§ 301.6 - Retailer participation.

Retailer participation is voluntary. NTIA encourages retailers to participate in the Coupon Program and to cooperate with NTIA and its contractor in the administration of an effective and efficient program resulting in high customer satisfaction with a minimum of waste, fraud and abuse.

(a) Retailer Obligations: Certified Retailers are required to redeem valid coupons toward the purchase of CECBs, and

(1) Must have systems in place that are capable of electronically processing coupons for redemption and payment, tracking each and every transaction, and generating reports that are easily auditable.

(2) Must train employees on the purpose and operation of the Coupon Program. NTIA or its contractor will provide training material.

(3) Will not be responsible for checking consumer or household eligibility but shall report to NTIA suspicious patterns of customer behavior.

(4) Use commercially reasonable methods to order and manage inventory to meet customer demand for CECBs.

(5) Must provide transaction reports based on NTIA's requirements. Reports must be maintained by the retailer for at least one year. Business confidential and proprietary information shall not be disclosed to the public unless otherwise required by law.

(b) Retailer Certification:

(1) Retailers seeking to participate in the Coupon Program must apply for certification by contacting NTIA between June 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008.

(2) Retailers must complete the form provided by the Agency which requires the retailers to self certify that they:

(A) Have been engaged in the consumer electronics retail business for at least one year unless waived for good cause by NTIA. Good cause will be determined upon a showing by the retailer that participation would be in the best interest of the program. NTIA will issue a written determination as to whether a retailer has made a sufficient showing of good cause to waive this requirement;

(B) Have completed a Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov);

(C) Have in place systems or procedures that can be easily audited as well as systems that can provide adequate data to minimize fraud and abuse in retail redemption and government payment for coupons;

(D) Agree to have coupon box sales audited at any time during the term of participation in the coupon program by the U.S. Government or an independent auditor at no expense to the retailer;

(E) Will provide NTIA electronically with redemption information and payment receipts related to coupons used in the purchase of converter boxes, specifically tracking each serialized coupon by number with a corresponding CECB purchase; and

(F) Agree only to accept coupons for, and receive payment resulting from authorized purchases made for CECBs.

(3) Retailer Certification may be revoked by NTIA if a Certified Retailer fails to comply with these regulations, with the terms of any agreement made between the Certified Retailer and NTIA, or for other actions inconsistent with the Coupon Program.

(4) NTIA will not revoke retailer certification for unintentional non-compliance or error.

(5) Retailers may contact NTIA for late application or dispute resolution for problems such as denial or revocation of certification. Such issues will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.