§ 403.908 Procedures for electronic submission of reports. ( a ) *File format.* Reports required under this subpart must be electronically submitted to CMS by March 31, 2014, and by the 90th day of each subsequent calendar year.
( b ) *General rules.* ( 1 ) If an applicable manufacturer made no reportable payments or transfers of value in the previous calendar year, nor had any reportable ownership or investment interests held by a physician or a physician's immediate family member (as defined in § 403.902) during the previous calendar year, the applicable manufacturer is not required to file a report.
( 2 ) If an applicable group purchasing organization had no reportable ownership or investment interests held by a physician or physician's immediate family member during the previous calendar year, the applicable group purchasing organization is not required to file a report.
( c ) *Registration.* ( 1 ) Applicable manufacturers that have reportable payments or other transfers of value, ownership or investment interests, or both, are required to report under this subpart and must register with CMS within 90 days of the end of the calendar year for which a report is required.
( 2 ) Applicable group purchasing organizations that have reportable ownership or investment interests are required to report under this subpart and must register with CMS within 90 days of the end of the calendar year for which a report is required.
( 3 ) During registration, applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations must name two points of contact with appropriate contact information. These points of contact must be updated for 2 years following record submission.
( 4 ) An applicable manufacturer or applicable group purchasing organization that meets the definition of physician-owned distributorship as defined in § 403.902 must identify its status as a physician-owned distributorship when registering or recertifying.
( d ) *Other rules.* ( 1 ) *Consolidated reports.* ( i ) An applicable manufacturer under paragraph (1) of the definition that is under common ownership with separate entities that are also applicable manufacturers under paragraph (1) of the definition may, but is not required to, file a consolidated report of all the payments or other transfers of value to covered recipients, and physician ownership or investment interests, for all of the entities.
( ii ) An applicable manufacturer under paragraph (1) of the definition of applicable manufacturer and an entity (or entities) under common ownership with the applicable manufacturer under paragraph (2) of the definition of applicable manufacturer may, but are not required to, file a consolidated report of all the payments or other transfers of value to covered recipients, and physician ownership or investment interests.
( iii ) If multiple applicable manufacturers (under paragraph (1) or (2) of the definition or both paragraphs of the definition) submit a consolidated report, the report must provide the names of each applicable manufacturer and entity (or entities) under common ownership that the report covers, and the report must identify the specific entity that provided each payment.
( iv ) A single payment or other transfer of value reported in a consolidated report must only be reported once by one applicable manufacturer.
( v ) The applicable manufacturer submitting a consolidated report on behalf of itself and other applicable manufacturers under common ownership, as permitted under this paragraph, is liable for civil monetary penalties imposed on each of the applicable manufacturers whose reportable payments or other transfers of value were included in the consolidated report, up to the annual maximum amount specified in § 403.912(c) for each individual applicable manufacturer included in the report.
( 2 ) *Joint ventures.* If a payment or other transfer of value is provided in accordance with a joint venture or other cooperative agreement between two or more applicable manufacturers, the payment or other transfer of value must be reported— ( i ) In the name of the applicable manufacturer that actually furnished the payment or other transfer of value to the covered recipient, unless the terms of a written agreement between the applicable manufacturers specifically require otherwise, so long as the agreement requires that all payments or other transfers of value in accordance with the arrangement are reported by one of the applicable manufacturers; and
( ii ) Only once by one applicable manufacturer.
( e ) *Attestation.* Each report, including any subsequent corrections to a filed report, must include an attestation by the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, or other Officer of the applicable manufacturer or applicable group purchasing organization that the information reported is timely, accurate, and complete to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. For applicable manufacturers choosing to submit a consolidated report in accordance with paragraph (d)(1) of this section, the applicable manufacturer submitting the consolidated report must attest on behalf of itself, in addition to each of the other applicable manufacturers included in the consolidated report.
( f ) *Assumptions document.* Applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations may submit an assumptions document, explaining the reasonable assumptions made and methodologies used when reporting payments or other transfers of value, or ownership or investment interests. The assumptions documents will not be made available to covered recipients, physician owners or investors, or the public.
( g ) *45-day review period for review and error correction.* ( 1 ) *General rule.* Applicable manufacturers, applicable group purchasing organizations, covered recipients, and physician owners or investors must have an opportunity to review and submit corrections to the information submitted for a period of not less than 45-days before CMS makes the information available to the public. In no case may this 45-day period for review and submission of corrections prevent the information from being made available to the public.
( 2 ) *Notification.* CMS notifies the applicable manufacturers, applicable group purchasing organizations, covered recipients, and physician owners or investors when the reported information is ready for review. ( i ) Applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations are notified through the points of contact they identified during registration.
( ii ) Covered recipients— ( A ) Are notified using an online posting and notifications on CMS's listserves.
( B ) May also register with CMS to receive notification about the review processes.
( iii ) The 45-day review period begins on the date specified in the online notification.
( 3 ) *Process.* ( i ) An applicable manufacturer, applicable group purchasing organization, covered recipient or a physician owner or investor may log into a secure Web site to view only the information reported specifically about itself.
( ii ) Covered recipients and physician owners or investors are able to review data submitted about them for the previous reporting year.
( iii ) If the applicable manufacturer, applicable group purchasing organization, covered recipient, or physician owner or investor agrees with the information reported, the applicable manufacturer, applicable group purchasing organization, covered recipient, or physician owner or investor may electronically certify that the information reported is accurate.
( iv ) If a covered recipient or physician owner or investor disagrees with the information reported, the covered recipient or physician owner or investor can initiate a dispute, which is sent to the appropriate applicable manufacturer or applicable group purchasing organization to be resolved between the parties.
( v ) Covered recipients and physician owners or investors may initiate disputes at any time after the 45-day period begins, but before the end of the calendar year, but any changes resulting from disputes initiated outside the 45-day period, may not be made until the next time the data is refreshed.
( 4 ) *Data disputes.* ( i ) In order to be corrected prior to the publication of the data, applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations must notify CMS of resolved disputes and changes to the information submitted by no later than 15 days after the end of the 45-day period (that is, 60 days after the 45-day review period begins).
( ii ) Disputes which are not resolved by 15 days after the end of the review and correction period, may still be resolved, but any changes resulting from the disputes may be made until the next time the data is refreshed.
( iii ) If the dispute is not resolved by 15 days after the end of the 45-day review and correction period, CMS publicly reports and aggregates the applicable manufacturer's or applicable group purchasing organization's version of the payment or other transfer of value, or ownership or investment interest data, but marks the payment or other transfer of value or ownership or investment interest as disputed.
( h ) *Errors or omissions.* ( 1 ) If an applicable manufacturer or applicable group purchasing organization discovers an error or omission in its annual report, it must submit corrected information to CMS immediately upon confirmation of the error or omission.
( 2 ) Upon receipt, CMS notifies the affected covered recipient or physician owner or investor that the additional information has been submitted and is available for review. CMS updates the Web site at least once annually with corrected information.
[78 FR 9521, Feb. 8, 2013, as amended at 84 FR 63187, Nov. 15, 2019; 86 FR 65659, Nov. 19, 2021]