The deadline for payment of the annual FCC regulatory fee for FY 2016 is September 27th. All entities which possess an FCC license must pay the annual regulatory fee by this date or face severe late penalties and possible enforcement action.
This Client Alert is a General Reminder. You may disregard if you have already paid your company’s 2016 ITSP Regulatory Fee or have been confirmed as de minimis.
As announced previously, the FCC adopted a fee factor of 0.00371 (or 0.371%) for Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers (“ITSPs”). This fee must be paid by all interstate wireline telecommunications providers and interconnected VoIP service providers that provided interstate telecommunication service last year.
The FCC will not be mailing any pre-bills. Instead, the recent Public Notice counts as notification for payment and filing of the regulatory fee. Licensees must login to the Fee Filer system to review and pay all applicable regulatory fees. Login and payment instructions are detailed herein under Payment Details.
YOUR ATTENTION IS REQUIRED: DUE TO SECURITY FEATURES IN THE FCC FEE FILER SYSTEM, THE COMMPLIANCE GROUP WILL NOT REMIT FCC REGULATORY PAYMENTS ON BEHALF OF CLIENTS. THEREFORE, IT IS THE OBLIGATION OF EVERY CLIENT TO LOGIN TO THE FCC FEE FILER SYSTEM AND PAY ALL APPLICABLE FEES DIRECTLY. FAILURE TO REMIT PAYMENT BY THE FCC-ESTABLISHED DEADLINE WILL RESULT IN THE IMPOSITION OF A 25% LATE FEE APPLIED TO THE APPLICABLE ANNUAL REGULATORY FEE AMOUNT.
CLIENT ACTION ITEMS
Clients may login to the FCC’s online Filer Fee system and pay all outstanding regulatory fees themselves. Clients who have questions about specific payment obligations or need help logging in to the Fee Filer system should contact your designated regulatory consultant directly. If available, the firm can provide assistance obtaining FRN and login information, and help verify payment obligations.
Clients who have general question about the FCC’s regulatory fee can contact Chris Canter, cac@commpliancegroup.com.
DETAILS AND IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Payment obligations
FCC regulatory fees are based on interstate and international end-user revenue information report on the most recent FCC Form 499-A. Other types of revenues provided on FCC Form 499-A are excluded. All interstate telecommunications service providers and interconnected VoIP providers must pay annual FCC regulatory fees. Filers who qualify for the FCC’s de minimis exception for USF payment purposes are not excluded from regulatory fee payment obligations.
Fee Filer Access
Use of the FCC’s Fee Filer system is mandatory. All clients are advised that all regulatory fees should be paid through the “Regulatory Fee” section of Fee Filer system, regardless of whether a bill for the fees was issued by the FCC.
In order to access Fee Filer system, you must have a valid FRN and password. Once you have successfully accessed the Fee Filer system, the payment form will be automatically populated with your current filer information and amounts currently owed.
Nevertheless, although the Fee Filer program is able to populate the various fee categories using an associated FRN, the filer is still responsible for reporting and paying all regulatory fees owed –irrespective of whether all of these fees are automatically identified by the Filer Fee system.
Clients should carefully review all online information to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. Clients who have questions concerning the amounts calculated using the Fee Filer program or about regulatory fees in general should contact our firm before submitting payment.
The specific steps for accessing the Fee Filer system and paying this year’s annual regulatory fees are as follows:
- Go to httpss://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/FeeFiler/login.cfm and Login using your FRN and Password. Clients who do not have their FRN and Password should contact our firm.
- Click on “Regulatory Fees.”
- Under “Report,” click “View Details.”
- Verify that the information shown matches the amounts reported on the FCC 499-A. The online information should display the 499-A Line Number from which the annually regulatory fee was calculated. If the information does not match your 499-A records, please contact us for further assistance.
- If the online information listed matches the amounts displayed on the most recent Form 499-A, click “Close” at the bottom of the form.
- Select “Accept fees and proceed to a final review of regulatory fees” and click “Continue”. The system will guide you through submission of payment.
Payment Details
Payment can be made by credit card, electronic transfer, or wire transfer. The quickest and easiest way to pay is by submitting payment with a credit card using the online filing system: httpss://apps.fcc.gov/FeeFiler/login.cfm.
Finally, before you exit the Fee Filer system, you should also view your account status on the main page and submit any additional delinquent payments that may be owed to the FCC.
De Minimis Exemption
Entities whose total regulatory fee liability, including all categories for which payment is due, amounts to less than $500.00 are exempt from payment of the FCC’s regulatory fees.
Non-ITSP Regulatory Fees
In addition to the proposed ITSP fee factor, the FCC also imposes regulatory fees on other regulated service providers, including cable operators, submarine cable licensees, and broadcasters. Clients providing FCC licensed services other than, or in addition to, interstate telecommunications should consult the FCC’s fee schedule or contact our firm to determine the applicable fees.
25% Late Payment Penalty
Clients are also reminded that the FCC will impose a significant penalty, equal to 25% of the regulatory fee owed, for any payments received after the due date. For example: paying a $10,000 regulatory fee even one (1) day late would yield a $2,500 late payment penalty. Failure to pay regulatory fees or late payment may lead to additional sanctions, fees, and charges and could result in the revocation of licenses and authorizations.
