(a) Administrative offset, as defined in 31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(1), means withholding funds payable by the United States (including funds payable by the United States on behalf of a State government) to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a claim.

(b) Compromise means the reduction of a debt as provided in §§105-55.019 and 105-55.020.

(c) Debt collection center means the Department of the Treasury or other Government agency or division designated by the Secretary of the Treasury with authority to collect debts on behalf of creditor agencies in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(g).

(d) Debtor means an individual, organization, association, corporation, partnership, or a State or local government indebted to the United States or a person or entity with legal responsibility for assuming the debtor's obligation.

(e) Delinquent or past-due non-tax debt means any non-tax debt that has not been paid by the date specified in GSA's initial written demand for payment or applicable agreement or instrument (including a post-delinquency payment agreement), unless other satisfactory payment arrangements have been made.

(f) For the purposes of the standards in this part, unless otherwise stated, the term Administrator refers to the Administrator of General Services or the Administrator's delegate.

(g) For the purposes of the standards in this part, the terms claim and debt are synonymous and interchangeable. They refer to an amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by GSA to be due the United States from any person, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency, from sources which include loans insured or guaranteed by the United States and all other amounts due the United States from fees, leases, rents, royalties, services, sales of real or personal property, overpayments, penalties, damages, interest, fines and forfeitures and all other similar sources, including debt administered by a third party as an agent for the Federal Government. For the purposes of administrative offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716, the terms claim and debt include an amount of money, funds, or property owed by a person to a State (including past-due support being enforced by a State), the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(h) For the purposes of the standards in this part, unless otherwise stated, the terms GSA and Agency are synonymous and interchangeable.

(i) For the purposes of the standards in this part, unless otherwise stated, Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate.

(j) For the standards in this part, Federal agencies include agencies of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Government, including Government corporations.

(k) Hearing means a review of the documentary evidence concerning the existence and/or amount of a debt, and/or the terms of a repayment schedule, provided such repayment schedule is established other than by a written agreement entered into pursuant to this part. If the hearing official determines the issues in dispute cannot be resolved solely by review of the written record, such as when the validity of the debt turns on the issue of credibility or veracity, an oral hearing may be provided.

(l) Hearing official means a Board Judge of the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.

(m) In this part, words in the plural form shall include the singular and vice versa, and words signifying the masculine gender shall include the feminine and vice versa. The terms includes and including do not exclude matters not listed but do include matters that are in the same general class.

(n) Reconsideration means a request by the employee to have a secondary review by GSA of the existence and/or amount of the debt, and/or the proposed offset schedule.

(o) Recoupment is a special method for adjusting debts arising under the same transaction or occurrence. For example, obligations arising under the same contract generally are subject to recoupment.

(p) Taxpayer identifying number means the identifying number described under section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6109). For an individual, the taxpayer identifying number is the individual's social security number.

(q) Waiver means the cancellation, remission, forgiveness, or non-recovery of a debt or debt-related charge as permitted or required by law.

[68 FR 68741, Dec. 10, 2003, as amended at 78 FR 29247, May 20, 2013]