U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 

ANNUAL REPORT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Disclosure Services

January 5, 2009

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 

 
2

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

The Departmental Offices (DO) 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) 

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) 

Financial Management Service (FMS) 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

United States Mint (MINT) 

Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) 

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) 

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) 

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) 
3

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT 

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 

CONTENTS 

I. Basic Information Regarding Report 

II. Making a FOIA Request 

III. Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions 

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes 

V. FOIA Requests 

VI. Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests 

VII. FOIA Requests: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests 

VIII. Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver 

IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs 

X. Fees Collected for Processing Requests 

XI. FOIA Regulations 

XII. Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons 

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT. 

This is the Fiscal Year 2008 FOIA Report for the Department of the Treasury. For purposes of 

administering the FOIA, the Department is divided into 10 bureaus. Each bureau is responsible 

for those records under its control, and each bureau will post its report on its own web site. 

Disclosure Services prepared the report in collaboration with the bureau FOIA Officers. 
4

Questions about the report may be directed to: 

Hugh Gilmore, Departmental Disclosure Officer 

Disclosure Services 

Ph: 202/622-0930; Fax: 202/622-3895 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

Disclosure Services 

Department of the Treasury 

Washington, DC 20220 

Treasury Department FOIA Home Page: www.treas.gov/foia/ 

Paper copies of this report may be obtained by contacting Disclosure Services 

or by downloading from the Treasury FOIA website at: 

http://www.treas.gov/foia/reports/index.html, “FY 2008 FOIA Report to the Attorney 

General.”
5

I. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST. 

The Department of the Treasury’s Guide to Accessing Treasury Records is available at 

www.treas.gov/foia/, or by contacting Disclosure Services, as described above. 

1. Names, addresses, and numbers of Treasury bureau FOIA officers. 

Departmental Offices (DO) 

Hugh Gilmore 

Disclosure Services 

Ph: 202/622-0930 

Fax: 202/622-3895 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

Department of the Treasury 

Washington, DC 20220 

Comptroller of the Currency (CC)

Frank Vance 

Ph: 202/874-4700 

Fax: 202/874-5274 

Address: 

Disclosure (FOIA) Office 

Washington, DC 20219 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

 Bureau (TTB)

Helen Belt 

Ph: 202/927-8210 

Fax: 202/927-8525 

Address: 

Disclosure Services 

1310 G Street, NW, Suite 200-E 

Washington, DC 20220

Bureau of Engraving & Printing (BEP)

James Braun 

Ph: 202/874-3733 

Fax: 202/874-2951 

Address: 

FOIA OFFICE 

Room 419-A 

14th & C Streets, SW 

Washington, DC 20228

Financial Management Service (FMS)

Cynthia Sydnor 

Ph: 202/874-0765 

Fax: 202/874-2391 

Address: 

Disclosure Branch 

401 14th Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20227

Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD)

Denise Nelson 

Ph: 304/480-8402

Fax: 304/480-8188 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

200 3rd Street, Rm. A4-A 

Parkersburg, WV 26106
6

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Marie Twarog 

Phone: 770-234-4374 

Fax: 770-234-4346 

Address: (Headquarters only) 

Internal Revenue Service 

FOIA Requests 

Headquarters Disclosure Office 

Room 2012 

1111 Constitution Ave., NW, 

Washington, DC 20224-0001 

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)

Marilyn K. Burton 

Ph: 202/906-6467 

Fax: 202/906-6353 

Address: 

FOIA Requests 

1700 G Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20552

United States Mint (Mint)

Kathleen Saunders-Mitchell 

Ph: 202/354-7292 

Fax: 202/756-6100 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

801 9th Street, NW – 8th Floor 

Washington, DC 20220

Treasury Inspector General for 

 Tax Administration (TIGTA) 

Amy P. Jones 

Ph: 202/927-7044 

Fax: 202/622-3339 

Address: FOIA Request 

TIGTA Chief Counsel 

1125 15TH Street, NW, Suite 700 

Washington, DC 20005

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

 (FinCEN) 

Amanda Michanczyk 

Ph: 703/905-3537 

Fax: 703/905-3885 

Address: FOIA Request 

PO Box 39 

Vienna, VA 22183

 

2. Brief description of why some requests are not granted and an overview of certain 

general categories of the Department’s records to which the FOIA exemptions apply. 

