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E-rate Year 5 (2002-2003) BEAR/SPIF Deadline for Recurring Services is October 28
Message Posted September 3, 2003
Applicants and service providers only have until October 28, 2003 -- less than 37 business days from today -- to file Form 472s (BEARs for applicants) or Form 474 (SPIFs for service providers) to collect Year 5 funding for recurring services. Please don't wait until the end of October to complete and file your BEARs as it is sometimes difficult getting service provider signatures. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sending a more detailed list of which entities still have funding remaining to be collected.
You should know that the SLD has increased scrutiny of the invoices (both BEARs and SPIFs) to make sure that applicants are only seeking reimbursement for exactly what they were approved for on their FCDLs and Item 21 attachments, and that applicants and service providers are only seeking reimbursement for the exact amount paid instead of the full funding cap (for example, if you were committed $10,000, but then only spent $6,000, you can't invoice the SLD for the full amount -- only the amount you spent).
RECURRING SERVICES
For almost all applicants, the deadline to seek reimbursement is 120 days after the last date to receive service (which is June 30 for recurring services and September 30 for nonrecurring services).
If an invoice is postmarked after the deadlines listed above, payment will be denied (unless you have been granted an extension -- details below). Reminder, this form only is available in paper form, and cannot be submitted electronically. You can, however, type into the .pdf version on the SLD website at: www.sl.universalservice.org/form/.
NONRECURRING SERVICES (installation or internal connections)
Applicants have until September 30, 2003 to complete their non-recurring services for Year 5. Thus, the deadline for those BEARs/SPIFs is January 27, 2003 (120 days after Sept. 30).
(Exceptions to Non-recurring Services Deadline: If your original funding commitment decision letter (FCDL) was issued on or after March 1, 2002, the SLD automatically granted you a full extra year to complete the installation of or purchase the equipment. For example, if your FCDL was issued on March 1, 2002 (or after), your last day to receive service or equipment would be September 30, 2004, and thus your invoice deadline would be 120 days after that date, or January 27, 2005.)
INVOICE DEADLINE EXTENSION REQUESTS
The SLD has been quite flexible in issuing invoice extensions, but you must make the request. In general, these are the conditions under which the SLD will issue an extension:
* Authorized service provider changes
* Authorized service substitutions
* No timely SLD notice (e.g., the service provider's Form 486 Notification Letter is returned to the SLD as undeliverable)
* SLD errors (for example, in the data entry of a form) that ultimately result in a late invoice
* SLD delays in data entering a form that ultimately result in a late invoice
* Documentation requirements that necessitate third party contact or certification (when a vendor won't sign a BEAR, for example)
* Natural or man-made disasters that prevent timely filing of invoices
* Good Samaritan BEARs
* Circumstances beyond the service provider's control
To request an invoice deadline extension, send a letter to the SLD detailing your request and including the following information:
Contact Person name
Contact Information (including e-mail address)
Form 471 Application Number
Funding Request Number (FRN)
Service Provider Name
Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN)
SLC Invoice Number (If known)
Amount of Invoice
Reason for Invoice Deadline Extension request
Send your letter to the following address:
Invoice Deadline Extension Request
Schools and Libraries Division
Box 125 - Correspondence Unit
80 South Jefferson Road
Whippany, NJ 07981
Requests may also be filed electronically, either by electronic mail (e-mail) or by facsimile.
Requests filed by e-mail must be submitted to sldcorrespondenceunit@sl.universalservice.org
Documents filed by e-mail can be submitted in any widely used word processing format, such as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Word or WordPerfect. Requests filed by facsimile must be faxed to 973-599-6542. The fax transmission should include a cover sheet listing contact name, phone number, and — if available — an e-mail address.
If you have any questions about the Year 5 Invoice Deadlines, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
Julie Tritt Schell
jtschell@comcast.net
(717) 730.7133 (voice)
(717) 730.9060 (fax)
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