FCC Holds Line on 25% Regulatory Fee Penalty for Late Payments

The FCC has rejected, en masse, a round of requests to waive the statutory 25% late payment penalty on overdue FY 2023 and FY 2024 regulatory fees, underscoring that relief is reserved for rare, extraordinary circumstances outside a payer’s control.

The Communications Act requires the Commission to assess a 25% penalty on regulatory fees not paid by the deadline, in addition to any applicable interest and collection charges. In an order released Thursday, the Office of the Managing Director reiterated that it can waive, reduce, or defer regulatory fees only “for good cause shown, where the waiver would serve the public interest.”

The order lists multiple entities seeking relief for FY 2023 or FY 2024 late penalties, including several requests based on administrative oversight, delayed awareness of invoices, challenges navigating CORES, payment blocks due to bank transaction limits, international payment timing, and contractor mistakes. For FY 2023, regulatory fees were due by 11:59p ET on September 20, 2023. For FY 2024, fees were due by 11:59p ET on September 26, 2024.

The FCC denied each of the more than 20 requests, including multiple radio license holders, finding none demonstrated the level of external, extraordinary circumstances required for a waiver. Historically, the Commission has granted waivers only in extraordinary circumstances, citing post-September 11 relief as a past example.

The order also restates the Commission’s position that a payment is timely only when received by the FCC’s lockbox bank by the due date, and notes that the agency provides multiple methods of payment intended to reduce exposure to mail delays or other external timing risks.

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