The most common reasons reported by the bureaus regarding why requests for records could not 

be granted were: (1) protecting personal privacy; (2) deliberative process privilege; (3) the records 

reflected the internal practices involved in investigations or inspections; (4) the records contained 

confidential taxpayer information and other statutorily protected information; and (5) the records 

contained contractor confidential and proprietary commercial information. Others: records did not 

exist; procedural requirements were not followed. 
7

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS 

 1. Agency-specific acronyms or terms used in this Report: 

 

BEP Bureau of Engraving and Printing 

BPD Bureau of the Public Debt 

DO Departmental Offices 

FinCEN Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

FMS Financial Management Service 

IRS Internal Revenue Service 

MINT United States Mint 

OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 

OTS Office of Thrift Supervision 

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General (Tax Administration) 

TTB Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

 2. Basic Terms Used in This Report 

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher 

administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level. 

b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the 

quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8. 

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency 

at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a “component” 

is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or 

Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that 

agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each 

principal component of the agency.

e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first 

forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an interest 

in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the 

record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then 

respond to the FOIA requester.
8

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and 

which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA. 

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to 

records concerning another person (i.e., a “third-party” request), or concerning an 

organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by 

requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., “first-party” requests) when those 

requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, because 

all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the 

FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party 

requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act “systems 

of records” or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to 

afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the 

FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. 

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and 

direct response to the requester. It does not however, include records for which the agency 

has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in 

Section XII of this Report.) 

h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA 

request. 

i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request 

because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA 

exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located. 

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the 

median number is 7. 

k. Multi-track processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal 

review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are 

placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are place in yet 

another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis. 

i. Expedited processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an 

expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited 

processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations. 
9

ii. Simple request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track 

processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested. 

iii. Complex request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track 

processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested. 

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to 

disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the 

FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason. 

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal 

for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is 

made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and 

procedures to be followed. 

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative 

appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or 

administrative appeals.

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request 

(ordinarily 20 working days from receipt of a "perfected" FOIA request). 

3. Descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions: 

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information 

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices 

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law 

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information 

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal 

privileges 

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy 

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the 

extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere 

with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an 
10

impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a 

confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement 

investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement 

investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or 

physical safety of any individual 

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions 

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells 

IV.EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES 

A. Exemption 3 Statutes Relied upon to Withhold Information 

 

Statute Type of Information 

Withheld 

Case Citation Number of 

Times Relied 

upon per 

Component 

Total 

Number of 

Times 

Relied upon 

by Agency 

26 U.S.C. 

6103 

Taxpayer Information. 

Confidentiality of Returns 

and Return Information: 

Prohibits the disclosure of 

(1) tax returns and return 

information of third party 

taxpayers (section 

6103(a)); (2) the standards 

used for selection of 

returns for examination 

(section 6103(b)(2)); and 

(3) a requester’s own 

return information if the 

release would seriously 

impair federal tax 

administration (section 

6103(e)(7)). 

Church of Scientology 

Int’l v. United Stats Dep’t 

of Justice, 30 F.3d 224, 

235 (1st Cir. 1994). 

White v. IRS, 707 F.2d 

897 (6th Cir. 1983).

Church of Scientology v. 

IRS, 484 U.S. 9 (1987). 

Aronson v. IRS, 973 

F.2d 962 (1st Cir. 1992). 

Stebbins v. Sullivan, No. 

90-5361, slip op. at 1 

(D.C. Cir. July 22, 

1992). Wishart v. 

Commissioner, 

C-97-20614-SW (N.D. 

Cal., decided August 6, 

1998). Gillin v. IRS, 

No. 90-31 (D.N.H. Apr. 

15, 1991), aff’d, 980 

F.2d 819 (1st Cir. 1992). 

Casa Investors, Ltd. v. 

Gibbs, No. 88-2485, 

1990 WL 180703 

(D.D.C. Oct. 11, 1990).

White v. IRS, 707 F.2d 

897 (6th Cir. 1983,and 

others).

DO: 7 

TTB: 28 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 25 

IRS: 1,950 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 62 

FinCEN: 0 

2,072 
11

18 U.S.C. 504 Illustrations of Stamp in 

digital quality photos 

Restricts illustrations of 

United States Postal 

Service stamps in size, 

quality, and format. 

DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 1 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 0 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 0 

1 

31 U.S.C. 

5319 

Bank Secrecy Act Records: 

Prohibits the disclosure of 

records. Generally used to 

withhold Currency 

Transaction Reports. 

Small v. IRS, 820 F. 

Supp. 163 (D.N.J. 1992)

DO: 1 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 50 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 55 

106 

26 U.S.C. 

6105 

Confidentiality of 

information arising under 

treaty obligations. 

Tax Analysts v. IRS, No. 

99-0372, 2002 WL 

1791162 (D.D.C. 

