1    

Department of the Treasury

2016 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report
2 

2016 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report

to the Attorney General of the United States

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.      Basic Information Regarding this Report................................................................................................. 3

II.      Making a FOIA Request............................................................................................................................ 4

III. Acryonyms, Definitions, and Exemptions................................................................................................ 6

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes ............................................................................................................................ 10

V.      FOIA Requests........................................................................................................................................13

VI. Administrative Appeals..........................................................................................................................17

VII. Processed and Pending FOIA Requests................................................................................................. 24

VIII. Requests for Expedited processing and fee Waiver.............................................................................. 31

IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs...................................................................................................................... 33

X.      Fees Collected for Processing Requests................................................................................................. 34

XI. Use of Subsection (c) Exclusions and Proactive Disclosures ................................................................. 35

XII. Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisions.......................................................................................... 37
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I. Basic Information Regarding this Report

1. Questions regarding this report may be directed to:

Deryl Richardson, Acting Director for FOIA and Transparency

Privacy, Transparency, and Records

Department of the Treasury

(202) 622‐0930 Phone

(202) 622‐3895 Fax

TreasFOIA@treasury.gov

Address:

FOIA and Transparency

Department of the Treasury

Washington, DC  20220

2. This report is publicly available and can be downloaded from Treasury’s Freedom of

Information Act website.

3. Paper copies of this report may be obtained by contacting the Office of Privacy,

Transparency, and Records at the address above.

   
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II. Making a FOIA Request

1. Contact Information

The current names, addresses, and contact information for Treasury’s FOIA Officers can be

found on Treasury’s Freedom of Information Act website.

Departmental Offices (DO)

Mr. Deryl Richardson

FOIA and Transparency

Department of the Treasury

Washington, DC  20220

(202) 622‐0930 Phone

(202) 622‐3895 Fax

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade

Bureau (TTB)

Mr. Quinton Mason

1310 G Street, N.W., Box 12

Washington, DC  20005

(202) 882‐9904 Phone

(202) 453‐2331 Fax

Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP)

Disclosure Officer

Office of the Chief Counsel

FOIA and Transparency

14th & C Streets, S.W., Room 419A

Washington, DC  20228

(202) 874‐2500 Phone

(202) 874‐2951 Fax

Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal

Service)

Ms. Cynthia Sydnor/Ms. Denise Nelson

Disclosure Office

401 14th Street, S.W., Room 508B

Washington, DC  20227

(202) 874‐5602 Phone

(202) 874‐5484 Fax

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

(OCC)

Mr. Frank Vance

Disclosure Services

400 7th Street, S.W.

Suite 3E‐218, Mail Stop 6W‐11

Washington, DC  20219

(202) 649‐6758 Phone

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

(FinCen)

Mr. Gilbert Paist

ATTN: FOIA Request

P.O. Box 39

Vienna, VA  22183

(703) 905‐5034 Phone

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Stop 211

P.O. Box 621506

Atlanta, GA  30362‐3006

(801) 620‐7638 Phone

United States Mint (Mint)

Ms. Kathleen Saunders‐Mitchell

ATTN: FOIA Request

801 9th Street, N.W., 8th Floor

Washington, DC  20220

(202) 354‐4600 Phone

(202) 756‐6153 Fax

          

   
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Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)

Ms. Amy Jones

ATTN: FOIA Request

TIGTA Chief Counsel

1401 H Street, N.W., Suite 469

Washington, DC  20005

(202) 622‐4068 Phone

(202) 622‐3339 Fax

2. Brief description of why requests are not granted

The Treasury Department may not grant full access to records because of several

reasons.   Some records are specifically exempt from disclosure pursuant to statute, such as

records that contain Bank Secrecy Act information or certain tax return information.  This

information falls within the scope of Exemption 3.  Other records and information that are

obtained from private businesses and submitted in confidence or that contain proprietary

information fall within the scope of Exemption 4.   Internal agency communications

representing the pre‐decisional process, attorney work product, or attorney‐client records

fall within the scope of Exemption 5.  Private information obtained from individuals may fall

within the scope of Exemptions 6 and/or 7(C).  Treasury also cites Exemption 7(E) to protect

information that would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement

investigations or prosecutions or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement

investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could be expected to risk circumvention of

the law.  Finally, Treasury protects information and records contained in or related to the

examination or the supervision of financial institutions under the authority of Exemption 8.

