**GAO-02-1045R**                      Published: Sep 09, 2002. Publicly Released: Sep 09, 2002.                  

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## Highlights

Earlier this year, GAO began a governmentwide review of the implementation of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. The act requires each federal agency to issue a regulation adjusting its covered maximum civil monetary penalties for inflation by October 23, 1996, and requires each agency to make necessary adjustments at least once every 4 years thereafter. During the review, the Customs Service's Office of Chief Counsel indicated that three of the agency's civil penalties are covered by the act but that the agency had not adjusted any of them for inflation.

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## Topics

Government Operations

Federal lawFines (penalties)InflationNoncompliancePrice inflationHomeland securityFederal assistance programsFederal rulemakingFederal agenciesPrice indexes