CIVIL FINES AND PENALTIES DEBT: Review of U.S. Customs Service's Management and Collection Processes

Abstract

This report responds to your request that we review selected federal agencies' management and collection practices related to civil fines and penalties (CFP) debt. As agreed to with your office, this work focused on the debt collection processes and procedures used by the Department of the Treasury's U.S. Customs Service, the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This report provides the results of our review of Customs' management of and practices for collecting CFP debt. According to Customs' records, its gross CFP debt more than tripled from the start of fiscal year 1997 to the end of fiscal year 2000, rising from about $218.1 million as of October 1, 1996, to about $773.6 million as of September 30, 2000. During the same period, Customs annually reserved from 75 to 87 percent of its reported CFP receivables in an allowance for uncollectible accounts.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA403112

Entities

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  • United States Government Accountability Office

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  • Accountability
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Fields of Study

  • Business

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  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting