DA Number: 22-965 Released: September 16, 2022 PAYMENT METHODS AND PROCEDURES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 REGULATORY FEES On September 2, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission of FCC) released Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2022, Report and Order and Notice of Inquiry, FCC 22-68 (FY 2022 Regulatory Fees Report and Order). This document is available for viewing at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees. Regulatory fee payments must be received by the Commission no later than 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, on September 28, 2022. The Commission has instituted a mandatory electronic payment policy, which means that licensees will not be able to make regulatory fee payments by check, money order, or cashier’s check. Only credit card, Automated Clearing House (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 for FY 2022 regulatory fees. While FY 2022 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 FY 2022 regulatory fees due date.  In December 2021, the Commission discontinued the use of the Fee Filer system and incorporated this system into the Commission Registration System (CORES). To use CORES, you first need to register with the FCC at https://apps2.fcc.gov/fccUserReg/pages/login.htm. Once your FCC user name is registered and verified, you can access CORES and select the option to associate your existing FCC Registration Number (FRN). To make a FY 2022 regulatory fee payment, login to the following website using your Username and Password: https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do. MANDATORY USE OF CORES All regulatory fee payors are required to use CORES for fee filing and payment via ACH and credit card.  Licensees and regulatees must first enter CORES with a valid Username and Password at: https://apps2.fcc.gov/fccUserReg/pages/login.htm, and follow the online prompts to review their data and submit an electronic fee payment.  The use of CORES to pay regulatory fees is mandatory, and payments in the form of checks, money orders, and cashier’s checks will not be accepted. 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. To make a wire transfer payment, please enter CORES and submit your fee information, and then complete and fax your financial institution’s wire cover memo and an electronic FCC Form 159 (or equivalent) to the Commission at (202) 418-2843, or send an e-mail to RROGWIREFAXES@fcc.gov at least one hour before initiating the wire transfer (but on the same business day) so as not to delay crediting the account.  Please include your FRN, Voucher Number, Payer Name, and the Amount of the Wire in the wire cover memo to assist us in posting your payment quickly, and to avoid costly delays that could result in penalties and interest for missing the payment due date. Please see the following link, https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees/wire-transfer, for information on initiating a wire transfer.  Please note that most wire transfers initiated after 6:00 p.m. (EDT) will be credited the next business day.  Please also note that an ACH transaction could take several days for the payment to be transferred from a financial institution to the Commission.  Therefore, any automated notification you receive from the Commission or Pay.gov following submission of your ACH payment is an acknowledgement of submission, and not an acknowledgement that the funds have been received by the Commission.  As a precaution, fee payors should always check their bank statements to ensure that the funds have actually been transferred to the Commission by the regulatory fee payment due date. Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers (ITSPs) Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers (ITSP) for FY 2022. Satellite Space Station Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—International and Satellite Services Licensees for FY 2022. Earth Station Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—International and Satellite Services Licensees for FY 2022. Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Cable Television Systems, IPTV, and DBS for FY 2022. Media Service Licensees Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Media Service Licensees for FY 2022. Commercial Wireless Services Please follow the guidance provided in the Fact Sheet: What You Owe—Commercial Wireless Service Licensees for FY 2022. Exemptions Please see the guidance in the Fact Sheet: Regulatory Fee Exemptions for FY 2022, General Exemptions. For additional information, filers in these and any other fee category may contact the Financial Operations Help Desk at 877-480-3201, Option 6. An additional number to call is (202) 418-1995. YOU MUST BE REGISTERED WITH A USERNAME AND PASSWORD TO USE CORES In December 2021, the Commission discontinued the use of the Fee Filer system and incorporated this system into CORES. To use CORES, you first need to register with the FCC at https://apps2.fcc.gov/fccUserReg/pages/login.htm. Once your FCC user name is registered and verified, you can access CORES and select the option to associate your existing FRN to that user name. To make an FY 2022 regulatory fee payment, login to the following website using your Username and Password: https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do. LIMITATIONS ON CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS In accordance with Treasury Financial Manual, Volume I, Part 5, Chapter 7000, Section 7055.20, Transaction Maximums, the highest amount that can be charged on a credit card for transactions with federal agencies is $24,999.99. 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 the Bureau of Fiscal Service rules. An amount owed that exceeds the $24,999.99 maximum, 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 $24,999.99 maximum may not be split into two or more transactions over multiple days by using one or more cards. Treasury Financial Manual, Volume I, part 5, Chapter 7000, Section 7055.30, Prohibition on Splitting Transactions. 