3. FOIA Regulations

Treasury’s FOIA regulations are codified at 31 CFR Part 1, Subpart A, and can be accessed on

Treasury’s Freedom of Information Act website.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) FOIA regulations are codified at 12 CFR Part

1301.

   
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III. Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions

1. Agency–specific acronyms used in this Report:

Component Abbreviation Component Name

BEP Bureau of Engraving and Printing

DO1 Departmental Offices

FinCEN Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Fiscal Service Bureau of the Fiscal Service

IRS Internal Revenue Service

MINT United States Mint

OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

TTB Alcohol 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

                                                            

1 DO includes the Offices of Domestic Finance, Economic Policy, Financial Research, General Counsel, International

Affairs, Legislative Affairs, Management, Public Affairs, Tax Policy, Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and the

Treasurer of the United States.  DO statistics in this report also include requests made to the Financial Stability

Oversight Council, an entity chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Treasury Office of the Inspector General, and

the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
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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.

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.

i. 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

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

basis.
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ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

k. 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.

l. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative

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

m. 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.

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

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

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

or administrative appeals.

p. 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).

   
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3. Descriptions of the nine FOIA Exemptions:

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

b. Exemption 2: information that is related solely to the internal rules and practices of

an agency

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 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 regulation or supervision of financial

institutions

i.     Exemption 9: geological information on wells
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IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

Statute Type of Information Withheld Case Citation Agency / Component 

Number o

Times 

Relied upo

by Agency 

Componen

26 U.S.C. § 6103 Certain tax return information, to 

include Taxpayer Identification Numbers of third parties, and certain tax convention information 

Church of Scientology v. IRS, 484 U.S. 9, 15 (1987); Leonard v. Dep’t of the Treasury, 590 F. App’x 141, 143-44 (3d Cir. 2014); Pac. Fisheries, Inc. v. United States, 395 F. App’x 438, 440 (9th Cir. 2010) 

DO 18 

Fiscal Service 2 

TTB 29 

IRS 2,231 

TIGTA 38 

31 U.S.C. § 5319 Reports pertaining to monetary 

instruments transactions filed under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31 and records of those reports 

Ortiz v. DOJ, 67 F. Supp. 3d 109, 117-18 (D.D.C. 2014); Rosenberg v. ICE, 13 F. Supp. 3d 92, 114-15 (D.D.C. 2014); Hulstein v. DEA, No. 10-4112, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25788, at *7-8 (N.D. Iowa Mar. 11, 2011); Council on Am.-Islamic Relations v. FBI, 749 F. Supp. 2d 1104, 1117 (S.D. Cal. 2010); Berger v. IRS, 487 F. Supp. 2d 482, 496-97 (D.N.J. 2007), aff’d on other grounds, 288 F. App'x 829 (3d Cir. 2008) 

DO 1 
11 

FinCEN 387 

IRS 98 

OCC 1 

TIGTA 1 

41 U.S.C. § 253(b)(m)(1) (currently 41 U.S.C. § 4702) 

Contractor proposals that are in the possession or control of an executive agency and that have not been set forth or incorporated by reference into contracts 

Sinkfield v. HUD, No. 10-885, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35233, at *13-15 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 15, 2012); Margolin v. NASA, No. 09-CV-00421, 2011 WL 1303221, at *6 (D. Nev. Mar. 31, 2011); Hornbostel v. Dep’t of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summary affirmance granted, No. 03-5257, 2004 WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2004) 

