[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 31, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 31CFR206.2]

[Page 40-42]
 
                  TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURY
 
         CHAPTER II--FISCAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 206--MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCY RECEIPTS, DISBURSEMENTS, AND OPERATION OF THE CASH MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS FUND--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 206.2  Definitions.

    For the purpose of this part, the following definitions apply:
    Agency means any department, instrumentality, office, commission, 
board, service, Government corporation, or other establishment in the 
executive branch, except the Tennessee Valley Authority.
    Billing means any of a variety of means by which the Government 
places a demand for payment against an entity that is indebted to the 
Government. The term encompasses invoices, notices, initial demand 
letters, and other forms of notification.
    Cash management means practices and techniques designed to 
accelerate and control collections, ensure prompt deposit of receipts, 
improve control over disbursement methods, and eliminate idle cash 
balances. ``Cash Management Review Process'' means periodic examinations 
of collection and disbursement cash flows to ensure that the most 
effective mechanisms are used to process the funds.
    Collection means the transfer of monies from a source outside the 
Federal Government to an agency or to a financial institution acting as 
an agent of the Government.
    Collection mechanism means any one of a number of tools or systems 
by which monies are transferred to the Government from a source outside 
the Government.
    Cutoff time means a time predesignated by a financial institution 
beyond which transactions presented or actions requested will be 
considered the next banking day's business.
    Day means a calendar day unless otherwise specified.
    Deposit means as a noun, money that is being or has been presented 
for credit to the Treasury. Deposits can be made by an agency or 
directly by the remitter. All such transfers are effected through a 
Federal Reserve Bank or other financial institution. As a verb, deposit 
means the act of presenting monies for credit to the Treasury by an 
official of an agency.

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    Depositary means a bank or other financial institution that has been 
authorized by the Treasury to receive monies for credit to the Treasury.
    Disburse means the initiation of an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) 
transaction or other methods of drawing funds from accounts maintained 
by the Government.
    Electronic funds transfer (EFT) means any transfer of funds, other 
than a transaction originated by cash, check or similar paper 
instrument, that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, 
computer, or magnetic tape, for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or 
authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit an account. The 
term includes, but is not limited to, Fed Wire transfers, Automated 
Clearing House (ACH) transfers, transfers made at automatic teller 
machines (ATM) and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals (to include use of the 
Government small purchase card), and other means of credit card 
transactions.
    Fund means the Cash Management Improvements Fund.
    Monies (or ``receipts'') means EFT transactions, currency, 
negotiable instruments, and/or demand deposits owed to or collected by 
an agency.
    Next-day deposit means a deposit made before the cutoff time on the 
day following the day on which the funds were received by an agency. For 
example, if an agency receives funds for deposit at 3 p.m. on Monday and 
transmits the deposits to the depositary by 2 p.m. on Tuesday (the 
depositary's next cutoff time), then next-day deposit requirements are 
met.
    Payment means a sum of money transferred to a recipient in 
satisfaction of an obligation. A payment includes any Federal Government 
benefit or nonbenefit payment.
    (1) A benefit payment is a disbursement for a Federal Government 
entitlement program or annuity. Benefit payments may be one-time or 
recurring payments including, but not limited to, payments for Social 
Security, Supplemental Security Income, Black Lung, Civil Service 
Retirement, Railroad Retirement Board Retirement/Annuity, Department of 
Veterans Affairs Compensation/Pension, Central Intelligence Agency 
Annuity, Military Retirement Annuity, Coast Guard Retirement, and 
Worker's Compensation.
    (2) A nonbenefit payment is a Federal Government disbursement other 
than a benefit payment. Nonbenefit payments may be one-time or recurring 
payments including, but not limited to, payments for vendors, Internal 
Revenue Service tax refunds, Federal salaries and allotments therefrom, 
grants, travel disbursements and reimbursements, loans, principal and/or 
interest related to U.S. savings bonds, notes, and other savings-type 
securities, and payments of service fees to organizations qualified to 
issue and/or redeem savings bonds.
    Point-of-sale (POS) terminal means an automated credit card or debit 
card transaction device.
    Presumed EFT means that agencies will presume that new payment 
recipients will elect EFT as the means of payment delivery. Enrollment 
forms for use in establishing routine payments will be designed with 
this approach in mind, to obtain the required written consent of the 
recipient.
    Recipient means a person, corporation, or other public or private 
entity receiving benefit or nonbenefit payments from the Government.
    Same-day deposit means a deposit made before the cutoff time on the 
day on which the funds were received by an agency. For example, if an 
agency receives funds for deposit at 10 a.m. on Monday and transmits the 
deposits by 2 p.m. on Monday (the depositary's cutoff time), then a 
same-day deposit has been achieved.
    Service means the Financial Management Service, Department of the 
Treasury.
    Treasury Financial Manual (TFM) means the manual issued by the 
Service containing procedures to be observed by all Government 
departments and agencies in relation to central accounting, financial 
reporting, and other Governmentwide fiscal responsibilities of the 
Department of the Treasury. Volume I, Chapter 6-8000 (I TFM 6-8000) 
contains agency cash management procedures to be followed pertaining to 
these regulations.

Copies of the TFM are available free to Government agencies. Others who 
are

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interested in ordering a copy may call (202) 208-1819 or write the 
Directives Management Branch, Financial Management Service, Department 
of the Treasury, Liberty Center (UCP-741), Washington, DC 20227 for 
further information.