(a) Interest.

(1) The Commission will assess interest on all delinquent debts unless prohibited by statute, regulation, or contract.

(2) Interest begins to accrue on all debts from the date that the debt becomes delinquent. The Commission will assess interest at the rate established annually by the Secretary of the Treasury under 31 U.S.C. 3717.

(b) Penalties. The Commission will assess a penalty charge of 6 percent a year on any portion of a delinquent debt.

(c) Administrative costs. The Commission will assess charges to cover administrative costs incurred as a result of the debtor's failure to pay a debt before it becomes delinquent. Administrative costs include the cost of providing a copy of the file to the debtor and 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 Commission.

(d) Interest, penalties, and administrative costs will continue to accrue throughout any appeal process.

(e) Allocation of payments. A partial or installment payment by a debtor will be applied first to outstanding penalty assessments, second to administrative costs, third to accrued interest, and fourth to the outstanding debt principal.

(f) Additional authority. The Commission may assess interest, penalty charges, and administrative costs on debts that are not subject to 31 U.S.C. 3717 to the extent authorized under common law or other applicable statutory authority.

(g) Waiver. (1) Regardless of the amount of the debt, the Chairman may decide to waive collection of all or part of the accrued interest, penalty charges, or administrative costs if collection of these charges would be against equity and good conscience or not in the Commission's best interest.

(2) A decision to waive interest, penalty charges, or administrative costs may be made at any time before a debt is paid. However, when charges have been collected before the waiver decision, they will not be refunded. The Chairman's decision whether to waive collection of these charges is final and not subject to further review.