[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR103.10]
[Page 449-450]
TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
PART 103--AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents
Subpart A--Production of Documents/Disclosure of Information Under the
FOIA
Sec. 103.10 Fees for services.
(a) In general. (1) The fees prescribed in this section are for
search and duplication and under no circumstances is there a fee for
determining whether an exemption can or should be asserted, for deleting
exempt matter being withheld from records to be furnished, or for
monitoring a requester's inspection of records made available in this
manner.
(2) Customs publications which are available for sale through the
Government Printing Office are on the shelves of the reading rooms and
similar public inspection facilities, but those publications are not
available for sale at those facilities. Those publications may be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402. However, pages from those publications may
be copied at the public inspection facilities in accordance with the
schedule of fees set forth in paragraph (g) of this section.
(b) When charged. Unless charges are inapplicable, or are waived or
reduced in accordance with paragraph (c) or (d) of this section, fees
are charged in accordance with the schedule contained in paragraph (g)
of this section for services rendered in responding to requests for
records.
(c) Services performed without charge--(1) Certain classes of
records. The Commissioner of Customs or any of the Commissioner's
designees may determine, under the rulemaking procedures of 5 U.S.C.
553, which classes or records under their control may be provided to the
public without charge, or at a reduced charge.
(2) Records provided to government units. Normally, in accordance
with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section, no charge is made for
providing records to Federal, State, or foreign governments,
international governmental organizations, or local governmental agencies
or offices.
(d) Waiver or reduction of fees--(1) Records unavailable or exempt.
Fees may be waived or reduced at the discretion of the Customs officer
who determines the availability of records, if the record is not found
or is exempt from disclosure.
(2) Request for waiver or reduction of fees. Fees may be waived or
reduced on a case by case basis in accordance with this paragraph by the
Customs officer who determines whether to release the record. A request
for a waiver or reduction of fees must be in writing. The appropriate
Customs officer shall waive or reduce a fee if the officer determines
either that:
(i) The records are being requested by, or on behalf of, an
individual who in writing, under penalty or perjury, demonstrates
indigency to the satisfaction of the officer and that compliance with
the request does not constitute an unreasonable burden on the United
States Customs Service; or
(ii) A waiver or reduction of the fees is in the public interest
because furnishing the information primarily benefits the general
public.
(3) Appeal from denial of request. An appeal from a denial of a
request for waiver or reduction of fees is decided under the criteria
set forth in paragraph (d)(2) of this section by the FOIA Appeals
Officer. An appeal shall be in writing and mailed to the FOIA Appeals
Officer within 35 days of the denial of the initial request for waiver
or
[[Page 450]]
reduction. An appeal under this paragraph is entitled to a prompt
decision.
(e) Avoidance of unexpected fees. In order to protect a requester
from unexpected fees, a requester is required to state in the request an
agreement to pay the fees determined in accordance with paragraph (g) of
this section or to state an acceptable upper limit on the cost of
processing the request. If the fee for processing the request is
estimated to exceed that limit, or if the requester has failed to state
a limit and the cost is estimated to exceed $50 and there is no decision
to waive or reduce the fees, the appropriate Customs officer shall:
(1) Inform the requester of the estimated costs;
(2) Extend an offer to the requester to confer with Customs
personnel in an attempt to reformulate the request in a manner which
will reduce the fee and still meet the needs of the requester, and
(3) Inform the requester that the running of the time period within
which a determination on the request must be made is suspended until the
request is reformulated in manner to reduce the cost or until the
requester pays or agrees to pay the estimated cost.
(f) Form of payment. (1) A requester shall pay by a check or money
order that is payable to the order of the United States Customs Service.
(2) If the estimated cost exceeds $50, the requester may be required
to enter into a contract for the payment of actual costs, as determined
in accordance with paragraph (g) of this section, which contract may
provide for prepayment of the estimated costs in whole or in part.
(g) Amount to be charged for specified services. A fee for a service
performed is imposed and collected as set forth in this paragraph. The
Commissioner of Customs or the Commissioner's designee may set an
appropriate fee for any service not described below. These extraordinary
fees are imposed and collected pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 483a, subject to
the constraints imposed by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A).
(1) Duplication. (i) The charge for photocopies per page up to 8\1/
2\x14 is at the rate of $0.15 each.
(ii) The charge for photographs, films and other materials is their
actual cost. The Customs Service may furnish the records to be released
to a private contractor for copying and charge the person requesting the
records the actual cost of duplication charged by the private
contractor. No fee is charged where the requester furnishes the supplies
and equipment and makes the copies at the Government location.
(2) Unpriced printed materials. The charge for unpriced printed
material, which is available at the location where requested and which
does not require duplication for copies to be furnished, is at the rate
of $0.25 for each twenty-five pages or fraction thereof.
(3) Search services. The charge for services of personnel involved
in locating records is $10.00 for each hour or fraction thereof. If a
computer search is required because of the nature of the records sought
and the manner in which the records are stored, the fee is $10.00 for
each hour or fraction thereof of personnel time associated with the
search plus the actual cost of extracting the stored information in the
format in which it is normally produced. This actual cost of extracting
information is based on computer time and supplies necessary to comply
with the request.
(4) Searches requiring travel or transportation. The charge for
transporting a record from one location to another, or for transporting
a Customs officer or employee to the site of requested records when it
is necessary to locate rather then examine the records, is the actual
cost of the transportation.
[T.D. 81-168, 46 FR 32565, June 24, 1981, as amended by T.D. 84-149, 49
FR 28699, July 16, 1984]