Aug. 6, 2002)

DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 5 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 0 

5 
12

Rule 6(e) of 

the Federal 

Rules of 

Criminal 

Procedure

Part of the Federal Rules of 

Criminal Procedure – Grand 

Jury Secrecy: regulates 

matters occurring before the 

Grand Jury. Used to 

withhold records used in 

Grand Jury proceedings 

Fund for Constitutional 

Gov’t v. National 

Archives & Records 

Service, 656 F. 2nd 856, 

867 (D.C. Cir. 1981); 

Walston v. U.S. 

Department of Justice, 

799 F. Supp. 193, 195 

(D.D.C. 1992).

DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 15 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 4 

FinCEN: 0 

19 

18 U.S.C. 701 Official Badges, 

identification cards. 

Prohibits the reproduction 

of official identification 

media. Used to withhold 

copies of IRS employee 

identification badges and 

pocket commissions.

Not litigated DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 28 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 0 

28 

5 U.S.C. 7114 Delineates the rights and 

duties of a labor 

organization which is the 

exclusive representative 

of the employees in the 

unit it 

represents

Dublin v. Dept. of the 

Treasury, 555 F. Supp. 

408, 412 (N.D. Ga. 

1981), aff’d, 697 F.2d 

1093 (unpublished table 

decision): NTEU v. 

OPM, No. 76-695, slip 

op at 49 D.D.C. July 9, 

1979).

DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 2 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 0 

2 

41 U.S.C. 

253(b) 

Protects the solicitations 

of unsuccessful bidders in 

a competitive proposal. 

This provision is used to 

withhold the unsuccessful 

bidder’s contract proposal 

as well as information in 

the winning solicitation 

that was not incorporated 

into the contract. 

Hornbostel v. Dept of 

Interior, No.02-0523, 

2003 WL 23303294 

(D.D.C., 2003)

DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 2 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

2 
13

FinCEN: 0 

26 U.S.C. 

7602(c)(3)(B) 

Third party identity 

information 

Not yet decided DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 1 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 0 

1 

31 U.S.C. 

5218(g)(3) 

Bank Secrecy Act records Whitney National Bank v. 

Karam, 306 F.Supp.2d 

678 (S.D. Tex. 2004) 

DO: 0 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS: 0 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 56 

56 
14

V. FOIA REQUESTS. 

 A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests. 

*TTB: Miscalculation on last year-end reporting, number of requests was actually 7, 

not 5 as reported. 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

Start of Fiscal 

Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Received in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Processed in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

End of 

Fiscal Year 

DO 1,275 902 620 1,557 

TTB* 7 121 120 8 

OCC 0 3,233 3,210 23 

BEP 2 83 85 0 

FMS 4 262 257 9 

IRS 1,675 14,898 15,590 983 

MINT 4 103 106 1 

BPD 0 141 141 0 

OTS 78 779 800 57 

TIGTA 9 253 246 16 

FinCEN 11 168 177 2 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

3,065 20,943 21,352 2,656 
15

B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests (continued below) 

Number of Full 

Grants 

Number of Partial 

Grants/Partial 

Denials 

Number of Full 

Denials Based on 

Exemptions 

DO 165 97 20 

TTB 30 29 18 

OCC 2,824 47 32 

BEP 39 16 4 

FMS 66 45 42 

IRS 5,331 2,254 122 

MINT 39 16 5 

BPD 67 8 0 

OTS 462 186 35 

TIGTA 18 117 11 

FinCEN 12 49 74 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

9,053 2,864 363 

B.(1) Disposition of FOIA Requests (continued from above) 

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions 

No 

Records 

All 

Records 

Referred to 

Another 

Component 

or Agency 

Request 

Withdrawn 

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

FOIA 

Request 

for Other 

Reason 

Not 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate 

Request 

Other 

*Explain 

in chart 

below 

TOTAL

DO 98 5 43 16 6 15 71 4 80 620 

TTB 20 3 5 1 2 7 1 4 0 120 

OCC 124 126 24 6 10 4 6 1 6 3210 

BEP 12 5 1 5 1 0 0 2 0 85 

FMS 50 11 1 7 9 3 15 3 5 257 

IRS 2,300 167 152 0 0 5,263 1 0 0 15590 

MINT 25 5 0 3 1 12 0 0 0 106 

BPD 24 12 2 0 3 1 23 1 0 141 

OTS 25 4 59 0 3 1 6 5 14 800 

TIGTA 19 2 2 3 0 54 17 3 0 246 

FinCEN 40 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 177 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