FinCEN 1 

MINT 1 

21 U.S.C. § 1904(e)(3) Information related to foreign 

narcotics traffickers 

N/A DO 8 

10 U.S.C. § 424 Organization or any function of, and 

certain information pertaining to, employees of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

Physicians for Human Rights v. DOD, 778 F. Supp. 2d 28, 36-37 (D.D.C. 2011); Miller v. DOJ, 562 F. Supp. 2d 82, 112 (D.D.C. 2008); Wickwire Gavin, P.C. v. Def. Intelligence Agency, 330 F. Supp. 2d 592, 602 (E.D. Va. 2004) 

DO 2 

50 U.S.C. § 4565(c) Information or documentary 

material filed with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States 

N/A 

DO 3 

21 U.S.C. § 1903-1905 Records related to foreign narcotics 

traffickers 

N/A DO 1 

18 U.S.C. § 701 Likeness of any badge, 

identification card, or other insignia, 

Jones v. IRS, No. 06-CV-322, 2008 WL 1901208, at *3-4 (W.D. Mich. 

IRS 1 
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of the design prescribed by the head of any department or agency of the United States for use by any officer or employee thereof, or any colorable imitation thereof 

Apr. 25, 2008) 

26 U.S.C. § 6105 Certain tax return information, to 

include Taxpayer Identification Numbers of third parties, and certain tax convention information 

Leonard v. Dep’t of the Treasury, 590 F. App'x 141, 143-44 (3d Cir. 2014); Pac. Fisheries, Inc. v. IRS, 395 F. App’x 438, 440 (9th Cir. 2010); Tax Analysts v. IRS, 217 F. Supp. 2d 23, 27-29 (D.D.C. 2002) 

IRS 26 

Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e), enacted by Act of July 30, 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-78, 91 Stat. 319 

Certain records pertaining to grand jury proceedings 

Sussman v. USMS, 494 F.3d 1106, 1113 (D.C. Cir. 2007); Fund for Constitutional Gov't v. Nat'l Archives & Records Serv., 656 F.2d 856, 867-68 (D.C. Cir. 1981); Durham v. Atty. Gen., No. 06-843, 2008 WL 620744, at *2 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 3, 2008); Cozen O’Connor v. Dep’t of the Treasury, 570 F. Supp. 2d 749, 776 (E.D. Pa. 2008) 

IRS 19 
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V. FOIA Requests

V.A. FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending FOIA Requests

Agency / Component 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

Start 

of Fiscal Year2

Number of 

Requests 

Received 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Processed 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

End 

of Fiscal Year 

BEP 10 58 64 4 

DO 442 894 720 616 

FinCEN 9 417 399 27 

Fiscal Service 15 280 284 11 

IRS 882 8,825 8,791 916 

MINT 0 97 97 0 

OCC 82 1,432 1,434 80 

TIGTA 22 262 277 7 

TTB 3 103 105 1 

AGENCY OVERALL 1,465 12,368 12,171 1,662 

                                                            

2 The number of requests pending at the start of the fiscal year was updated from last year’s report for BEP, FinCEN, Fiscal

Service, IRS, and TTB:  BEP increased by two, FinCEN decreased by four, Fiscal Service decreased by two, IRS decreased by

17, and TTB decreased by two.
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V.B.(1). Disposition of FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests

Agency / 

Component 

Number 

of Full 

Grants 

Number 

of Partial 

Grants / 

Partial 

Denials 

Number of 

Full Denials 

Based on 

Exemptions 

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

BEP 23 15 2 6 1 0 1 3 7 3 3 DO 79 110 25 105 119 43 8 98 36 43 37 FinCEN 8 55 258 48 0 6 0 1 4 2 10 Fiscal Service 49 88 6 32 18 12 6 33 8 21 6 IRS 2,204 2,793 125 953 20 193 43 24 2,140 15 244 MINT 18 14 2 9 1 2 3 10 5 32 1 OCC 1,098 35 23 57 0 54 27 16 16 60 13 TIGTA 23 119 18 16 27 7 1 0 43 18 5 TTB 23 15 23 18 1 7 0 4 3 5 5 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 3,525 3,244 482 1,244 187 324 89 189 2,262 199 324 
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V.B.(2). Disposition of FOIA Requests – “Other” Reasons for “Full Denials Based

on Reasons Other Than Exemptions”

