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E-rate FCC Form 472 (BEAR)Form 472 – Schools and Libraries Universal Service Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement Form (BEAR) – Form 472 is used by the Billed Entity to request reimbursement for support on eligible services that have already been paid in full by the Billed Entity to the service provider. Form 472 can be filed after the following have occurred:
The BEAR form essentially becomes an invoice by which the SLD sends a check to the associated service provider who in turn reimburses the applicant. FCC Second Order: Applicants have a choice of payment beginning in Funding Year 2004: the BEAR (Form 472) submitted by the applicant (reimbursement); or the SPI submitted by the service provider (discount or credit). Service providers "must remit the discount amount to the billed entity no later than 20 business days after receiving the reimbursement check." (FCC Web Site: FCC Second Report and Order) SPIN Change requests and Service Substitution requests should be done prior to the submission of the BEAR form. Invoice Deadline Extension Requests – SLD will entertain requests for exceptions to invoice deadlines (that is, requests to honor “late” invoices). (Old USAC/SLD Web Site: Service Provider Manual - Chapter 7) Form 472 Notification Letter – USAC will issue a Form 472 (BEAR Form) Notification Letter to both the applicant and the service provider(s) upon successful data entry of the Form 472. (USAC/SLD Reference Area: Form 472 Filing Information) The BEAR notification letter provides the Service Provider with notice that a BEAR form has been approved for payment and that USAC will be issuing a check within approximately 15 days. A copy of this letter is sent to the applicant, as well (to give them a heads up that [the Service Provider] will be receiving money on their behalf). The reason for the notice is that the Service Provider will receive a consolidated check (regardless of the number of BEARs it covers) for each remittance batch. [T]he reimbursement has to be made to the applicant within 20 days of receipt of USAC’s check. (Old USAC/SLD Web Site: Service Provider Manual - Chapter 9 – Service Provider’s Role in BEAR Process) Invoices must be postmarked no later than 120 days after the last date to receive service – including extensions – or 120 days after the date of the Form 486 Notification Letter, whichever is later. Invoices should not be submitted until the invoiced products and/or services have been delivered and billed, and (for BEAR Forms) the provider has been paid. Once established, the selected invoicing method – Form 474 (SPIs) or Form 472 (BEARs) – must be used for the entire Funding Year. (USAC/SLD Reference Area: Sample Form 486 Notification Letter) The Good Samaritan policy is a procedure that USAC has implemented to address specific situations in which a funding commitment has been approved, services have been rendered and paid for by the applicant at the undiscounted rate during a particular funding year, but the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) cannot be processed for various reasons, such as the service provider originally selected by the applicant has gone out of business, or filed for bankruptcy protection before receiving BEAR payment(s) for the applicant. Under those circumstances, USAC permits the applicant to obtain BEAR payments through a substitute service provider, known as Good Samaritan. The role of the Good Samaritan is simply to receive the BEAR payment from USAC and pass the reimbursement through to the applicant. (FCC Web Site: FCC Order on Reconsideration and Fourth Report and Order, Footnote 39)
USAC/SLD PowerPoints and Documents:
Additional Related References:
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