2737 340 289 41 35 5360 142 23 105 21352 
16

B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests – “Other” Reasons for “Full Denials Based on Reasons Other 

than Exemptions (from Section V. B(1) Chart 

Component Description of “Other” Reasons 

for Denials from Chart B (1) & 

Number of Times those Reasons 

were Relied upon 

TOTAL 

DO Litigation 2 

Referred to Web 3 

Still interested letters75 

80 

TTB 0 0 

OCC No response from requester for 

more information to process 

request: 6 

6 

BEP 0 0 

FMS Available next month: 1 

Available on website: 1 

Need Social Security number: 3 

5 

IRS 0 0 

MINT 0 0 

BPD 0 0 

OTS OA2 – Not FOIA: 4 

OA11 – No Proof of ID: 1 

OA17 – Records Previously 

Furnished: 2 

OA18 – Handled by Telephone or 

Fax: 5 

OA20 – Closed w/out 

Determination: 2 

14 

TIGTA 0 0 

FinCEN 0 0 
17

B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests - Number of Times Exemptions Applied: 

Ex. 

1 

Ex. 

2 

Ex. 3 Ex. 

4 

Ex. 

5 

Ex. 

6 

Ex. 

7(A)

Ex. 

7(B)

Ex. 

7(C) 

Ex. 

7(D)

Ex. 

7(E) 

Ex. 

7(F) 

Ex. 

8 

Ex. 

9 

DO 13 16 11 21 37 37 2 0 28 2 4 2 2 0 

TTB 0 5 28 13 10 23 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 32 26 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 63 0 

BEP 0 2 1 6 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 0 3 25 6 2 73 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 82 2,009 29 501 491 477 0 876 64 908 7 0 0 

MINT 0 4 0 7 9 15 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 3 0 192 43 140 1 0 4 0 3 0 165 0 

TIGTA 0 44 60 4 49 2 3 0 112 18 34 0 0 0 

FinCEN 0 38 111 5 11 43 2 0 37 0 35 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

13 197 2,245 317 692 853 486 0 1,059 84 985 9 230 0 

 
18

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA 

REQUESTS 

A. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals 

Number of 

Appeals Pending 

as of Start of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Received in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Processed in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Pending 

as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

DO 17 12 16 13 

TTB 4 6 1 7 

OCC 0 21 13 8 

BEP 0 2 1 1 

FMS 0 8 7 1 

IRS 27 262 247 42 

MINT 0 1 1 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 1 1 0 

TIGTA 5 18 19 4 

FinCEN 8 3 11 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 61 334 317 76 

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals 

Number of 

Affirmed 

on Appeal 

Number Partially 

Affirmed & 

Partially 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal 

Number Completely 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal 

Number 

of Appeals 

Closed for 

Other 

Reasons 

TOTAL 

DO 7 1 0 8 16 

TTB 1 0 0 0 1 

OCC 8 3 2 0 13 

BEP 0 1 0 0 1 

FMS 6 0 1 0 7 

IRS 214 1 2 30 247 

MINT 1 0 0 0 1 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 1 0 0 0 1 

TIGTA 12 5 0 2 19 

FinCEN 6 4 0 1 11 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

256 15 5 41 317 
19

C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied 

Ex. 

1 

Ex. 

2 

Ex. 

3 

Ex. 

4 

Ex. 

5 

Ex. 

6 

Ex. 

7(A)

Ex. 

7(B)

Ex. 

7(C)

Ex. 

7(D)

Ex. 

7(E) 

Ex. 

7(F) 

Ex. 

8 

Ex. 

9 

DO 2 

TTB 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 6 0 

BEP 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 24 185 4 96 70 69 3 105 19 81 1 0 0 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 2 4 0 3 1 2 0 8 2 0 0 0 0 

FinCEN 0 4 11 0 0 6 0 0 6 0 6 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

0 30 201 5 103 78 71 5 122 22 87 1 6 0 

 

C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other than Exemptions 

No 

Records 

Records 

Referred at 

Initial 

Request 

Level 

Request 

Withdrawn 

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

FOIA 

Request 

for Other 

Reason 

Not 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate 

Request 

or 

Appeal 

Appeal 

Based 

Solely on 

Denial of 

Request 

for 

Expedited 

Processing

Other 

*Explain 

in chart 

below

DO 2 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 

TTB 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 

IRS 42 0 0 21 5 30 1 0 0 0 

MINT 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 

FinCEN 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

51 2 2 22 5 34 2 2 0 3 
20

C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – “Other” Reasons from Section VI. C (2) Chart 

Component Description of “Other” Reasons for 

Denials from Chart C (2) & Number of 

Times those Reasons were Relied upon 

TOTAL 

DO Litigation: 1 1 

TTB 0 0 

OCC No additional documents located responsive 

to request 

1 

BEP 0 0 

FMS Appeal not within the 35 day time frame 

from initial response. 