Agency / 

Component 

Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from 

Chart B(1) 

Number of Times "Other" 

Reason Was Relied Upon TOTAL 

BEP N/A 0 0 

DO Request Opened in Error 2 

Records Publicly Available 10 17 

Closed in Litigation 5 

FinCEN Records Publicly Available 2 

7 

Request Opened in Error 5 

IRS Request Opened in Error 13 

37 

Closed in Litigation 24 

MINT N/A 0 0 

OCC Request Opened in Error 35 35 

TIGTA N/A 0 0 

TTB Records Publicly Available 1 1 

Fiscal Service Request Opened in Error 3 

5 

Records Publicly Available 2 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 102 
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V.B.(3). Disposition of FOIA Requests – Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Agency / 

Component 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) 

BEP 0 0 0 0 4 15 0 0 3 0 0 0 DO 43 6 33 199 208 414 38 1 154 6 30 2 FinCEN 0 1 387 7 75 27 3 0 40 9 59 0 Fiscal Service 0 0 2 10 42 49 0 0 0 0 1 0 IRS 0 7 2,243 26 612 464 550 3 1,043 21 1,256 4 MINT 0 5 2 10 15 31 0 0 6 0 8 2 OCC 0 2 1 16 16 27 1 0 6 1 0 0 TIGTA 0 0 36 2 12 114 3 0 111 8 6 0 TTB 0 1 29 9 6 15 0 0 1 1 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 43 22 2,733 279 990 1,156 595 4 1,364 46 1,360 8 
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VI. Administrative Appeals

VI.A. Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests – Received,

Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component 

Number of Appeals 

Pending as of Start 

of Fiscal Year3

Number of 

Appeals Received 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Processed 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of Appeals 

Pending as of End 

of Fiscal Year 

BEP 0 3 3 0 

DO 95 18 26 87 

FinCEN 2 9 11 0 

Fiscal Service 2 11 13 0 

IRS 5 190 192 3 

MINT 0 1 1 0 

OCC 1 7 7 1 

TIGTA 2 15 15 2 

TTB 0 4 3 1 

AGENCY OVERALL 107 258 271 94 

                                                            

3 The number of appeals pending at the start of the fiscal year was updated from last year’s report for  

FinCEN, Fiscal Service, and TTB:  FinCEN increased by one, Fiscal Service decreased by one, and TTB decreased by four.
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VI.B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals

Agency / Component Number Affirmed on Appeal 

Number Partially 

Affirmed & Partially 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal 

Number Completely 

Reversed/Remanded 

on Appeal 

Number of Appeals 

Closed for Other 

Reasons 

T

BEP 3 0 0 0 DO 22 1 1 2 FinCEN 8 0 0 3 Fiscal Service 8 2 2 1 IRS 191 1 0 0 MINT 0 0 1 0 OCC 2 1 0 4 TIGTA 13 2 0 0 TTB 2 1 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 249 8 4 10 
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VI.C.(1). Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Agency / 

Component 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) 

BEP 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 DO 1 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 FinCEN 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Fiscal Service 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 IRS 0 2 82 2 39 33 42 2 47 8 51 1 MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OCC 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TIGTA 0 0 2 0 0 10 0 0 10 0 1 0 TTB 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 1 2 96 5 45 48 42 2 59 10 55 2 
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VI.C.(2). Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other Than Exemptions

