(a) The Board shall assess interest, penalties, and administrative costs on debts owed to the United States Government in accordance with the guidance provided under the Federal Claims Collection Standards, 31 CFR 901.9 unless otherwise directed by statute, regulation, or contract.

(b) Before assessing any charges on delinquent debts, the Board shall mail a written notice to debtor explaining its requirements concerning these charges under 31 CFR 901.2 and 901.9.

(c) Interest begins to accrue from the date on which the initial invoice is first mailed to the debtor unless a different date is specified on a statute, regulation, or contract.

(d) The Board shall assess interest based upon the rate of the current value of funds to the United States Treasury (the Treasury tax and loan account rate) prescribed by statute, regulation, or contract.

(e) Interest is computed only on the principal of the debt, and the interest rate remains fixed for the duration of the indebtedness, unless the debtor defaults on a repayment agreement and seeks to enter into a new agreement.

(f) The Board shall assess against a debtor charges to cover administrative costs incurred as a result of a delinquent debt. Administrative costs may include costs incurred in obtaining a credit report or in using a private debt collector, to the extent they are attributable to the delinquency.

(g) The Board shall assess a penalty charge of six percent a year on any portion of a debt that is delinquent for more than 90 days. The charge accrues retroactively to the date that the debt became delinquent.

(h) Amounts received by the Board as partial or installment payments are applied first to outstanding penalty and administrative cost charges, second to accrued interest, and third to outstanding principal.

(i) The Board shall waive collection of interest on the debt or any portion of the debt which is paid in full within 30 days after the date on which interest began to accrue.

(j) The Board may waive interest during the periods a debt disputed under §1018.26 is under investigation or review before the Board. This additional waiver is not automatic and must be requested before the expiration of the initial 30-day waiver period. The Board may grant the additional waiver only when it finds merit in the explanation the debtor has submitted under §1018.26.

(k) The Board may waive the collection of interest, penalties, and administrative costs if it finds that one or more of the following conditions exists:

(1) The debtor is unable to pay any significant sum toward the debt within a reasonable time;

(2) Collection of interest, penalties, and administrative costs will jeopardize collection of the principal of the debt;

(3) The Board is unable to enforce collection in full within a reasonable time by enforced collection proceedings; or

(4) Collection would be against equity and good conscience or not in the best interest of the United States, including the situation in which an administrative offset or installment payment agreement is in effect.

[58 FR 7749, Feb. 9, 1993, as amended at 81 FR 8852, Feb. 23, 2016]