PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 Released September 11, 2015 DA 15-1013 Payment Methods and Procedures For Fiscal Year 2015 Regulatory Fees Each year, the Commission is required to collect regulatory fees. Licensees and regulatees are assessed fees as set forth in Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2015, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, (released September 2, 2015) (“FY 2015 Regulatory Fees, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking”). The Commission also publishes industry-specific guidance in Who Owes Fees & What Is My FY 2015 Fee, which can be found on the Commission website at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees. The Commission’s automated filing and payment system (“Fee Filer”) is available for filing and viewing of FY 2015 regulatory fees. While FY 2015 regulatory fees will not become effective until the rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, regulatees at their own discretion, may submit payments at any time before the effective due date of FY 2015 regulatory fees. Regulatory fee payments must be RECEIVED 1 by the Commission no later than 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, on September 24, 2015. MANDATORY USE OF FEE FILER The use of the online Fee Filer system for filing regulatory fees has not changed since the process was first initiated in FY 2009: licensees and regulatees must first enter the Commission’s Fee Filer system with a valid FRN and password, and follow the online prompts to review their data and submit an electronic fee payment. Use of the online Fee Filer system is mandatory, and payments in the form of checks, money orders, and cashier’s checks are no longer accepted. A Form 159-E voucher will only be accepted when the regulatee is making a wire transfer payment. Instructions on the use and submission of Form 159-E vouchers are available on the Commission’s website and discussed later in this public notice. Hardcopy/paper bills are no longer mailed by the FCC; however, bills are available for viewing in the “Regulatory Fee” link of Fee Filer. Licensees in the following services should consult the cited sources below for information on their fees. Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers (ITSPs) Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers for FY 2015. 1 The Commission has instituted a mandatory electronic payment policy, which means that licensees will no longer be able to make regulatory fee payments by check, money order, or cashier’s check. Only credit card, ACH, and wire transfer payments will be accepted. Please make sure that your electronic fee payment is made and the transaction is complete by the due date of FY 2015 regulatory fees. 2Satellite Space Station Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—International and Satellite Services Licensees for FY 2015. Earth Station Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—International and Satellite Services Licensees for FY 2015. Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Cable Television Systems for FY 2015. Media Service Licensees Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Media Service Licensees for FY 2015. Commercial Wireless Services Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Commercial Wireless Service Licensees for FY 2015. For additional information, filers in these and any other fee category may contact the Financial Operations Help Desk at 877-480-3201, Option 4. FCC REGISTRATION NUMBER (FRN) MUST BE CURRENT IN CORES It is very important for licensees and regulatees to have a current and valid FRN address on file in the Commission’s Registration System (CORES). To file and pay regulatory fees, fee payors will need to have their FRN passwords available when entering Fee Filer. When entering Fee Filer, using a specific FRN and password linked to a particular regulatory fee bill will help to reduce the reporting time. Fee payors that do not have an FRN should go to www.fcc.gov and click on the link to FCC Registration Number (FRN) Commission Registration System (CORES) to obtain one. LIMITATIONS ON CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS The U.S Treasury will not process credit card transactions greater than $24,999.99. In accordance with U.S. Treasury Announcement No. A-2014-04 (July 2014), the amount that can be charged on a credit card for transactions with federal agencies has been reduced to $24,999.99.2 Previously, the credit card limit was $49,999.99. This lower transaction amount is effective June 1, 2015. Transactions greater than $24,999.99 will be rejected. This limit applies to single payments or bundled payments of more than one bill. Multiple transactions to a single agency in one day may be aggregated and treated as a single transaction subject to the $24,999.99 limit. Customers who wish to pay an amount greater than $24,999.99 should consider available electronic alternatives such as Visa or MasterCard debit cards, Automated Clearing House (ACH) debits from a bank account, and wire transfers. Each of these payment options is available after filing regulatory fee information in Fee Filer. 2 Customers who owe an amount on a bill, debt, or other obligation due to the federal government are prohibited from splitting the total amount due into multiple payments. Splitting an amount owed into several payment transactions violates the credit card network and Fiscal Service rules. An amount owed that exceeds the Fiscal Service maximum dollar amount, $24,999.99, may not be split into two or more payment transactions in the same day by using one or multiple cards. Also, an amount owed that exceeds the Fiscal Service maximum dollar amount may not be split into two or more transactions over multiple days by using one or more cards. 