[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 125 (Thursday, June 30, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
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From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-15875]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 30, 1994]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Mass Media Regulatory Fees
June 20, 1994.
The Federal Communications Commission issues this Public Notice in
order to provide information concerning the payment of regulatory fees
in 1994. If you are a licensee in any of the mass media services, you
should carefully review this Public Notice.
Who Must Pay Regulatory Fees In 1994
Most licensees and other entities regulated by the Commission must
pay regulatory fees in 1994. This Public Notice concerns the following
Mass Media licensees: commercial AM & FM radio stations, commercial
television stations. Low Power Television and television translator and
booster licensees, broadcast auxiliary and international (short wave)
broadcast station licensees. Non-commercial educational licensees are
exempt from regulatory fees as are licensees of auxiliary broadcast
services such as low power auxiliary stations, television auxiliary
service stations, remote pickup stations and aural broadcast auxiliary
stations where such licenses are used in conjunction with commonly
owned non-commercial educational stations. Emergency broadcast service
(EBS) licenses for auxiliary service facilities are also exempt as are
Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) licensees. Also, no
regulatory fees are required in Fiscal Year 1994 for FM translators and
FM boosters.
Why the Commission Must Collect New Fees
The new requirement to collect annual regulatory fees was contained
in Public Law 103-66, ``The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1993''. These new regulatory fees, which are likely to change each
fiscal year, will be used to offset costs associated with the
Commission's enforcement, public service, international and policy and
rulemaking activities. The new fees are in addition to any application
processing fees associated with obtaining a license or other
authorization from the Commission.
When Fees Will Be Due
Fee payment dates vary by service. Payments must be received by the
Commission by the dates shown below in order to avoid a 25% late
penalty. When paying multiple fees, the consolidated fee payment is due
on the date the latest individual fee payment would be due.
AM Radio (including associated broadcast auxiliary fees): September 2,
1994
FM Radio (including associated broadcast auxiliary fees): August 10,
1994
Television (including associated broadcast auxiliary fees, low power
television, TV translators & boosters): July 29, 1994 (except, if
authorized, a second installment payment which must be received by
August 26, 1994)
International (HF) Broadcast Station fees: September 2, 1994
FCC Form 159
Regulatory fee payments must be accompanied by FCC Form 159 (``FCC
Remittance Advice''). A copy of this form, with specific instructions,
is attached to this Public Notice. Please see ``Special Instructions
for Completing FCC Forms 159 & 159-C'' for detailed information on how
to correctly complete these Forms.
Where To Send Regulatory Fee Payments
All regulatory fee payments must be sent to the following address:
Federal Communications Commission, Regulatory Fees, P.O. Box 358835,
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5835.
Method of Payment
Regulatory fee payments may be made by check, money order or by
credit card (Visa or Mastercard only). When paying by credit card,
please make sure you sign the appropriate block of Form 159. Payments
may also be made electronically provided prior approval has been
obtained from the Commission. Contact Thomas M. Holleran at (202) 418-
1925 for prior approval.
Note: We encourage arrangements to consolidate regulatory fee
payments for different entities into a single payment instrument by
a single payee. We recognize the benefits to be gained by all the
parties involved. Notwithstanding the scheduled payment due dates
specified in this Public Notice, consolidation of 100 or more
regulatory fees due from different entities by a single payee will
be due on September 2, 1994. Entities participating in such
consolidated payment arrangements that are eligible, and choose, to
pay by installment, should pay one-half of the regulatory fee
eligible for installment payment by September 2, 1994. The second
installment payment will then be due September 30, 1994. Multiple
fee payments may be made with one check, money order, credit card or
electronic payment. Payors who will be making a single payment for a
significant number of entities and wish to submit automated data
submissions in lieu of a large number of FCC Forms 159-C (``Advice
Continuation Sheets'') should contact Thomas M. Holleran at (202)
418-1925 at least four weeks prior to the payment due date.
Installment Payments
Only commercial television station licensees are permitted to make
installment payments and then only if their total regulatory fee
exceeds $12,000. Please note that fee payments for other than
television station licenses cannot be counted toward the $12,000
installment threshold. Nor can licensees or permittees of any LPTV, TV
translators & boosters, broadcast auxiliaries service stations or
holders of construction permits pay their fees by installment. Eligible
licensees choosing to make installment payments must pay one-half of
their total fee by July 29, 1994. The second installment payment is due
no later than August 26, 1994. Entities participating in consolidated
payment arrangements that are eligible, and elect, to pay by
installment should note the different due dates for their installment
payments (see ``Method of Payment'' above).
