OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
HOW TO PREPARE A COLLECTION TRANSACTION RECORD
(CTR) AT FOREIGN POSTS
OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
All collections and funds received at Commercial Service post locations must be transmitted to the BANK ONE Lockbox. An "International Trade Administration Collections Transaction Record" (CTR) form must accompany each transmittal of checks and money orders to the Lockbox. The CTR is required to convey all necessary accounting and tracking information represented by the check or money order to the Lockbox. All posts receiving funds must follow the procedures described herein to ensure that collections are properly accounted for and deposited.
Checks must be separated into two groups before being transmitted to Lockbox. Each group must be accompanied by a separate CTR. Each CTR will constitute a separate batch.
Foreign Group: Foreign currency drawn on Foreign Banks and USD drawn on Foreign Banks (Canadian exception, see above).
U.S. Treasury Deposit
Requirements:
Collections that total less than $5,000 received in U.S. dollars may be transmitted to Lockbox at the end of the workweek. Collections of foreign currencies with a USD total converted value of less than $5,000 may be transmitted at the end of the workweek. Deposits should be made weekly or when collections reach a total of $5,000 or the equivalent, whichever occurs first. In general, collections received too late in the day to meet the deposit cutoff time must be deposited the following business day.
No single individual may
control a collection transaction. Offices must ensure that collection duties
are separated and performed by different individuals. For example, collections
received and posting to the Overseas Transaction Record (CTR) should be
done by one individual, preparing and mailing the CTR to the lockbox and
reconciling the CTRs received from NBC to the OTD by another. We understand
that in some cases the posts do not have the necessary staff to follow
this example. In that case, the commercial officer would have to be involved
in this process (Note: per separate the Foreign Affairs Manual and the
Foreign Affairs Handbook require that when small collections reach $5,000
in aggregate the sum should be deposited then, instead of waiting until
the end of the week.)
COMMERCIAL SERVICE OFFICE: Enter the name of the Commercial Service office making the deposit. This name must match the Organization Code, e.g. Zurich.
COUNTRY: The name of the country in which the post transmitting the collections is located, e.g. Switzerland.
ORGANIZATION CODE: Enter the four digit organization code (e.g. 12-XX) that represents the office transmitting the collection. See ITA Financial Management and Accounting Classification Instructions. This code represents the ITA office name listed above.
CONTACT NAME and TELEPHONE NUMBER of person completing the CTR: Enter the name and telephone number of the person completing the CTR.
ADDRESS: Address of post transmitting the deposit.
DATE TRANSMITTED: This is the date that the transmittal was mailed to Lockbox.
NUMBER OF CHECKS INCLUDED IN BATCH: The number of checks being transmitted to Lockbox. The number of checks transmitted must equal the number of transactions entered on the form. Put the checks in the same order as they are entered on the CTR.
TRANSACTION NUMBER: Assign and enter a six digit sequential number, preceded by the fiscal year (e.g., 00-XXXXXX), to each check or money order received at the Commercial Service post. The transaction number series is for the entire fiscal year (e.g., the first check received during fiscal year 2000 would be numbered 00000001, the second 00000002, the 156th 00000156, etc.).
PAYER NAME: Enter the name of the individual or company as the name appears on the check or money order.
AMOUNT OF CHECK: Enter the numerical currency amount stated on each check, no matter what currency it is.
CURRENCY: Enter the type of monetary unit in which the check was drawn (e.g., US Dollars, Japanese Yen, Swiss Francs, etc.) This entry identifies the numbers entered in the Amount of Check field. Checks and money orders in different country currencies may be transmitted on the same CTR.
CHECK NUMBER: Enter the number that appears on the check or money order, if any.
DATE OF CHECK: Enter the date of the check or money order.
INFORMATION PRODUCT: Indicate the type of information product sold, if applicable. If none, leave blank.
TRADE EVENT NUMBER: If a Participation Agreement was the basis of this collection, enter its Event Number.
APPROPRIATION: Enter the three-digit appropriation code (e.g., 023, 024Y.) for the collection. Appropriation Codes may be found in the ITA Financial Management and Accounting Classification Instructions.
PROJECT CODE/PERFORMANCE MEASURE: Enter the appropriate six-digit code, (four-digit project code and two-digit performance measure) identifying the type of collection. Please note these groups cannot be separated by a hyphen. Project codes/perfomance measures and their definitions are found in the ITA Financial Coding Pattern booklet.
BUDGET OBJECT CODE (BOC) or TRAVEL ORDER NUMBER: Complete this field ONLY if the collection represents a refund of an ITA payment or collection of an excess travel advance to an employee. Enter the appropriate four-digit budget object code only if the collection is a refund or a reimbursement. Enter the eleven-digit travel order number if the collection is a repayment of a travel advance. For example, if an employee obtains a travel advance of $1,000 and after the trip is completed he/she can only justify $900, the employee must refund by check the $100 difference to ITA the employee must enter the eleven-digit code of the travel order number on this designated field. Otherwise this field should be blank.
LOCKBOX REMITTANCE ADDRESS:
Attn: International Trade Administration/Lockbox # 21695
(312) 732-6991 - phone # for use ONLY with overnight courier
· Collections must be deposited on a daily basis if the collected amount is $5,000 or more. Collections of less than $5,000 may be accumulated and deposited when the total reaches $5,000. Deposits must be made by Friday or the last workday of each week, regardless of the amount accumulated.
· An OF-158 must be issued at the time the transaction occurs.
· The Sub-cashier
should reconcile collection records once a month at a minimum, and may
do so more than once a month if necessary.
Lockbox instructions and
the CTR form are also available from the on line version of Through
the Maze at http://www.ita.doc.gov/adminon-line/
. At the adminon-line site click on OOMS and then click on Administrative
Guidance and Organizational Orders and then go to Collections Transaction
Records (OFM11).
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