1 

IRS 0 0 

MINT 0 0 

BPD 0 0 

OTS 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 

FinCEN 0 0 

C. (4) response Time for Administrative Appeals 

Median Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number of Days 

Lowest Number 

of Days 

Highest Number 

of Days 

DO 57 63 49 84 

TTB 60 58 41 75 

OCC 60 65 9 163 

BEP 20 20 20 20 

FMS 13 13 9 17 

IRS 44 52 2 153 

MINT* 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 18 0 

TIGTA 64 103 13 512 

FinCEN 85 174 11 583 

TOTAL 32 26 0 583 

*MINT: Only one appeal was processed for a period of 15 days. 
21

C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals 

10th

Oldest 

Appeal 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Appeal

Date of 

Receipt 

of Ten 

Oldest 

Appeals 

DO:6/9/08 

TTB: 0 

OCC: 0: 

BEP: 0 

FMS: 0 

IRS:7/16/08

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 0 

2/21/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

7/9/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1/17/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

6/20/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

10/17/07 

9/15/08 

0 

0 

0 

6/20/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

9/20/07 

7/22/08 

9/22/08 

0 

6/20/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

4/6/07 

2/6/08 

6/26/08 

0 

0 

6/20/08 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

10/13/04 

11/28/07 

6/17/08 

0 

0 

6/20/08 

0 

0 

0 

9/30/08 

0 

8/31/04 

11/7/07 

6/4/08 

0 

0 

6/19/08 

0 

0 

0 

9/4/08 

0 

8/31/04 

4/30/07 

1/28/08 

0 

0 

6/16/08 

0 

0 

0 

8/5/08 

0 

11/28/95 

2/27/07 

12/7/07 

0 

9/18/08 

4/27/08 

0 

0 

0 

4/15/08 

0 

Number 

of Days 

Pending 

DO: 120 

TTB: 0 

OCC:0 

BEP: 0 

FMS*: 0 

IRS: 53 

MINT: 0 

BPD: 0 

OTS: 0 

TIGTA: 0 

FinCEN: 

0 

140 

0 

0 

0 

0 

58 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

160 

0 

0 

0 

0 

70 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

220 

11 

0 

0 

0 

70 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

240 

66 

20 

0 

0 

70 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

340 

136 

68 

0 

0 

70 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

940 

196 

73 

0 

0 

70 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

980 

209 

84 

0 

0 

71 

0 

0 

0 

18 

0 

980 

462 

171 

0 

0 

74 

0 

0 

0 

39 

0 

3080 

528 

206 

0 

8 

109 

0 

0 

0 

117 

0 

*FMS: Response mailed on 10/2/08 (8 days pending through fiscal year). 
22

VII. FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS 

A. Processed Requests 

 * Simple request limited to the Office of Tax Policy 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average

# of 

Days 

Lowest 

# of 

Days 

Highest 

# of 

Days 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

Lowest 

# of 

Days 

Highest 

# of 

Days 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

Lowest 

# of 

Days 

Highest 

# of 

Days 

DO* 0 0 0 0 71 52 0 321 0 0 0 0 

TTB 9 11 0 28 16 29 1 114 12 18 12 24 

OCC 5 10 1 20 10 15 1 20 0 0 0 0 

BEP 5 7.5 1 20 5 11 1 20 5 4.5 1 6 

FMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 0 0 0 15 24 0 1,774 4 4 3 4 

MINT 0 0 0 0 11 13.3 1 60 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 4 6.2 1 26 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 7 36 0 893 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 18 17 1 67 20 22 7 59 0 0 0 0 

FinCEN 3 6 1 52 11 15 1 119 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

6 10 0 67 12 23 0 1774 4 4 0 24 

B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was 

Granted 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average

# of 

Days 

Lowest 

# of 

Days 

Highest 

# of 

Days 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

Lowest 

# of 

Days 

Highest 

# of 

Days 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

Lowest 

# of 

Days 

Highest 

# of 

Days 

DO 0 0 0 0 42 71 3 290 0 0 0 0 

TTB 9 13 1 38 37 32 3 86 0 0 0 0 

OCC 5 9 2 20 15 14 7 20 0 0 0 0 

BEP 5 7.7 1 20 1 6 1 12 5 5.6 5 6 

FMS 0 0 0 0 15 17 1 88 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 0 0 0 17 26 0 1,774 4 4 3 4 

MINT 0 0 0 0 29 13.7 1 60 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 3 12 0 536 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 19 18 1 67 20 23 7 59 0 0 0 0 

FinCEN 3 6 1 52 12 16 1 119 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

6 10 0 67 16 21 0 1774 4 3 0 6 
23

C. Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments 

Simple Requests 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-

100 

Days 

101-

120 

Days 

121-

140 

Days 

141-

160 

Days 

161-

180 

Days 

181-

200 

Days 

201-

300 

Days 

301-

400 

Days 

401+ 

Days 

TOTAL 

DO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 55 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 