Compliance
Licensees are solely responsible for accurately accounting for all
licenses and for paying proper regulatory fees. Any omission or payment
deficiency can result in a 25% monetary penalty, dismissal of pending
actions, and/or revocation of any authorization. Additionally, the
Commission intends to invoke its authority under the Debt Collection
Act against any licensee failing to meet its regulatory fee payment
obligations.
Waivers, Reductions, and Deferments of Regulatory Fees
The Commission will consider requests for waivers, reductions or
deferments of regulatory fees, in extraordinary and compelling
circumstances only, upon a showing that such action overrides the
public interest in reimbursing the Commission for its regulatory costs.
Timely submission of the appropriate regulatory fee must accompany
requests for waivers or reductions. This will ensure efficient
collection in situations where a waiver or reduction is not warranted
and will allow the requester to avoid a 25% late-payment penalty if its
request is denied. The regulatory fee would be refunded later if the
request is granted. Only in exceptional or compelling instances (where
payment of the regulatory fee along with the waiver or reduction
request could result in the reduction of service to a community or
other financial hardship to the licensee) will the Commission accept a
petition to defer payment along with a waiver or reduction request.
Additional Information
The Commission has prepared a number of informative Fee Filing
Guides for information on application fees for cable services, and for
information on application and regulatory fees for the common carrier,
mass media, engineering and technology, field operations or private
radio services. These Guides are available from the Commission's Public
Service Division, from its various field office locations and can be
downloaded from the Internet (ftp@fcc.gov). For additional information,
please call the Fees Hotline at (2) 632-FEES, or write to: Federal
Communications Commission, ATTN: Public Service Division, 1919 M Street
NW., Washington, DC 20554.
Filing Procedures for AM Radio Stations
Who Must Pay: Licensees of Class A, Class B, Class C & Class D AM
radio stations and holders of construction permits for new stations in
the AM service whose license or permit was granted on or before October
1, 1993. AM radio station licensees who also hold auxiliary broadcast
service licenses operated in conjunction with the main AM station
(e.g., remote pickup stations, aural broadcast STLs, intercity relay
stations and low power auxiliary stations) will also be assessed a
regulatory fee for each of these stations. Governments and nonprofit
(exempt under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code) entities are
exempt from paying regulatory fees and should not submit payment, but
may be asked to submit a current IRS Determination Letter documenting
its nonprofit status, or a certification of governmental authority.
Fee Requirement: Fees are assessed for AM radio station licensees
based upon class of station as shown. Determination of class is based
upon the station's most recent granted license on or before October 1,
1993.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Payment type
AM regulatory fee category fee code
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class A Station License..................... $900 MLAN
Class B Station License..................... 500 MNAN
Class C Station License..................... 200 MRAN
Class D Station License..................... 250 MPAN
Broadcast Auxiliary Station License......... 25 MUBN
Construction Permit for New AM Station...... 100 MTAN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that an AM station licensee will be assessed $25 for each
auxiliary license it holds. Holders of construction permits (CPs) for
new AM stations for which a license to cover the CP had not been
granted as of October 1, 1993, will be assessed a $100 fee for each
permit held, regardless of station class.
Filing Procedures for Commercial FM Radio Stations
Who Must Pay: Licensees of commercial FM radio stations and holders
of construction permits for new stations in the FM service whose
license or permit was granted on or before October 1, 1993. FM radio
station licensees who also hold auxiliary broadcast service licenses
operated in conjunction with the main FM station (e.g., remote pickup
stations, aural broadcast STLs, intercity relay stations and low power
auxiliary stations) will also be assessed a regulatory fee for each of
these stations. Governments and nonprofit (exempt under section 501 of
the Internal Revenue Code) entities are exempt from paying regulatory
fees and should not submit payment, but may be asked to submit a
current IRS Determination Letter documenting its nonprofit status, or a
certification of governmental authority.
Fee Requirement: Fees are assessed for commercial FM radio station
licensees based upon class of station as shown below. Determination of
class is based upon the station's most recent license granted on or
before October 1, 1993:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Payment type
AM regulatory fee category fee code
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class C, C1, C2 or B FM License............. $900 MLFN
Class A, B1 or C3 FM License................ 600 MMFN
Broadcast Auxiliary License................. 25 MUBN
Construction Permit for New FM Station...... 500 MNFN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that commercial FM station licensees will be assessed $25 for
each auxiliary license it holds. Holders of construction permits (CPs)
for new FM stations for which a license to cover the CP had not been
granted as of October 1, 1993, will be assessed a $500 fee for each
permit held, regardless of station class.