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, ACH debits from a bank account, and wire transfers. Each of these payment options is available after submitting regulatory fee information through CORES. Further details will be provided regarding payment methods and procedures at the time of FY 2022 regulatory fee collection in Fact Sheets, available at https://www.fcc.gov/regfees. The Treasury Financial Manual, Volume I, Part 5, Chapter 7000, Credit and Debit Card Collection Transactions was updated on June 23, 2022, effective October 1, 2022, that reduced the credit card limit of intra-governmental transactions (government-to-government) from $24,999.99 to $10,000.00. Regulatory 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 Commission’s CORE system to begin the process of filing and paying FY 2022 regulatory fees. The CORES login is located at: https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do. After logging in with your Username and Password, select the ‘Manage Existing FRNs | FRN Financial | Bills and Fees’ option, then select ‘Regulatory Fee Manager’ to start the process of paying FY 2022 regulatory fees. It is the responsibility of each fee payor to determine its regulatory fee obligation. Although the Commission makes every effort to assure the accuracy of the information contained in CORES, the Commission cautions fee payors that any errors in the information contained in CORES do not relieve fee payors of their responsibility to pay all of their fees correctly. If necessary, fee payors must make adjustments, corrections, additions, or deletions to the information contained in CORES to pay all of their fee obligations. For assistance with regulatory fee rates/calculations, exemption status and de minimis questions, please contact the Revenue & Receivables Helpdesk at (877) 480-3201, Option #6. For technical assistance with making payments through CORES, please contact the CORES Help Desk at (877) 480-3201, Option #1. PAYMENT METHODS Licensees and regulatees may pay their regulatory fees by any of the following methods: · Credit card (online) via CORES · Wire transfer (submit via CORES) · ACH/debit from bank account (online) via CORES · Visa or MasterCard debit cards (online) via CORES Checks, Money Orders, and Cashier’s Checks are No Longer Accepted for Payment of Regulatory Fees 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. 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 CORES 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. Any notification from the Commission when you submit your payment that reflects that a credit card transaction has been successful does not indicate that the funds have been transferred to the FCC, this is an acknowledgement of submission. As a precaution, licensees should always check their statements to see if the transaction has been processed. 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 U.S. Treasury, New York, New York. All payments made by wire transfer (payable to the Federal Communications Commission) must be supported by faxing the “Wire Transfer Instructions” from the CORES system 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. The Wire Transfer Instructions can also be e-mailed to RROGWIREFAXES@fcc.gov. These 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 6:00 p.m. (EDT) will be credited the next business day, and wires initiated outside of the United States may take additional time. 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 https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees/wire-transfer. Fee payors are responsible for obtaining confirmation from their financial institution that payment was successfully debited from the designated account(s) prior to the deadline to avoid additional fees. As a reminder, all regulatory fees MUST be filed, submitted and paid through the CORES System with the exception of wire transfers, which are initiated from the payors financial institution. If you have any questions, please contact 877-480-3201, Option 6.  In addition, we urge all entities who send wire transfer payments to include the Voucher Number, Payor Name, and Payor FRN in the wire description area. 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” Payor FRN: (Exactly as on remittance instrument) Payor 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 Commission’s CORES system web application; licensees 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. The payor’s bank may request the FCC’s Company ID # 2700000103. Please also note that an ACH transaction could take several days for the payment to be transferred from a financial institution to the Commission. Therefore, any notification from the Commission that reflects that an ACH transaction has been successful does not indicate that the funds have been transferred to the FCC, this is only an acknowledgement that a submission has occurred. As a precaution, licensees should always check their bank statements to see if the funds have actually been transferred. · 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 Commission 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) prior to the deadline to avoid additional fees. DE MINIMIS REGULATORY FEE LEVEL Regulatees whose total FY 2022 annual regulatory fee liability, including all categories of regulatory fees for which payment is due, is $1,000 or less are exempt from payment of FY 2022 regulatory fees. Thus, if the sum total of all annual FY 2022 regulatory fees is $1,000 or less, you are considered de minimis and do not have to pay FY 2022 regulatory fees. If you are de minimis, you will not need to report this exemption to the Commission. The de minimis threshold applies only to filers of annual regulatory fees (not regulatory fees paid through multi-year wireless filings), and it is not a permanent exemption. Rather, each regulatee will need to re-evaluate and re-calculate its regulatory fee liability each year in order to determine whether they meet the de miminis exemption established by the Commission’s annual regulatory fee order. Regulatees are responsible for calculating their 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 in the event they are unable to pay their regulatory fee obligations: Public Notice: Procedures for Filing Requests for Waiver, Reduction, Deferral and Installment Payment of FY 2022 Regulatory Fees Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic Fact Sheet: Regulatory Fee Exemptions for FY 2022, General Exemptions ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Licensees and regulatees should contact the Commission’s Financial Operations Help Desk with inquiries regarding regulatory fee at (877) 480-3201 Option #6, (202) 418-1995, or e-mail inquiries to ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. If a licensee needs assistance with making a payment through the CORES system they should call (877) 480-3201 Option #1. - FCC - 2