Agency / 

Component 

No 

Records 

Records 

Referred 

at Initial 

Request 

Level 

Request 

Withdrawn

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described

Improper 

Request 

for Other 

Reasons

Not 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate 

Request or 

Appeal 

Request in 

Litigation

Appea

Base

Solely 

Denial 

Reque

for 

Expedit

Process

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fiscal Service 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 IRS 45 2 0 7 0 21 0 1 0 1 MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OCC 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 TIGTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 46 2 1 8 0 21 0 2 0 1 
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VI.C.(3). Reasons for Denial on Appeal – “Other” Reasons

Agency / 

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2) 

Number of Times 

"Other" Reason 

Was Relied Upon

TOTAL 

BEP N/A 0 0 

DO Moot 2 2 

FinCEN Improper Appeal 2 

3 

Adequate Search Performed 1 

Fiscal Service N/A 0 0 

IRS N/A 0 0 

MINT N/A 0 0 

OCC Improper Appeal 1 

2 

No Response to Adjudicate 1 

TIGTA N/A 0 0 

TTB N/A 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 7 
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VI.C.(4). Response Time for Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component Median Number 

of Days 

Average Number 

of Days 

Lowest Number 

of Days 

Highest Number 

of Days 

BEP 16.00 16.00 1.00 16.00 

DO 243.00 370.00 2.00 1,420.00 

FinCEN 44.00 54.00 26.00 118.00 

Fiscal Service 20.00 19.00 10.00 44.00 

IRS 11.00 11.52 2.00 28.00 

MINT 37.00 37.00 1.00 37.00 

OCC 27.00 26.75 1.00 53.00 

TIGTA 13.00 12.00 1.00 19.00 

TTB 1,035.00 1,035.00 1.00 1,035.00 

AGENCY OVERALL 27.00 175.70 1.00 1,420.00 
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VI.C.(5). Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals

Agency / 

Component 

10th Oldest 

Appeal 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

BEP 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO 

Date of Appeal 2010-06-07 2010-04-06 2010-03-16 2010-03-16 2010-02-23 2010-02-02 2009-11-09 2009-11-

Number of Days Pending 1597 1641 1656 1656 1671 1686 1747 1749 

FinCEN 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2016-09-

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 

MINT 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

Date of Appeal 2010-06-07 2010-04-06 2010-03-16 2010-03-16 2010-02-23 2010-02-02 2009-11-09 2009-11-

Number of Days Pending 1597 1641 1656 1656 1671 1686 1747 1749 
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VII. Processed and Pending FOIA RequestsVII.A. FOIA Requests – Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests

Agency / 

Component 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PR

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

L

N

o

BEP 13 29.94 1 89 37.5 47.27 2 130 6 6 DO 3 24.31 1 550 106.5 208.23 1 2262 499 499 FinCEN 1 2.8 1 32 22 38.5 1 218 N/A N/A Fiscal Service 15 15.9 1 87 21 21.1 4 67 N/A N/A IRS4 N/A N/A N/A N/A 18 31.42 1 1111 13 39.41 MINT 1 1.5 1 15 1 2.91 1 23 N/A N/A OCC 7 10.6 1 122 27 39 1 294 24 21.8 TIGTA 6.5 8 1 25 19 19.6 1 110 18 19.67 TTB 5 7.69 1 61 17 17.69 1 35 N/A N/A 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 6 11.72 1 550 18 36.58 1 2262 15 42 

4 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to calc
25 

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

Agency / 

Component 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PR

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

L

N

o

BEP 13 18.33 3 82 65 58.14 2 130 6 6 DO 21 49.97 1 264 83.5 124.5 3 574 499 499 FinCEN 4.5 6.6 1 26 33.5 60.3 6 215 N/A N/A Fiscal Service 19 18.5 5 58 24 22.7 4 67 N/A N/A IRS5 N/A N/A N/A N/A 21 37.8 1 1111 28 65.6 MINT 1 2.42 1 15 1 1 1 15 N/A N/A OCC 6 9.8 1 80 42.5 66.5 9 294 26 27 TIGTA 16 16 7 25 20 24.4 1 110 35 35 TTB 5 7.09 1 17 17 17.58 2 30 N/A N/A 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 7 11.85 1 264 21 42.3 1 1111 28 71 

