulations in this chapter if it is determined that action based upon the alleged fraud, false claim, or misrepresentation is not warranted. Tax claims, as to which differing exemptions, administrative consideration, enforcement considerations, and statutes apply, are also excluded from the coverage of this chapter.

§ 101.4 Compromise, waiver, or disposition under other statutes not precluded.

Nothing contained in this chapter is intended to preclude agency disposition of any claim under statutes other than the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, 80 Stat. 308, providing for the compromise, termination of collection action, or waiver in whole or in part of such a claim. See, e.g., "The Federal Medical Care Recovery Act," 76 Stat. 593, 42 U.S.C. 2651, et seq., and applicable regulations, 28 CFR 43.1, et seq. The standards set forth in this chapter should be followed in the disposition of civil claims by the Federal Government by compromise or termination of collection action (other than by waiver pursuant to statutory authority) under statutes other than the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, 80 Stat. 308, to the extent such other statutes or authorized regulations issued pursuant thereto do not establish standards governing such matters.

§ 101.5 Conversion claims.

The instructions contained in this chapter are directed primarily to the recovery of money on behalf of the Government and the circumstances in which Government claims may be disposed of for less than the full amount claimed. Nothing contained in this chapter is intended, however, to deter an agency from demanding the return of specific property or from demanding, in the alternative, either the return of property or the payment of its value.

§ 101.6 Subdivision of claims not authorized.

A debtor's liability arising from a particular transaction or contract shall be considered as a single claim in determining whether the claim is one of less than $20,000, exclusive of interest, for the purpose of compromise or termination of collection action. Such a claim may not be subdivided to avoid the monetary ceiling established by the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, 80 Stat. 308.

§ 101.7 Required administrative proceedings.

Nothing contained in this chapter is intended to require an agency to omit or foreclose administrative proceedings required by contract or by law.

§ 101.8 Referral for litigation.

As used in this chapter referral for litigation means referral to the Department of Justice for appropriate legal proceedings, unless the agency concerned has statutory authority for handling its own litigation.

PART 102-STANDARDS FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE COLLECTION OF

CLAIMS

Sec.

102.1 Aggressive agency collection action. 102.2 Demand for payment. 102.3 Collection by offset.

102.4 Reporting delinquent debts to commercial credit bureaus.

102.5 Contracting for collection services. 102.6 Personal interview with debtor. 102.7 Contact with debtor's employing

agency.

The head of an agency or his designee shall take aggressive action, on a timely basis with effective followup, to collect all claims of the United States for money or property arising out of the activities of, or referred to, his agency in accordance with the standards set forth in this chapter. However, nothing contained in this chapter is intended to require the General Accounting Office or the Department of Justice to duplicate collection actions previously undertaken by any other agency.

[31 FR 13381, Oct. 15, 1966]

§ 102.2 Demand for payment.

Appropriate written demands shall be made upon a debtor of the United States in terms which inform the debtor of the consequences of his failure to cooperate. In the initial notification, the debtor should be informed of the basis for the indebtedness, the applicable requirements or policies for charging interest and reporting delinquent debts to commercial credit bureaus, and the date by which the payment is to be made (date due). The date due should be specified and, normally, should be not more than 30 days from the date of the initial notification. Three progressively stronger written demands at not more than 30day intervals will normally be made unless a response to the first or second demand indicates that further demand would be futile and the debtor's response does not require rebuttal. Further exceptions may be made where it

is necessary to protect the Government's interests (e.g., the statute of limitations (28 U.S.C. 2415)). Agencies should respond promptly to communications from the debtor. Agencies should advise debtors who dispute the debt to furnish available evidence to support their contentions.

[44 FR 22702, Apr. 17, 1979]

§ 102.3 Collection by offset.

(a) Collections by offset will be undertaken administratively in accordance with these standards and implementing regulations established by the head of each agency on claims which are liquidated or certain in amount in every instance in which this is feasible. Collections by offset from persons receiving pay or compensation from the Federal Government shall be effected over a period not greater than the period during which such pay or compensation is to be received. See 5 U.S.C 5514.

(b) When the head of an agency, or his designee, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5514, 5522, 5705, 5724(f), or other statutory authority, seeks to collect a debt by offset against accrued pay, compensation, accrued benefits derived from Federal service or amount of retirement credit due to a present or former Government employee, a member of the armed forces, a Reserve of the armed forces, or a present or former employee of the U.S. Postal Service, the agency to which the debt allegedly is owed will accord such debtor an opportunity for a pre-offset oral hearing when:

(1) The debtor requests waiver of the indebtedness and the waiver determination turns on an issue of credibility or veracity or (2) when the individual requests reconsideration of the debt and the head of the agency or his designee determines that the question of the indebtedness cannot be resolved by review of the documentary evidence, for example, when the validity of the debt turns on an issue of credibility or veracity: Provided that, where the employment or active duty status of a debtor entitled to a hearing under paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section terminates, and the creditor agency determines that:

(i) Amounts accruing to the debtor upon such termination are available for offset in satisfaction of the alleged indebtedness, (ii) such amounts would not be available for offset subsequent to termination and (iii) the time prior to termination does not permit a preoffset hearing, the agency may withhold from amounts accruing to the individual upon termination, a sum not greater than that of the alleged indebtedness and, subsequent to termination, promptly provide an opportunity for an oral hearing to resolve the issue of indebtedness or waiver. Amounts withheld but later determined not owing to the Government shall be promptly refunded.

(c) Except for debt collection systems in which determinations of indebtedness or waiver rarely involve issues of credibility or veracity, or when employment or military status is about to terminate as described in the proviso of paragraph (b) of this section, prior to collecting any indebtedness by offset the head of the agency to which the debt allegedly is owed or his designee shall provide the debtor a written demand containing the notices prescribed in § 102.2 of this part and include therein:

(1) Notice of the agency's intention to collect by offset; (2) an opportunity to request reconsideration of the debt, or if provided for by statute, waiver of the debt, and (3) an explanation of the debtor's rights pursuant to this section.

(d) Collection by offset against a judgment obtained by the debtor against the United States shall be accomplished in accordance with the Act of March 3, 1875, 18 Stat. 481, as amended, 31 U.S.C. 227.

(e) Appropriate use should be made of the cooperative efforts of other agencies in effecting collections by offset, including utilization of the Army Holdup List, and all agencies are enjoined to cooperate in this endeavor. [46 FR 39113, July 31, 1981]

§ 102.4 Reporting delinquent debts to commercial credit bureaus.

Agencies shall develop and implement procedures for reporting delinquent debts to commercial credit bu