3Regulatory fee payments that exceed the U.S. Treasury limit and are rejected by Treasury, causing a payment not to meet the required payment deadline, will be subject to interest, fees, and a 25% late payment penalty. ELECTRONIC FILING AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES (FOR ALL ENTITIES) All fee payors must enter the FCC’s Fee Filer system to begin the process of filing FY 2015 regulatory fees. The Fee Filer web application is located at: www.fcc.gov/feefiler. After logging in with an FRN and password, the “Regulatory Fees” option should be selected to display billed and non-billed regulatory fees. It is the responsibility of each fee payor to determine its regulatory fee obligation. Fee Filer displays fee information associated with an FRN. Although the Commission makes every effort to assure the accuracy of the information contained in Fee Filer, the Commission cautions fee payors that any errors in the information contained in Fee Filer do not relieve fee payors of the responsibility to pay all fees correctly. Fee payors may make adjustments, corrections, additions, or deletions to the information contained in Fee Filer, if necessary. For technical assistance, please contact the Financial Operations Help Desk at (877) 480-3201, Option 4. PAYMENT METHODS Licensees and regulatees may pay their regulatory fees by any of the following methods; · Credit card (online) · Wire transfer · ACH (Automated Clearing House) / debit from bank account (online) via Fee Filer · Visa or MasterCard debit cards Checks, Money Orders, and Cashier’s Checks are No Longer Accepted for Payment of Regulatory Fees3 Credit Card (online): · The FCC accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. · To pay online by credit card, fee payors must first submit electronic filing information through the FCC’s Fee Filer web application, and will then have the option to pay online by choosing the “Pay by Credit Card” option. · Limitations on credit card transactions: As noted previously, the U.S. Treasury will reject credit card transactions greater than $24,999.99 from a single credit card in a single day. Wire Transfer: A wire transfer is a transaction that is initiated through a bank, authorizing the bank to wire funds from an account to the Federal Reserve Bank, NYC (TREAS NYC). All payments made by wire transfer (payable to the Federal Communications Commission) must be supported by faxing the “Wire Transfer Instructions” from Fee Filer to the Federal Communications Commission at (202) 418-2843 at least one hour before initiating the wire transfer (but on the same business day) so as not to delay crediting their account. These Wire Transfer Instructions contain valuable information (e.g. FRN, Voucher Number, Payer Name, and the Amount of the Wire) that will help to post the payment more quickly, and avoid costly delays that could result in penalties and interest for missing the payment due date. Please note that most wire transfers initiated after 3 Payors should note that this change will mean that entities that have previously paid both regulatory fees and application fees at the same time by paper check will no longer be able to do so because regulatory fees payments by paper check will no longer be accepted. 46:00 p.m. (EDT) will be credited the next business day. Fee payors should discuss arrangements (including bank closing schedules, and bank wire transaction fees for which the Commission is not responsible) with their bankers several days before they plan to make the wire transfer to allow sufficient time for the transfer to be initiated and completed before the deadline, especially if the wire transfer is an international one. Complete instructions for making wire payments are posted at http://transition.fcc.gov/fees/wiretran.html. When initiating the wire transfer, please provide the bank with the following information to complete the transfer: ABA Routing Number: 021030004 Receiving Bank: TREAS NYC 33 Liberty St. New York, NY 10045 BNF: FCC/ACCT--27000001 OBI Field: (Skip one space between each information item)\"REGULATORY PAY" PAYER FRN (Exactly as on remittance instrument) PAYER NAME (Exactly as on remittance instrument) Phone: (Daytime Phone #, exactly as on remittance instrument) VOUCHER NUMBER (Exactly as on remittance (Form 159-E) instrument) ACH Payments (Debit from Bank Account) · To pay online from a bank account, fee payors must first submit their electronic filing information via the FCC’s Fee Filer web application; they will then have the option to pay online by choosing the “Pay from Bank Account” option. Note: Fee payors are strongly encouraged to contact their financial institutions to confirm that the correct Routing Number for this method of payment is being used. Fee payors should also verify with their bank that their account has authorization to accept ACH transactions. · Fee payors may choose to pay by ACH using personal checking, personal savings, business checking, and business savings. · For purposes of meeting the filing deadline, the FCC will consider payment to be received when account information is successfully accepted. Funds may not clear for up to 2 business days. Fee payors are responsible for obtaining confirmation from their financial institution that payment was successfully debited from the designated account(s). NEW DE MINIMIS REGULATORY FEE LEVEL Regulatees whose total FY 2015 annual regulatory fee liability, including all categories of fees for which payment is due, is $500 or less are exempt from payment of FY 2015 regulatory fees. The de minimis threshold applies only to filers of annual regulatory fees (not regulatory fees paid through multi-year filings), and it is not a permanent exemption. Rather, each regulate will need to reevaluate their total fee liability each fiscal year to determine whether they meet the de minimis exemption. Regulatees are responsible for calculating their own total fee obligation to determine whether they qualify for this de minimis exemption. The Commission reserves the right to request documentation that supports a de minimis exemption claim. OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING REGULATORY FEES The following Fact Sheets and Websites are available at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees to help licensees with their regulatory fee obligations: FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS—FY2015 FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - MEDIA SERVICES LICENSEES—FY2015 5FCC LOOK-UP WEBSITE FOR MEDIA SERVICES LICENSEES OWING FY 2015 REGULATORY FEES FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - COMMERCIAL WIRELESS SERVICES—FY2015 FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - INTERNATIONAL AND SATELLITE SERVICES LICENSEES—FY2015 PUBLIC NOTICE: SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEMS—FY2015 FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - INTERSTATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS—FY2015 FACT SHEET: WAIVERS, REDUCTIONS AND DEFERMENTS OF REGULATORY FEES—FY2015 FACT SHEET: REGULATORY FEE EXEMPTIONS—FY2015 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Licensees and regulatees should contact the Commission’s Financial Operations Help Desk with inquiries regarding regulatory fees at (877) 480-3201 Option 4 or e-mail inquiries to ARINQUIRIES@FCC.GOV. - FCC -