5 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to calc
26 

VII.C. Processed Simple Requests – Response Time in Day Increments

Agency / 

Component 

<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 

301-40

Days 

BEP 25 5 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DO 267 20 13 6 7 1 4 1 1 2 4 1 FinCEN 348 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fiscal Service 150 53 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IRS6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MINT 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OCC 1,112 199 13 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 TIGTA 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TTB 50 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 2,039 282 34 9 11 1 5 1 1 2 4 1 

6 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to calc
27 

VII.C. Processed Complex Requests – Response Time in Day Increments

Agency / 

Component 

<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 

301-40

Days 

BEP 3 6 4 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 DO 49 23 22 12 12 16 11 8 8 6 34 15 FinCEN 19 15 3 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 Fiscal Service 16 15 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IRS7 3,544 1,483 657 289 178 98 57 50 42 27 65 27 MINT 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OCC 23 25 11 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 TIGTA 159 40 7 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 TTB 31 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 3,855 1,623 705 314 197 116 69 58 52 33 103 42 

7 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to calc
28 

VII.C. Processed Requests Granted Expedited Processing – Response Time in Day Increments

Agency / 

Component 

<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 

301-40

Days 

BEP 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DO 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 Fiscal Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IRS8 54 16 5 2 3 1 4 2 0 2 0 0 MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OCC 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TIGTA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 59 21 5 2 3 1 4 2 0 2 0 0 

8 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to calc
29 

VII.D. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests

Agency / Component 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PRO

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number 

Days 

BEP 1 12 12 3 354 279 0 N/A DO 74 159.5 177 457 306 370 0 N/A FinCEN 0 N/A N/A 4 91 116.8 0 N/A Fiscal Service 6 5 5 4 1 1 0 N/A IRS9 0 N/A N/A 916 18 58.25 0 N/A MINT 0 N/A N/A 0 N/A N/A 0 N/A OCC 66 11 21 8 30 121 1 50 TIGTA 0 N/A N/A 7 7 8 0 N/A TTB 0 N/A N/A 2 9 9 0 N/A 

AGENCY OVERALL 147 46 105.3 1400 44 160.3 1 50 

9 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to calc
30 

VII.E. Pending Reqeusts – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

Agency / 

Component 

10th Oldest 

Request 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

BEP 

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2016-09-29 2016-09-

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 

DO 

Date of Receipt 2011-08-22 2011-08-10 2011-08-10 2011-07-27 2011-05-31 2011-05-09 2011-02-09 2010-07-

Number of Days Pending 1287 1295 1295 1305 1345 1360 1422 1561 

FinCEN 

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2016-08-22 2016-07-

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 52 

Fiscal Service 

Date of Receipt 2016-09-30 2016-09-23 2016-09-19 2016-09-16 2016-09-15 2016-09-14 2016-09-14 2016-09-

Number of Days Pending 1 5 9 10 11 12 12 18 

IRS10

Date of Receipt 2014-09-03 2014-08-08 2014-08-06 2014-07-23 2014-07-21 2014-06-23 2014-05-29 2014-04-

Number of Days Pending 270 287 289 299 301 320 337 373 

MINT 

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 

Date of Receipt 2016-07-11 2016-07-06 2016-07-01 2016-06-20 2016-06-14 2016-06-09 2016-02-22 2015-12-

Number of Days Pending 58 61 63 72 76 79 156 205 

TIGTA 

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A 2016-09-30 2016-09-28 2016-09-27 2016-09-21 2016-09-

