# 63 FR 54426: Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement > Federal · Regulations · In force URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/FR_PRORULE_98-27069 ## Section - **Citation:** 63 FR 54426 - **Heading:** Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement - **Jurisdiction:** Federal - **Kind:** Regulations - **Status:** In force - **Text as of:** August 14, 2026 - **Source:** Compiled text - **Location:** Federal Register / Vol. 63 / 63 FR 54426 ## Text DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Fiscal Service 31 CFR Part 212 RIN 1510-AA61 Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement AGENCY: Financial Management Service, Fiscal Service, Treasury. ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA) requires executive agencies to include payee taxpayer identifying numbers (TINs) on certified payment vouchers which are submitted to disbursing officials. The Financial Management Service (FMS), the Department of the Treasury disbursing agency, and other executive branch disbursing agencies are responsible for examining certified payment vouchers to determine whether such vouchers are in proper form. To ensure that executive branch agencies submit payment certifying vouchers in a form which includes payee TINs, FMS issued a proposed rule on September 2, 1997. The rule, as proposed, would require disbursing officials to reject payment requests without TINs. Upon review of the comments received in response to the proposed rule, FMS has determined that a better approach to ensure compliance with the DCIA TIN requirement, in lieu of issuing a final rule, is to require each executive agency to submit a TIN Implementation Report to FMS documenting how the agency is complying with this requirement. Accordingly, FMS is issuing this document withdrawing the September 2, 1997, notice of proposed rulemaking. The Policy Statement outlining TIN Implementation Report requirements is being published in the Federal Register concurrently with this document. DATES: The notice of proposed rulemaking published at 62 FR 46428 is withdrawn on October 9, 1998. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Johnson (Director, Cash Management Policy and Planning Division) at 202-874-6657, Dean Balamaci (Director, Agency Liaison Division, Debt Management Services) at 202- 874-6660, Sally Phillips (Policy Analyst) at 202-874-6749, or James Regan (Attorney-Advisor) at 202-874-6680. This document is available on the Financial Management Service's web site: http://www.fms.treas.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 26, 1996, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA) was enacted as Chapter 10 of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104- 134, 110 Stat. 1321-358. A major purpose of the DCIA is to enhance the government-wide collection of delinquent debts owed to the Federal Government. Section 31001(d)(2) of the DCIA, codified at 31 U.S.C. 3716(c), generally requires Federal disbursing officials to offset an eligible Federal payment to a payee to satisfy a delinquent non-tax debt owed by the payee to the United States. A Federal disbursing official will conduct such an offset when the name and Taxpayer Identifying Number (TIN) of the payee match the name and TIN of the delinquent debtor, provided all other requirements for offset have been met. This process, known as ``centralized offset,'' also may be used to collect delinquent debts owed to States, including past-due child support. The Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS) is responsible for implementing the DCIA, including the centralized offset authority. Section 31001(y) of the DCIA, codified at 31 U.S.C. 3325(d), facilitates centralized offset by requiring the head of an executive agency or an agency certifying official to include the TINs of payees on certified payment vouchers which are submitted to Federal disbursing officials. FMS, as the Department of Treasury disbursing agency, disburses more than 850 million Federal payments annually. See 31 U.S.C. 3321. FMS and other executive branch disbursing agencies are responsible for examining certified payment vouchers to determine whether such vouchers are in the proper form. 31 U.S.C. 3325(a)(2)(A). In an effort to ensure that executive branch agencies submit certified payment vouchers in a form which includes payee TINs, FMS issued a proposed rule on September 2, 1997 (62 FR 46428), 31 CFR Part 212, Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement. The rule, as proposed, would require disbursing officials to reject payment requests without TINs, effective 6 months after publication of the final rule. After careful review and consideration of the comments submitted by Federal agencies in response to the proposed rule, FMS has determined that a better approach to ensure compliance with the DCIA TIN requirement, in lieu of issuing a final rule, is to require each executive agency to submit an agency TIN Implementation Report to FMS. This approach will address more effectively the underlying barriers to collecting TINs, and therefore increase compliance with the DCIA. The rejection of payment requests lacking TINs, as contemplated in the notice of proposed rulemaking, may not resolve these underlying barriers, and would unduly interfere with the timely disbursement of Federal funds. Some of the barriers to collecting and providing TINs as identified by agencies include systems reprogramming requirements, the need for agency finance and procurement offices to coordinate on TIN collection and data sharing requirements, the need to develop a reliable TIN validation process, as well as the resolution of TIN requirements involving payments to third parties or escrow agents. Many agencies also suggested that certain classes of payments should be exempt from the DCIA TIN requirement such as payments under the witness protection program and foreign payments to entities who do not have assigned TINs. Agency TIN Implementation Reports will address the current status of agency compliance with the requirement to furnish TINs with each certified voucher, strategies for achieving compliance, agency specific barriers to collecting and providing TINs, and strategies for resolving such barriers. The preparation and review of TIN Implementation Reports will enable payment certifying agencies and FMS to best determine how to resolve these issues. For additional information on these reports, FMS is publishing elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register a Policy Statement concurrently with this document. Agencies are reminded that the DCIA has required them to furnish the TINs of payment recipients on all certified vouchers submitted to disbursing officials since April 26, 1996, the effective date of the DCIA. In its interim rule creating 31 CFR Part 208, Management of Federal Agency Disbursements, FMS advised agencies of this DCIA requirement. See 61 FR 39254, July 26, 1996. Prior to the enactment of the DCIA, FMS issued Treasury Financial Management Bulletin No. 95-10 on August 18, 1995, which required that the payee's TIN be included on all certified vouchers for vendor, miscellaneous, and salary payments. Currently, FMS is working to ensure that TIN requirements for contractors and vendors are incorporated in anticipated revisions to the Prompt Payment circular issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (OMB Circular No. A-125, rev. Dec. 12, 1989), in consultation with FMS, and in anticipated revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (48 CFR). Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, FMS withdraws the proposed rule published on September 2, 1997. Agency compliance requirements with respect to the TIN requirement are set forth in the Policy Statement referenced above. Authority and Issuance For the reasons set out above, 31 CFR Part 212, Taxpayer Identifying Number Requirement, Proposed Rule, 62 FR 46428, September 2, 1997, is withdrawn. Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321, 3301, 3302, 3321, 3325, and 3528. Dated: October 5, 1998. Richard L. Gregg, Commissioner. 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