§ 1639.8 Interest, penalty, and administrative costs.

(a) Interest. The Board will assess interest on all delinquent debts unless prohibited by statute, regulation, or contract. (1) Interest begins to accrue on all debts from the date the initial notice is mailed or hand-delivered to the debtor. The Board will not recover interest if the debt is paid within 30 days of the date of the initial notice. The Board will assess an annual rate of interest that is equal to the rate of the current value of funds to the United States Treasury (i.e., the Treasury tax and loan account rate) as prescribed and published by the Secretary of the Treasury in the Federal Register and the Treasury Fiscal Requirements Manual Bulletins, unless a different rate is necessary to protect the interests of the Board. The Board will notify the debtor of the basis for its finding when a different rate is necessary to protect the Board's interests. (2) The Executive Director may extend the 30-day period for payment where he determines that such action is in the best interest of the Board. A decision to extend or not to extend the payment period is final and is not subject to further review. (b) Penalty. The Board will assess a penalty charge, not to exceed six percent a year, on any portion of a debt that is not paid within 90 days of the initial notice. (c) Administrative costs. The Board will assess charges to cover administrative costs incurred as the result of the debtor's failure to pay a debt within 30 days of the date of the initial notice. Administrative costs include the additional 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 Board. (d) Allocation of payments. A partial payment by a debtor will be applied first to outstanding administrative costs, second to penalty assessments, third to accrued interest, and then to the outstanding debt principal. (e) Waiver. (1) The Executive Director may (without regard to the amount of the debt) waive collection of all or part of accrued interest, penalty, or administrative costs, if he determines that collection of these charges would be against equity and good conscience or not in the best interest of the Board. (2) A decision to waive interest, penalty charges, or administrative costs may be made at any time before a debt is paid. However, where these charges have been collected before the waiver decision, they will not be refunded. The Executive Director's decision to waive or not waive collection of these charges is final and is not subject to further review.