OCC 2,824 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,824 

BEP 71 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 71 

FMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 163 38 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 209 

FinCEN 121 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 130 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

3234 56 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3299 

Complex Requests 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-

100 

Days 

101-

120 

Days 

121-

140 

Days 

141-

160 

Days 

161-

180 

Days 

181-

200 

Days 

201-

300 

Days 

301-

400 

Days 

401+ 

Days 

TOTAL 

DO 105 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 297 28 3 0 433 

TTB 19 25 8 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 

OCC 145 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 145 

BEP 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 

FMS 80 13 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 99 

IRS 8,232 1,553 939 317 117 64 44 29 16 11 33 12 43 11,410 

MINT 80 18 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 103 

BPD 139 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 141 

OTS 546 115 37 20 17 11 6 3 4 3 15 12 11 800 

TIGTA 29 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 

FinCEN 40 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

9425 1739 995 338 136 77 50 32 20 311 76 27 54 13,280 
24

Requests Granted Expedited Processing 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-

100 

Days 

101-

120 

Days 

121-

140 

Days 

141-

160 

Days 

161-

180 

Days 

181-

200 

Days 

201-

300 

Days 

301-

400 

Days 

401+ 

Days 

TOTAL 

DO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 

OCC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BEP 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 

FMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 
25

D. Pending Requests 

 1. 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

# of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median # of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median # of 

Days 

Average 

# of 

Days 

DO 0 0 0 142 103 114 0 0 0 

TTB 2 14 16 6 20 23 0 0 0 

OCC 13 10 10 10 10 15 0 0 0 

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 0 0 0 9 1 2 0 0 0 

IRS 0 0 0 981 18 78 2 8 8 

MINT 0 0 0 1 17 17 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 57 37 72 0 0 0 

TIGTA 12 12 10 4 14 15 0 0 0 

FinCEN 2 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

29 13 11 1210 16 80 2 4 8 

E. Pending Request – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Request 

10th

Oldest 

Request 

& # of 

Days 

Pending 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Request 

& # of 

Days 

Pending

DO 3/13/00 

2040 

2/10/00 

2060 

2/29/00 

2060 

12/19/99

2100 

9/9/99 

2160 

8/24/99 

2180 

3/12/99

2280 

8/6/98 

2420 

1/20/97 

2820 

3/1/94 

3460 

TTB 0 0 9/25/08 

3 

9/23/08 

6 

9/19/08

8 

9/17/08 

9 

9/16/08

11 

9/16/08 

11 days 

9/16/08 

11 days 

9/11/08 

14 days 

OCC 0 9/30/08 

0 days

9/29/08 

1 day

9/26/08 

2 days

9/23/08 

5 days

9/16/08 

10 days 

9/17/08

11 days

9/10/08 

12 days 

9/10/08 

12 days 

9/8/08 

16 days 

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 

0 

9/30/08 

1 

9/30/08 

1 

9/30/08 

1 

9/30/08

1 

9/30/08 

1 

9/29/08

2 

9/29/08 

2 

9/22/08 

6 

9/18/08 

8 

IRS 3/8/05 

895 days 

3/8/05 

895 days 

2/2/05 

918 days 

2/2/05 

918 days 

1/11/05 

933 

days

1/11/05 

933 days

12/8/04 

955 

days

12/8/04 

955 days

11/9/04 

974 days

11/9/04 

974 days

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/23/08 

17 days 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
26

OTS 3/24/08 

133 days

3/17/08- 

138 days

3/12/08- 

141 days

3/10/08 

143 days

3/4/08 

147 

days

2/25/08-

153 days

1/28/08

172 

days

10/23/08 

236 days

10/19/07

238 days

1/3/06 

690 days

TIGTA 9/18/08 

8 days 

9/15/08 

11 days 

9/12/08 

12 days

9/11/08 

13 days

9/11/08 

13 days

9/9/08 

15 days

9/8/08 

16 days

9/8/08 

16 days

9/3/08 

19days 

8/21/08 

14 days 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/9/08 

14 days

9/11/08 

16 days
27

VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER 

A. Requests for Expedited Processing 

Number 

Granted 

Number Denied Median Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

Number of 

Adjudicated 

within Ten 

Calendar 

Days 

DO 3 3 31 56 0 

TTB 1 1 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 0 0 

BEP 4 0 0 0 0 

FMS 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 4 41 1 3 34 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 0 0 0 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