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 2 3 7 8 

TTB 

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

Date of Receipt 2011-08-22 2011-08-10 2011-08-10 2011-07-27 2011-05-31 2011-05-09 2011-02-09 2010-07-

Number of Days Pending 1287 1295 1295 1305 1345 1360 1422 1561 

10 Due to system limitations, the IRS has used the date received to calculate processing times. All other bureaus used the date perfected to ca
31 

VIII. Requests for Expedited processing and fee Waiver

VIII.A. Requests for Expedited Processing

Agency / 

Component Number Granted Number Denied 

Median Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Number 

Adjudicated 

Within Ten 

Calendar Days 

BEP 1 1 3.5 3.5 2 

DO 1 40 1 1.1 41 

FinCEN 0 5 1 1 5 

Fiscal Service 0 7 1 1 7 

IRS 9 98 7 7.67 91 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 8 1 1 1 9 

TIGTA 5 11 2.5 5 14 

TTB 0 6 1 1 6 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 24 169 3 5 175 
32 

VIII.B. Requests for Fee Waiver

Agency / 

Component Number Granted Number Denied 

Median Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

BEP 1 0 8 8 

DO 49 71 1 1.9 

FinCEN 0 0 N/A N/A 

Fiscal Service 1 0 1 1 

IRS 115 29 3 17.35 

MINT 0 5 4 10.4 

OCC 5 1 1 1 

TIGTA 0 0 N/A N/A 

TTB 6 6 2 1 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 177 112 1 9 
33 

IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs

Agency / 

Component 

PERSONNEL COSTS 

Number of "FullTime FOIA 

Employees" 

Number of 

"Equivalent FullTime FOIA 

Employees" 

Total Number of 

"Full-Time FOIA 

Staff" 

Processing Costs Litigation-Related Costs To

BEP 0 3.34 3.34 $284,831.00 $0.00 $28DO 27 6.76 33.76 $4,231,383.58 $331,905.32 $4,5FinCEN 1 1 2 $379,518.00 $0.00 $37Fiscal Service 2 11 13 $1,208,459.00 $0.00 $1,2IRS 10 61.26 71.26 $9,728,225.21 $766,602.19 $10,MINT 1 0.5 1.5 $174,576.00 $0.00 $17OCC 9 0 9 $1,617,373.20 $0.00 $1,6TIGTA 0 4.88 4.88 $620,000.00 $25,229.48 $64TTB 1 0.59 1.59 $185,599.61 $0.00 $18