Filing Procedures for Commercial VHF/UHF TV Stations
Who Must Pay: Licensees of commercial VHF and commercial UHF
television stations and holders of construction permits for new
stations whose license or permit was granted on or before October 1,
1993. Commercial television station licensees who also hold auxiliary
broadcast service licenses operated in conjunction with the main TV
station (e.g., remote pickup stations, intercity relay stations) will
also be assessed a regulatory fee for each of these stations.
Governments and nonprofit (exempt under section 501 of the Internal
Revenue Code) entities are exempt from paying regulatory fees and
should not submit payment, but may be asked to submit a current IRS
Determination Letter documenting its nonprofit status, or a
certification of governmental authority.
Fee Requirement: Fees are assessed commercial television stations
licensees based upon the size of the Arbitron ADI market in which it is
listed in the 1994 Edition of the TV & Cable Factbook No. 62 as
published by Warren Publishing. Fees will be assessed as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Payment type
Commercial VHF stations fee code
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Markets 1-10................................ $18,000 MAVN
Markets 11-25............................... 16,000 MBVN
Markets 26-50............................... 12,000 MEVN
Markets 51-100.............................. 8,000 MGVN
Remaining Markets........................... 5,000 MIVN
Broadcast Auxiliary Station................. 25 MUBN
Construction Permits........................ 4,000 MJVN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Payment type
Commercial UHF stations fee code
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Markets 1-10................................ $14,400 MCUN
Markets 11-25............................... 12,800 MDUN
Markets 26-50............................... 9,600 MFUN
Markets 51-100.............................. 6,400 MHUN
Remaining Markets........................... 4,000 MJUN
Auxiliary Station........................... 25 MUBN
Construction Permits........................ 3,200 MKUN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that commercial television station licensees will be assessed
$25 for each auxiliary license it holds. Holders of construction
permits (CPs) for television stations for which a license to cover the
CP had not been granted as of October 1, 1993, will be assessed $4,000
(VHF) or $3,200 (UHF) for each permit held.
Filing Procedures for LPTV, TV Translators & TV Boosters
Who Must Pay: Holders of Low Power Television, TV translator and
booster licenses whose license was granted before October 1, 1993.
Governments and nonprofit (exempt under section 501 of the Internal
Revenue Code) entities are exempt from paying regulatory fees and
should not submit payment, but may be asked to submit a current IRS
Determination Letter documenting its nonprofit status, or a
certification of governmental authority. Also exempted from this fee
are non-commercial educational FM and full service television broadcast
station licensees that hold low power television, TV translator or TV
booster licenses issued on or before October 1, 1993, provided those
stations operate on a noncommercial educational basis. Finally,
licensees of low power television, TV translator or TV booster stations
whose licenses were issued on or before October 1, 1993, and which have
obtained a fee refund because of a NTIA facilities grant for their
station or a fee waiver because of demonstrated compliance with the
eligibility and service requirements of Sec. 73.621 of the Commissions
Rules, are similarly exempt from payment of this regulatory fee.
Licensees claiming an exemption based on one of these latter criteria
should not submit payment, but may be asked to document their exempt
status.
Fee Requirement: Fees are assessed on a per licenses basis as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Payment type
Type of license fee code
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low Power Television Station/TV Translator/ $135 MSTN
TV Booster.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing Procedures for International High Frequency Broadcast Stations
Who Must Pay: Licensees of international (HF) broadcast stations
whose license was granted on or before October 1, 1993. Governments and
nonprofit (exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code)
entities are exempt from paying regulatory fees and should not submit
payment, but may be asked to submit a current IRS Determination Letter
documenting its nonprofit status, or a certification of governmental
authority.
Fee Requirement: Fees are assessed on a per license basis as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Payment type
Type of license fee code
------------------------------------------------------------------------
International (HF) Broadcast Stations....... $200 MRIN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Instructions for Completing FCC Forms 159 & 159-C
FCC Form 159 (``FCC Remittance Advice'') and, as necessary, FCC
Form 159-C (``Advice Continuation Sheet'') must accompany all
regulatory fee payments. Form 159 allows payors to report information
on one or two payment items (e.g., multiple FM or TV station licenses).
