§ 9800.18 - Fee waivers and reductions.

§ 9800.18 Fee waivers and reductions.

(a) CIGIE may waive or reduce fees if disclosure of the information sought is deemed to be in the public interest. A request is made in the public interest if it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the Federal Government, and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

(b) When determining fee waiver requests, CIGIE will consider the following six factors:

(1) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the Federal Government;

(2) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute to an understanding of Federal Government operations or activities;

(3) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the public likely to result from the disclosure: Whether the disclosure will contribute to the public understanding;

(4) The significance of the contribution to the public understanding: Whether the disclosure is likely to significantly contribute to the public understanding of Federal Government operations or activities;

(5) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the disclosure of the requested records; and

(6) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of an identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

(c) CIGIE may, in its discretion, waive or reduce fees associated with a records request, regardless of whether a waiver or reduction has been requested, if the agency determines that disclosure will primarily benefit the general public.

(d) CIGIE will waive fees without discretion in all circumstances where the amount of the fee is $25.00 or less.

(e) CIGIE will notify the requester regarding whether the fee waiver has been granted. A requester may appeal a denial of a fee waiver request only after a final decision has been made on the initial FOIA request.