12 45 1 9 34 

B. Requests for Fee Waiver 

Number 

Granted 

Number Denied Median Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average 

Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

DO 1 87 59 118 

TTB 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 0 

BEP 0 0 0 0 

FMS 0 14 8 14 

IRS 2 32 1 2 

MINT 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 1 53 53 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

3 134 12 78 
28

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS 

PERSONNEL COSTS 

Number of 

“Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees” 

Number of 

“Equivalent 

Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees” 

Total Number of 

“Full-Time 

FOIA Staff” 

(The sum of 

Columns 1 & 2) 

Processing 

Costs 

LitigationRelated 

Costs 

Total Costs 

DO 20 3.52 23.52 $18666.15 $113551 $18,666.15 

TTB 1 .15 1.15 $106,70.10 0 $106,70.10 

OCC 6 2 8 $903,431.31 0 $903,431.31 

BEP 2 .5 2.5 $318,268.80 0 $318,268.80 

FMS 0 1.70 1.70 $98,468 $3,500.00 $101.968 

IRS* 10 55.05 65.05 $8,670,207 $329,037 $8,999,244 

MINT 2 0 2 $193,726 0 $193,726 

BPD 1 .20 1.20 $140,000 0 $140,000 

OTS 2 3.25 5.25 $387,548 0 $387,548 

TIGTA 0 3.31 3.31 $373,088 0 $373,088 

FinCEN 1 .55 1.55 $166,625 0 $166,625 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

45 70.23 115.23 $11,376,498. $332,532 $11,709,035. 

*IRS: IRS Counsel is now using the same hourly rate for computing its costs as the rest of the 

Service. This methodology is a change from prior years. Included in the litigation costs shown 

above is a $4,000 attorney fee award paid from IRS appropriations in FY 2008.
29

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS 

Total Amount of 

Fees Collected 

Percentage of Total 

Costs 

DO $1,730.84 9.3% 

TTB $5,950.32 5.58% 

OCC $210,979.80 28.8% 

BEP $2,133.07 .7% 

FMS $8,301.06 97% 

IRS $229,709 2.55% 

MINT $881 .5% 

BPD $1,073.54 .007% 

OTS $67,172.60 17.33% 

TIGTA 0 0% 

FinCEN 0 0% 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

$527,931.23 4.5% 
30

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS 

Agencies must provide an electronic link to their FOIA regulations, including their fee schedule. 

DO: 

TTB: http://www.ttb.gov/foia/ 

OCC: http://www.occ.treas.gov/foia/foia.htm and http://www.occ.treas.gov/foia/foiafees.htm 

BEP: http://www.moneyfactory.gov/section.cfm/14 

FMS: http://fms.treas.gov/foia 

IRS: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getcfr.cgi?TITLE=26&PART=601&SECTION=702&TYPE=TEXT 

MINT: www.usmint.gov 

BPD: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/foia.htm and 

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2001/julqtr/pdf/3lcfr1.7.pdf 

OCC: http://www.ots.treas.gov/?p=FreedomOfInformationAct 

TIGTA: http://www.treas.gov/tigta/important_foia.shtml 

FinCEN: http://www.fincen.gov/foia/foia_fees.html and 

http://www.fincen.gov/foia/foia_policies.html 
31

XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISIONS 

A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals 

1. Provide below the number of FOIA requests and administrative appeals 

that were pending beyond the statutory time period as of the end of the 

fiscal year. (Such requests and appeals are considered “backlogged.”) 

2. Note: The statutory time period is ordinarily 20 working days from 

receipt of a perfected request, see 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i), but may be 

extended up to 10 additional working days when “unusual circumstances” 

are present, see id. § 552(a)(6)(B)(i), 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

DO 355 13 

TTB 0 6 

OCC 0 0 

BEP 0 0 

FMS 0 0 

IRS 331 28 

MINT 0 0 

BPD 0 0 

OTS 32 0 

TIGTA 0 3 

FinCEN 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

718 50 

3. Discuss/explain the backlog here (optional). 

TIGTA: Reasons for backlog: 

• Reviews of voluminous and complex records 

• A significant increase in the number of requests from prosecutors and other law 

enforcement agencies under the Privacy Act 

• Reviews of sensitive but unclassified records requiring a number of lengthy 

consultations with other agencies and Treasury components. 
32

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that were Pending

at Your Agency as 

of Start of the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

during the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that were 

Processed by Your 

Agency during the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that were Pending

at Your Agency as 

of End of the 

Fiscal Year 

DO 0 0 0 0 

TTB 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 0 

BEP 0 1 1 0 

FMS 0 53 52 1 

IRS 0 17 17 0 

MINT 0 1 1 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 3 2 1 

FinCEN 0 1 1 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

0 76 74 2 
33

C. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations received from other 

agencies and Pending at your Agency 

10th Oldest 

Consultation 

& # of Days 

Pending 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Consultation 

& # of Days 

Pending 

DO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/30/08 

1 day 

IRS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/25/08 

3 days 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/30/08 

1 day 

9/25/08 

3 days 
34

D. Comparison of Numbers of requests from previous and current annual report – 

requests received, processed, and backlogged 

*OTS: Number consists of both FOIA and non-FOIA requests, including inquiries handled by 

OTS regional offices, as well as Washington Office Staff. 

