Let’s Talk About FY 2015 BEARs…
October 3, 2016
I’ll cut to the chase.
It’s taking USAC about 3 weeks to generate BEAR PINs from the date they receive a request.
It takes 1-2 weeks to get your Form 498 approved from the date you submit the form.
You need both a PIN (which is not the same as an EPC password), AND an approved Form 498 in order to submit a BEAR.
All FY 2015 BEARs or all invoice deadline extension requests for recurring services FRNs MUST, MUST, MUST be submitted on or before October 28, 2016…. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Therefore, if you have not yet received your BEAR PIN or Form 498 approval, and you have an FRN on the attached list with a deadline date of 10/28/2016, you should submit an Invoice Deadline Extension Request (IDER).
The Invoice Deadline Extension Request is very easy to create, especially because all of the data you need is on the attached spreadsheet (first 6 columns). USAC will approve the request, and you will automatically have an additional 120 days to submit your BEAR. This will be your one and only extension approval.
If you end up filing your BEAR before the October 28 deadline, the extension doesn’t hurt you in any way.
How do you submit an IDER? There are two ways: Submit a Question (on USAC’s public-facing site) or via Fax.
** Via Submit a Question:
http://www.slforms.universalservice.org/EMailResponse/emr_select.aspx
Under ‘Topic Inquiry’ select “Invoice Deadline Extension Request.” Then select “Other.” Complete the cover page, and then in the ‘Questions’ text box, list the following information:
- Applicant Name
- Billed Entity Number (BEN)
- 471 #
- FRN #
- Vendor Name
- SPIN #
** Via Fax: (973) 599-6526
The attached spreadsheet shows all FY 2015 FRNs for recurring services that have no disbursements as of October 2. It does not contain internal connections FRNs which have an invoice deadline of January 28, 2017 (I’ll send a reminder for those invoices later).
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
— Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org
penn*link