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 September 2, 2015 FEE FILER IS OPEN FOR PAYMENT OF FY 2015 REGULATORY FEES FY 2015 REGULATORY FEES ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 On September 2, 2015, the Commission released Assessment of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FY 2015 Regulatory Fees Report and Order), available for viewing at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees. This Public Notice announces the opening of the Commission’s automated filing and payment system (Fee Filer) for 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. Please note that regulatory fee payments must be RECEIVED by the Commission no later than 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, on September 24, 2015.1 Due to already scheduled maintenance, Fee Filer will be open on September 2, 2015 until 6:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time. Fee Filer will not be available again until Tuesday, September 8, 2015. Commission licensees and regulatees should consult the 2015 Regulatory Fees Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for specific information concerning regulatory fee payment obligations, the regulatory fee process, and regulatory fee requirements for payment. 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. These industry-specific Fact Sheets will be posted at the above website in early September 2015. Section 9(c) of the Act requires the Commission to impose a late payment penalty of 25 percent of the unpaid amount to be assessed on the first day following the deadline for filing these fees.2 Failure to pay regulatory fees and/or any late penalty will subject regulatees to sanctions, including those set forth in section 1.1910 of the Commission’s rules,3 which generally requires 1 Checks, money orders, and cashier’s checks are no longer accepted as means of payment for regulatory fees. As a result, it is the responsibility of licensees to make sure that their electronic payments are made timely and the transaction is completed by the due date. 2 47 U.S.C. § 159(c). 3 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1910. the Commission to withhold action on “applications, including petitions for reconsideration, any application for review of a fee determination, or requests for authorization by any entity found to be delinquent in its debt to the Commission and in the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA).”4 The Commission also assesses administrative processing charges on delinquent debts to recover additional costs incurred in processing and handling the debt pursuant to the DCIA and section 1.1940(d) of the Commission’s rules.5 These administrative processing charges will be assessed on any delinquent regulatory fee, in addition to the 25 percent late charge penalty. In the case of partial payments (underpayments) of regulatory fees, the payor will be given credit for the amount paid, but if it is later determined that the fee paid is incorrect or not timely paid, then the 25 percent late charge penalty (and other charges and/or sanctions, as appropriate) will be assessed on the portion that is not paid in a timely manner. OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING REGULATORY FEES The following Fact Sheets are also available at http://www.fcc.gov/regfees to help licensees with their regulatory fee obligations: PUBLIC NOTICE – FY 2015 REGULATORY FEES PAYMENTS AND PROCEDURES FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS—FY2015 FACT SHEET: WHAT YOU OWE - MEDIA SERVICES LICENSEES—FY2015 FCC 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 4 Delinquent debt owed to the Commission triggers the “red light rule”, which places a hold on the processing of pending applications, fee offsets, and pending disbursement payments. 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1910, 1.1911, 1.1912. In 2004, the Commission adopted rules implementing the requirements of the DCIA. See Amendment of Parts 0 and 1 of the Commission’s Rules, MD Docket No. 02-339, Report and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 6540 (2004); 47 C.F.R. Part 1, Subpart O, Collection of Claims Owed the United States. 5 47 C.F.R. § 1.1940(d). 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 -