[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 196 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54426-54427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27069]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service

31 CFR Part 212

RIN 1510-AA61


Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement

AGENCY: Financial Management Service, Fiscal Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA) requires 
executive agencies to include payee taxpayer identifying numbers (TINs) 
on certified payment vouchers which are submitted to disbursing 
officials. The Financial Management Service (FMS), the Department of 
the Treasury disbursing agency, and other executive branch disbursing 
agencies are responsible for examining certified payment vouchers to 
determine whether such vouchers are in proper form. To ensure that 
executive branch agencies submit payment certifying vouchers in a form 
which includes payee TINs, FMS issued a proposed rule on September 2, 
1997. The rule, as proposed, would require disbursing officials to 
reject payment requests without TINs.
    Upon review of the comments received in response to the proposed 
rule, FMS has determined that a better approach to ensure compliance 
with the DCIA TIN requirement, in lieu of issuing a final rule, is to 
require each executive agency to submit a TIN Implementation Report to 
FMS documenting how the agency is complying with this requirement. 
Accordingly, FMS is issuing this document withdrawing the September 2, 
1997, notice of proposed rulemaking. The Policy Statement outlining TIN 
Implementation Report requirements is being published in the Federal 
Register concurrently with this document.

DATES: The notice of proposed rulemaking published at 62 FR 46428 is 
withdrawn on October 9, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Johnson (Director, Cash 
Management Policy and Planning Division) at 202-874-6657, Dean Balamaci 
(Director, Agency Liaison Division, Debt Management Services) at 202-
874-6660, Sally Phillips (Policy Analyst) at 202-874-6749, or James 
Regan (Attorney-Advisor) at 202-874-6680. This document is available on 
the Financial Management Service's web site: http://www.fms.treas.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 26, 1996, the Debt Collection

[[Page 54427]]

Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA) was enacted as Chapter 10 of the Omnibus 
Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-
134, 110 Stat. 1321-358. A major purpose of the DCIA is to enhance the 
government-wide collection of delinquent debts owed to the Federal 
Government.
    Section 31001(d)(2) of the DCIA, codified at 31 U.S.C. 3716(c), 
generally requires Federal disbursing officials to offset an eligible 
Federal payment to a payee to satisfy a delinquent non-tax debt owed by 
the payee to the United States. A Federal disbursing official will 
conduct such an offset when the name and Taxpayer Identifying Number 
(TIN) of the payee match the name and TIN of the delinquent debtor, 
provided all other requirements for offset have been met. This process, 
known as ``centralized offset,'' also may be used to collect delinquent 
debts owed to States, including past-due child support. The Department 
of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS) is responsible for 
implementing the DCIA, including the centralized offset authority.
    Section 31001(y) of the DCIA, codified at 31 U.S.C. 3325(d), 
facilitates centralized offset by requiring the head of an executive 
agency or an agency certifying official to include the TINs of payees 
on certified payment vouchers which are submitted to Federal disbursing 
officials. FMS, as the Department of Treasury disbursing agency, 
disburses more than 850 million Federal payments annually. See 31 
U.S.C. 3321. FMS and other executive branch disbursing agencies are 
responsible for examining certified payment vouchers to determine 
whether such vouchers are in the proper form. 31 U.S.C. 3325(a)(2)(A).
    In an effort to ensure that executive branch agencies submit 
certified payment vouchers in a form which includes payee TINs, FMS 
issued a proposed rule on September 2, 1997 (62 FR 46428), 31 CFR Part 
212, Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement. The rule, as proposed, 
would require disbursing officials to reject payment requests without 
TINs, effective 6 months after publication of the final rule.
    After careful review and consideration of the comments submitted by 
Federal agencies in response to the proposed rule, FMS has determined 
that a better approach to ensure compliance with the DCIA TIN 
requirement, in lieu of issuing a final rule, is to require each 
executive agency to submit an agency TIN Implementation Report to FMS. 
This approach will address more effectively the underlying barriers to 
collecting TINs, and therefore increase compliance with the DCIA. The 
rejection of payment requests lacking TINs, as contemplated in the 
notice of proposed rulemaking, may not resolve these underlying 
barriers, and would unduly interfere with the timely disbursement of 
Federal funds.
    Some of the barriers to collecting and providing TINs as identified 
by agencies include systems reprogramming requirements, the need for 
agency finance and procurement offices to coordinate on TIN collection 
and data sharing requirements, the need to develop a reliable TIN 
validation process, as well as the resolution of TIN requirements 
involving payments to third parties or escrow agents. Many agencies 
also suggested that certain classes of payments should be exempt from 
the DCIA TIN requirement such as payments under the witness protection 
program and foreign payments to entities who do not have assigned TINs.
    Agency TIN Implementation Reports will address the current status 
of agency compliance with the requirement to furnish TINs with each 
certified voucher, strategies for achieving compliance, agency specific 
barriers to collecting and providing TINs, and strategies for resolving 
such barriers. The preparation and review of TIN Implementation Reports 
will enable payment certifying agencies and FMS to best determine how 
to resolve these issues. For additional information on these reports, 
FMS is publishing elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register a 
Policy Statement concurrently with this document.
    Agencies are reminded that the DCIA has required them to furnish 
the TINs of payment recipients on all certified vouchers submitted to 
disbursing officials since April 26, 1996, the effective date of the 
DCIA. In its interim rule creating 31 CFR Part 208, Management of 
Federal Agency Disbursements, FMS advised agencies of this DCIA 
requirement. See 61 FR 39254, July 26, 1996. Prior to the enactment of 
the DCIA, FMS issued Treasury Financial Management Bulletin No. 95-10 
on August 18, 1995, which required that the payee's TIN be included on 
all certified vouchers for vendor, miscellaneous, and salary payments. 
Currently, FMS is working to ensure that TIN requirements for 
contractors and vendors are incorporated in anticipated revisions to 
the Prompt Payment circular issued by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) (OMB Circular No. A-125, rev. Dec. 12, 1989), in 
consultation with FMS, and in anticipated revisions to the Federal 
Acquisition Regulations (48 CFR).
    Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, FMS withdraws the proposed 
rule published on September 2, 1997. Agency compliance requirements 
with respect to the TIN requirement are set forth in the Policy 
Statement referenced above.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons set out above, 31 CFR Part 212, Taxpayer 
Identifying Number Requirement, Proposed Rule, 62 FR 46428, September 
2, 1997, is withdrawn.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321, 3301, 3302, 3321, 3325, 
and 3528.

    Dated: October 5, 1998.
Richard L. Gregg,
Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 98-27069 Filed 10-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-35-P