Use Form 159-C to report additional payments.
An FCC Form 159 and 159-C have been attached to this Public Notice
for you to complete and remit with your payment. You may make
additional copies of the forms as required. In addition to the
instructions for Form 159 (which are on the reverse side of the Form),
the following information applies specifically to mass media fee
payors.
Block (12)--``FCC Call Sign/other ID''
All Mass Media payors must enter in this block the call sign of the
station(s) for which the regulatory fee is being paid.
Block (14)--``Payment Type Code''
Enter the appropriate payment type code as listed below:
VHF Television Stations
MAVN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial VHF
television station in Arbitron markets 1-10 ($18,000).
MAV1: Use this code when paying the first installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial VHF television station in Arbitron
markets 1-10 ($9,000).
MAV2: Use this code when paying the second installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial VHF television station in Arbitron
markets 1-10 ($9,000).
MBVN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial VHF
television station in Arbitron markets 11-25 ($16,000).
MBV1: Use this code when paying the first installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial VHF television station in Arbitron
markets 11-25 ($8,000).
MBV2: Use this code when paying the second installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial VHF television station in Arbitron
markets 11-25 ($8,000).
MEVN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial VHF
television station in Arbitron markets 26-50 ($12,000).
MGVN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial VHF
television station in Arbitron markets 51-100 ($8,000).
MIVN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial VHF
television station in all other Arbitron markets ($5,000).
MJVN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a construction
permit for a commercial VHF television station ($4,000).
UHF Television Stations
MCUN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial UHF
television station in Arbitron markets 1-10 ($14,400).
MCU1: Use this code when paying the first installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial UHF television station in Arbitron
markets 1-10 ($7,200).
MCU2: Use this code when paying the second installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial UHF television station in Arbitron
markets 1-10 ($7,200).
MDUN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial UHF
television station in Arbitron markets 11-25 ($12,800).
MDU1: Use this code when paying the first installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial UHF television station in Arbitron
markets 11-25 ($6,400).
MDU2: Use this code when paying the second installment payment for a
regulatory fee for a commercial UHF television station in Arbitron
markets 11-25 ($6,400).
MFUN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial UHF
television station in Arbitron markets 26-50 ($9,600).
MHUN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial UHF
television station in Arbitron markets 51-100 ($6,400).
MJUN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a commercial UHF
television station in all other Arbitron markets ($4,000).
MKUN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a construction
permit for a commercial UHF television station ($3,200).
AM Radio Stations
MLAN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a Class A AM Radio
station ($900).
MNAN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a Class B AM Radio
station ($500).
MRAN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a Class C AM Radio
station ($200).
MPAN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a Class D AM Radio
station ($250).
MTAN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a construction
permit for an AM Radio station ($100).
FM Radio Stations
MLFN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a Class C, C1, C2
or B FM Radio station ($900).
MMFN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a Class A, B1 or
C3 FM Radio station ($600).
MNFN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a construction for
an FM Radio station ($500).
Low Power Television Station, TV Translator, Booster
MSTN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for Low Power
Television station, a television translator or television booster
($135).
Broadcast Auxiliary Station
MUBN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for a broadcast
auxiliary station ($25).
International (HF) Broadcast Station
MRIN: Use this code when paying a regulatory fee for an international
(HF) broadcast station ($200).
Block (15)--``Quantity''
All mass media fee payors must enter ``1'' in this block.
Block (16)--``Amount Due''
Enter the dollar amount associated with the corresponding Payment
Type Code entered in Block (14).
Block (17)--``FCC Code 1''
If you are paying an AM or FM regulatory fee, enter the
authorized frequency shown on your license or permit.
If you are paying a television or Low Power Television
station regulatory fee, enter the applicable channel number.
If you are paying a TV translator, TV booster, broadcast
auxiliary or an international broadcast station regulatory fee, leave
this section blank.
Block (18)--``FCC Code 2''
If you are paying an AM, FM, TV or Low Power Television
regulatory fee, enter the name of the state and community (in that
order) of licenses for the station for which the regulatory fee is
being paid. Please note that this block is for state and community of
license, not mailing address. Please use the appropriate two letter
post office abbreviation for the state.
If you are paying a broadcast auxiliary or international
broadcast station regulatory fee, leave this section blank.
Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-15875 Filed 6-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-M