AGENCY 

OVERALL 51 89.33 140.33 $18,429,965.60 $1,123,736.99 $19,
34 

X. Fees Collected for Processing Requests

Agency / Component Total Amount of Fees 

Collected 

Percentage of Total 

Costs 

BEP $285.90 0.10% 

DO $6,488.96 0.15% 

FinCEN $0.00 0.00% 

Fiscal Service $14,314.73 1.18% 

IRS $28,205.65 0.29% 

MINT $0.00 0.00% 

OCC $158,193.40 9.78% 

TIGTA $3,535.33 0.57% 

TTB $1,274.61 0.69% 

AGENCY OVERALL $212,298.58 1.15% 

 
35 

XI. Use of Subsection (c) Exclusions and Proactive Disclosures

XI.A. Number of Times Subsection (c) Used

Agency / Component Number of Times Subsection (C) Used 

BEP 0 

DO 0 

FinCEN 0 

Fiscal Service 0 

IRS 0 

MINT 0 

OCC 0 

TIGTA 0 

TTB 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 

 
36 

XI.B. Number of Subsection (A)(2) Postings

Agency / Component Number of (a)(2) Records Posted by 

the FOIA Office 

Number of (a)(2) Records Posted by 

Program Offices 

BEP 2 2 

DO 74 0 

FinCEN 6 0 

Fiscal Service 6 0 

IRS 3 9 

MINT 1 0 

OCC 103 0 

TIGTA 4 130 

TTB 4 8 

AGENCY OVERALL 203 149 
37 

XII. Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisions

XII.A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

BEP 2 0 

DO 531 63 

FinCEN 3 0 

Fiscal Service 0 0 

IRS 334 0 

MINT 0 0 

OCC 23 1 

TIGTA 0 0 

TTB 0 1 

AGENCY OVERALL 893 65 
38 

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

Consultations

Agency / Component 

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

that were Pending at 

the Agency as of Start 

of the Fiscal Year11

Number of 

Consultations Received

from Other Agencies 

During the Fiscal Year

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

that were Processed by 

the Agency During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

that were Pending at 

the Agency as of End

of the Fiscal Year 

BEP 0 0 0 0 

DO 9 39 28 20 

FinCEN 0 28 28 0 

Fiscal Service 0 1 1 0 

IRS 30 161 181 10 

MINT 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 1 5 6 0 

TTB 0 1 1 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 40 235 245 30 

                                                            

11 The number of consultations pending at the start of the fiscal year was updated from last year’s report for IRS and TTB:  

IRS increased by six, and TTB decreased by one.
39 

XII.C. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies a

Agency

Agency / 

Component 

10th Oldest 

Consultation 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

BEP 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO 

Date 2016-09-29 2016-09-27 2016-09-02 2016-07-25 2016-07-08 2016-05-31 2016-05-16 2016-01-1

Number of Days 1 3 19 48 59 86 96 183 

FinCEN 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 

Date 2016-09-29 2016-09-26 2016-09-23 2016-09-19 2016-09-14 2016-08-30 2016-08-25 2016-08-0

Number of Days 1 4 5 9 12 22 25 38 

MINT 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

Date 2016-08-08 2016-07-25 2016-07-25 2016-07-08 2016-05-31 2016-05-16 2016-04-18 2016-01-1

Number of Days 38 48 48 59 86 96 116 183 
40 

XII.D.(1). Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report – Req

and Processed

Agency / Component 

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCES

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Proc

During Fiscal Ye

Current Annual 

BEP 82 58 83 64 DO 771 894 627 720 FinCEN 392 417 390 399 Fiscal Service 327 280 327 284 IRS 10,197 8,825 10,416 8,791 MINT 95 97 96 97 OCC 1,638 1,432 1,634 1,434 TIGTA 312 262 308 277 TTB 108 103 106 105 

AGENCY OVERALL 14,107 12,368 13,987 12,171 
41 

XII.D.(2). Comparison of Number of Requests from Previous and Current Annual

Report – Backlogged Requests

Agency / Component 

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 

BEP 4 2 

DO 396 531 

FinCEN 8 3 

Fiscal Service 3 0 

IRS 348 334 

MINT 0 0 

OCC 8 23 

TIGTA 0 0 

TTB 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 767 893 
42 

XII.E.(1). Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annua

Appeals Received and Processed

Agency / Component 

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESS

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Proc

During Fiscal Ye

Current Annual 

BEP 4 3 4 3 DO 26 18 9 26 FinCEN 16 9 16 11 Fiscal Service 18 11 2 13 IRS 236 190 240 192 MINT 2 1 2 1 OCC 10 7 18 7 TIGTA 20 15 21 15 TTB 0 4 0 3 

AGENCY OVERALL 332 258 312 271 
43 

XII.E.(2). Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and

Current Annual Report – Backlogged Appeals

                                                            

12 The number of backlogged appeals pending at the end of fiscal year 2015 was updated for IRS, TIGTA, and TTB:  IRS  

increased by one, TIGTA decreased by two, and TTB decreased by four.

Agency / Component 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report12

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

BEP 0 0 

DO 91 63 

FinCEN 1 0 

Fiscal Service 2 0 

IRS 1 0 

MINT 0 0 

OCC 1 1 

TIGTA 0 0 

TTB 0 1 

AGENCY OVERALL 96 65