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED

Number Received 

during Fiscal Year 

from Last Year’s 

Annual Report 

Number Received 

during Fiscal Year 

from current Annual 

Report 

Number of 

Processed during 

Fiscal Year from 

Last Year’s Annual 

report 

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year 

from Current Annual 

Report 

DO 688 902 986 620 

TTB 84 121 85 120 

OCC 3,719 3,197 3,739 3,210 

BEP 64 83 66 85 

FMS 188 262 192 257 

IRS 17,894 14,898 18,289 15,590 

MINT 70 103 74 106 

BPD 114 141 117 141 

OTS* 4,739 779 4,761 800 

TIGTA 258 253 277 246 

FinCEN 109 168 199 177 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

27,927 20,907 28,785 21,352 
35

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

DO 607 355 

TTB 0 0 

OCC 0 0 

BEP 0 0 

FMS 0 0 

IRS 605 331 

MINT 0 0 

BPD 0 0 

OTS 65 32 

TIGTA 0 0 

FinCEN 5 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

1,287 718 
36

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current 

Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged. 

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED

Number Received 

during Fiscal Year 

from Last Year’s 

Annual Report 

Number Received 

during Fiscal Year 

from current 

Annual Report 

Number of Processed 

during Fiscal Year 

from Last Year’s 

Annual Report 

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year 

from Current 

Annual Report 

DO 12 12 11 9 

TTB 4 6 2 1 

OCC 10 21 10 13 

BEP 0 2 0 1 

FMS 5 8 5 7 

IRS 239 262 267 247 

MINT 0 1 0 1 

BPD 5 0 5 0 

OTS 9 1 10 1 

TIGTA 16 18 20 19 

FinCEN 8 3 2 11 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

308 334 332 310 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

DO 1 12 

TTB 2 6 

OCC 0 5 

BEP 0 0 

FMS 0 0 

IRS Not Reported/Not Available 28 

MINT 0 0 

BPD 0 0 

OTS 0 0 

TIGTA 5 3 

FinCEN 8 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

16 54 
37

F. Discussion of Other FOIA Activities (Optional) 

1. Provide here any further information about the agency’s efforts to improve 

FOIA administration. 

http://www.treas.gov/foia/reading-room/foia-improvement-plan.pdf 

TTB: updated FOIA website: http://www.ttb.gov/foia/index.shtml

OCC: none provided. 

BEP: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s (BEP), Disclosure Service made the following 

improvements in 2008 to its FOIA Program: 

1. Re-structured its FOIA web page to include discussion on FOIA and Privacy and 

provided links to BEP FOIA Annual Reports for years 2002 to present, System of Record 

Notices, and frequently requested FOIA records; 

2. For security purposes, requesters seeking BEP records may check the status of a 

request by contacting the FOIA coordinator(s) directly through use of a 1-800 number; and 

3. Drafted internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) for day to day 

management of FOIA requests. 

See the attached link to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) FOIA Web page. 

 

http://www.bep.treas.gov/section.cfm/14

http://www.treas.gov/foia/reading-room/foia-improvement-plan.pdf 

FMS: none provided. 

IRS: http://www.treas.gov/foia/reading-room/foia-improvement-plan.pdf 

The IRS conducted a study of the Electronic Reading Room to determine the usability of the site. 

We are analyzing the results of the study, which will be the basis for enhancements to the 

Electronic Reading Room. 

On October 23, 2007, the Acting IRS Commissioner issued a memorandum to all employees 

setting expectations for complying with Executive Order 13392 and emphasizing FOIA backlog 

reduction. As a result of this memo and related efforts, the IRS decreased its backlog by 45% 

during FY 2008. 

MINT: None provided 

BPD: None provided. 
38

OTS: During FY 2008, OTS continued to focus on backlog reduction as the principal 

component of its efforts to improve FOIA administration. As of September 30, 2007, OTS 

had a backlog of 65 requests. OTS reduced the backlog to 32 requests as of September 30, 

2008, achieving an over 50% reduction in backlog for the year. In order to assist in the 

effort to reduce backlog, OTS utilized both temporary contractor help and college student 

interns in addition to permanent full-time FOIA staff. 

TIGTA: None provided. 

FinCEN: None provided.