11.4—Purpose and scope.
(a) Purpose.
The purpose of this subpart is to implement 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 31 U.S.C. 3716, which authorize the collection by salary or administrative offset of debts owed by persons, organizations, or entities to the federal government. Generally, however, a debt may not be collected by such means if it has been outstanding for more than ten years after the agency's right to collect the debt first accrued. This subpart is consistent with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations on salary offset, codified at 5 CFR part 550, subpart K, and with regulations on administrative offset contained within the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS), 31 CFR part 901.
(b) Scope.
(1)
This subpart establishes Departmental procedures for the collection of certain debts owed the government.
(i)
To debts or claims arising under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. et seq.), the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301
et seq.), or the tariff laws of the United States;
(iii)
In the case where collection of a debt is explicitly provided for or prohibited by another statute. The provisions of § 11.8 of this subpart do not apply to salary offset to recover travel advances under 5 U.S.C. 5705 or employee training expenses under 5 U.S.C. 4108.
(4)
Nothing in this subpart precludes the compromise, suspension, or termination of collection actions where appropriate under the FCCS.