31 CFR 1.0 – General provisions
(a) This subpart contains the rules that the Department of the Treasury follows in processing requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 as amended. These regulations apply to all components of the Department of the Treasury. Requests made by individuals for records about themselves under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, are processed under subpart C of part 1 as well as under this subpart.
Terms Used In 31 CFR 1.0
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
(b) The components of the Department of the Treasury for the purposes of this subpart are the following offices and bureaus:
(1) The Departmental Offices, which include the offices of:
(i) The Secretary of the Treasury, including immediate staff;
(ii) The Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, including immediate staff;
(iii) The Chief of Staff, including immediate staff;
(iv) The Executive Secretary of the Treasury and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(v) The Under Secretary (International Affairs) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(vi) The Under Secretary (Domestic Finance) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(vii) The Director of the Community Development Financial Institution Fund and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(viii) The Director of the Office of Financial Research and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(ix) The Under Secretary (Terrorism and Financial Intelligence) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(x) The Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(xi) The General Counsel and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff, but not including legal counsel to the components listed in paragraphs (b)(2) through (10) of this section;
(xii) The Treasurer of the United States, including immediate staff;
(xiii) The Assistant Secretary (Legislative Affairs) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(xiv) The Assistant Secretary (Public Affairs) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(xv) The Assistant Secretary (Economic Policy) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(xvi) The Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(xvii) The Assistant Secretary (Management) and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff; and
(xviii) [Reserved]
(xix) The Inspector General and all offices reporting to such official, including immediate staff;
(2) The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau;
(3) The Bureau of Engraving and Printing;
(4) The Bureau of the Fiscal Service;
(5) The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network;
(6) The Internal Revenue Service;
(7) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
(8) The United States Mint;
(9) The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration;
(10) The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
(c) Any Treasury office which is now in existence or may hereafter be established, which is not specifically listed above and is not a subsidiary unit of a component of those listed above, shall be deemed a part of the Departmental Offices for the purpose of these regulations.
(d) The head of each component is hereby authorized to substitute the official designated and change the address specified in the appendix to this subpart applicable to that component. Components may issue supplementary regulations applicable only to the component in question, which (except with respect to fee schedules) shall be consistent with these regulations. Persons interested in the records of a particular component should, therefore, also consult the Code of Federal Regulations for any rules or regulations promulgated specifically with respect to that component (see Appendices to this subpart for cross references). In the event of any actual or apparent inconsistency, these Departmental regulations shall govern.
(e) Each component shall preserve all correspondence pertaining to the requests that it receives under this subpart, as well as copies of all requested records, until disposition or destruction is authorized pursuant to title 44 of the United States Code or the General Records Schedule 4.2 of the National Archives and Records Administration. Records that are identified as responsive to a request will not be disposed of or destroyed while they are the subject of a pending request, administrative appeal, or lawsuit under the FOIA.
(f) Nothing in this subpart shall be construed to entitle any person, as of right, to any service or to the disclosure of any record to which such person is not entitled under the FOIA.