[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1639.8]

[Page 248-249]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
         CHAPTER VI--FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
 
PART 1639_CLAIMS COLLECTION--Table of Contents
 
   Subpart A_Administrative Collection, Compromise, Termination, and 
                           Referral of Claims
 
Sec.  1639.8  Interest, penalty, and administrative costs.

    (a) Interest. The Board will assess interest on all delinquent debts 
unless prohibited by statute, regulation, or contract.
    (1) Interest begins to accrue on all debts from the date the initial 
notice is mailed or hand-delivered to the debtor. The Board will not 
recover interest if the debt is paid within 30 days of the date of the 
initial notice. The Board will assess an annual rate of interest that is 
equal to the rate of the current value of funds to the United States 
Treasury (i.e., the Treasury tax and loan account rate) as prescribed 
and published by the Secretary of the Treasury in the Federal Register 
and the Treasury Fiscal Requirements Manual Bulletins, unless a 
different rate is necessary to protect the interests of the Board. The 
Board will notify the debtor of the basis for its finding when a 
different rate is necessary to protect the Board's interests.
    (2) The Executive Director may extend the 30-day period for payment 
where he determines that such action is in the best interest of the 
Board. A decision to extend or not to extend the payment period is final 
and is not subject to further review.

[[Page 249]]

    (b) Penalty. The Board will assess a penalty charge, not to exceed 
six percent a year, on any portion of a debt that is not paid within 90 
days of the initial notice.
    (c) Administrative costs. The Board will assess charges to cover 
administrative costs incurred as the result of the debtor's failure to 
pay a debt within 30 days of the date of the initial notice. 
Administrative costs include the additional costs incurred in processing 
and handling the debt because it became delinquent, such as costs 
incurred in obtaining a credit report, or in using a private collection 
contractor, or service fees charged by a Federal agency for collection 
activities undertaken on behalf of the Board.
    (d) Allocation of payments. A partial payment by a debtor will be 
applied first to outstanding administrative costs, second to penalty 
assessments, third to accrued interest, and then to the outstanding debt 
principal.
    (e) Waiver. (1) The Executive Director may (without regard to the 
amount of the debt) waive collection of all or part of accrued interest, 
penalty, or administrative costs, if he determines that collection of 
these charges would be against equity and good conscience or not in the 
best interest of the Board.
    (2) A decision to waive interest, penalty charges, or administrative 
costs may be made at any time before a debt is paid. However, where 
these charges have been collected before the waiver decision, they will 
not be refunded. The Executive Director's decision to waive or not waive 
collection of these charges is final and is not subject to further 
review.