9 - TOP Refunds and Disbursements Instructions.pdf

This is a Department of Justice Instruction (1400.03.01) establishing policy and procedures for Private Counsel Offices to process Treasury Offset Program (TOP) refunds and disbursements.

The instruction applies to Private Counsel Offices under contract with the Department of Justice for debt collection services and under the oversight of United States Attorneys' Offices. It addresses four primary functions: determining the appropriate return process for refunds, processing manual refund requests, processing automated disbursement requests, and correcting civil debt TOP payments to prevent improper refunds. The instruction distinguishes between two refund processes based on refund reasons and amounts. Manual refunds are required for amounts less than $25 and for specific circumstances including appeals, cases where the agency wrote off debt, debtors in bankruptcy protection, deferred or stayed collection by court order, expired debt liability, financial hardship, military debtors with active status prior to offset, non-federal individual offsets, Social Security or tax identification issues, and time delays in removing debt from TOP. Automated refunds are processed for cases marked "Paid in Full Prior to Offset" and are handled through the Consolidated Debt Collection System (CDCS) with electronic funds transfer via the Treasury Automated Clearing House (ACH), unless the debtor submits a waiver. For automated disbursements exceeding $25, the system creates a Disbursement Line requiring approval from a first-level and second-level approver before final authorization by NCIF (a federal employee with valid OBD-234), after which DAOG issues the refund. The instruction emphasizes the requirement for debtors to have a completed ACH Payment Enrollment Form or notarized waiver before processing any refund, and provides detailed step-by-step procedures for updating debtor information in CDCS. Contact information for NCIF Help Desk is provided for assistance with refund processing inquiries.