(a) Agencies are required by law to transfer delinquent, nontax, legally enforceable debts to Treasury for collection through cross-servicing and through centralized administrative offset with the exception of foreign debt that is exempt from cross-servicing per the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. Additionally, USDA will transfer debts to Treasury for collection through administrative wage garnishment. Agencies need not make duplicate referrals to Treasury for all these purposes; a debt may be referred simultaneously for purposes of collection by cross-servicing, centralized administrative offset, and administrative wage garnishment where applicable. However, in some instances a debt exempt from collection via cross-servicing may be subject to collection by centralized administrative offset so simultaneous referrals are not always the norm. This subpart specifies the rules applicable to the transfer of debts to Treasury for collection by cross-servicing. Rules for transfer to Treasury for centralized administrative offset are specified in subpart D of this part, and for administrative wage garnishment in subpart E of this part.

(b) When debts are referred or transferred to Treasury, or Treasury-designated debt collection centers under the authority of 31 U.S.C. 3711(g), Treasury will service, collect, or compromise the debts, or Treasury will suspend or terminate the collection action, in accordance with the statutory requirements and authorities applicable to the collection of such debts.

(c) In cases where a debtor has more than one FSA FLP loan that has been referred to cross-servicing and Treasury accepts an agreement to compromise or adjust one loan, or several loans, but not all of the debt, cancellation of any loan balances remaining on the compromised or adjusted debt will not be processed for the debtor until:

(1) All payments have been received as agreed; and

(2) All loans referred to the cross-servicing program for that debtor have been returned to FSA, with or without payment agreements.

(a) Agencies will transfer to Treasury any legally enforceable nontax debt in excess of $25, or combination of debts less than $25 that exceeds $25 (in the case of a debtor whose taxpayer identification number (TIN) is unknown the applicable threshold is $100), that has or have been delinquent for a period of 180 days in accordance with 31 CFR 285.12 so that Treasury may take appropriate action on behalf of the creditor agency to collect or compromise, or to suspend or terminate collection, of the debt, including use of debt collection centers and private collection contractors to collect the debt or terminate collection action. Agencies that transfer delinquent debts to Fiscal Service for the purposes of debt collection and that rely on Fiscal Service to submit the transferred debts for administrative offset on the agency's behalf must transfer the debts to Fiscal Service no later than 120 days after the debts become delinquent in order to satisfy the 120-day notice requirement for purposes of administrative offset in accordance with 31 CFR 285.12(c)(1). For accounting and reporting purposes, the debt remains on the books and records of the agency which transferred the debt.

(b) The requirement of paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to any debt that:

(1) Is in litigation or foreclosure (see 31 CFR 285.12 (d)(2) for definition);

(2) Will be disposed of under an approved asset sale program (see 31 CFR 285.12(d)(3)(i) for definition);

(3) Has been referred to a private collection contractor for a period of time acceptable to Treasury;

(4) Is at a debt collection center for a period of time acceptable to Treasury;

(5) Will be collected under administrative offset procedures within 3 years after the debt first became delinquent;

(6) Is exempt from this requirement based on a determination by the Secretary of the Treasury that exemption for a certain class of debt is in the interest of the United States. Federal agencies may request that the Secretary of the Treasury exempt specific classes of debts. Any such request by an agency must be sent to the Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury by the USDA CFO.

(7) Is foreign debt; or

(8) Is FSA FLP debt in which case the delinquent loan servicing procedures and appeals process required by the ConAct will apply, including the deferral for cross-servicing until all security has been liquidated, and FSA concludes its review of any pending debt settlement application from the debtor.

(c) A debt is considered 180 days delinquent for purposes of this section if it is 180 days past due and is legally enforceable. A debt is past due if it has not been paid by the date specified in the agency'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. A debt is legally enforceable if there has been a final agency determination that the debt, in the amount stated, is due and there are no legal bars to collection action. Where, for example, a debt is the subject of a pending administrative review process required by law or regulation and collection action during the review process is prohibited, the debt is not considered legally enforceable for purposes of mandatory transfer to Treasury and is not to be transferred even if the debt is more than 180 days past due. When a final agency determination is made after an administrative appeal or review process (including administrative review under subpart F of this part), the creditor agency must transfer such debt to Treasury, if more than 180 days delinquent, within 30 days after the date of the final decision.

Agencies will consider referring legally enforceable nontax debts that are less than 180 days delinquent to Treasury or to Treasury-designated “debt collection centers” in accordance with 31 CFR 285.12 to accomplish efficient, cost effective debt collection if no USDA payments will be available to collect the debt through administrative offset under § 3.43.

Agencies referring delinquent debts to Treasury for collection via cross-servicing must certify, in writing, that:

(a) The debts being transferred are valid and legally enforceable;

(b) There are no legal bars to collection; and

(c) The agency has complied with all prerequisites to a particular collection action under the laws, regulations or policies applicable to the agency, unless the agency and Treasury agree that Treasury will do so on behalf of the agency.

Federal agencies operating Treasury-designated debt collection centers are authorized to charge a fee for services rendered regarding referred or transferred debts. The fee may be paid out of amounts collected and may be added to the debt as an administrative cost.