Sec. 1906.3. Policy enactment

(a) Payment request procedure.

Contractors who are owed money by the corporation shall send a proper invoice to the attention of finance unit, the designated payment department of the corporation. Finance unit will log the reception date of the invoice, and send the document to the unit within the corporation that received the purchased goods, property or services from the contractor for review and verification.

(b) Schedule for prompt payment.

The corporation will adhere to the following schedule for a prompt payment:

(1) For receipt of invoices between April 29, 1988, and July 1, 1989, payment will be made within 45 calendar days after receipt of a proper invoice.

(2) For receipt of invoice after July 1, 1989, payment will be made within 30 calendar days, excluding legal holidays, after receipt of a proper invoice

This schedule will not apply in those instances where payment is being delayed for any of the exceptions listed in subdivision (e) of this section or tolled for any of the reasons listed in subdivision (f) of this section.

(c) Interest computation.

If the corporation fails to meet the prompt payment schedule set forth in subdivision (b) of this section, the corporation will pay interest to the affected contractors at the rate equal to that set by the State Tax Commission for corporate taxes.

(d) Funds available to pay interest penalties.

The corporation will pay penalties with monies drawn from interest earnings on investments.

(e) Situations which justify extension of payment time for property invoices.

The following facts or conditions constitute exceptions to the prompt payment schedule set forth in subdivision (b) of this section:

(1) statutory or contract provisions requiring an inspection or an audit prior to payment;

(2) a requirement for State appropriation to authorize payment;

(3) a requirement for Federal government examination of a proper invoice prior to payment;

(4) extraordinary delay between the provision of goods, property or services by a contractor and the receipt of a proper invoice by the contractor; and

(5) failure by a contractor to submit documents required by agreement prior to payment.

In addition, the corporation is not responsible for the processing time taken by the Department of Taxation and Finance, the Division of the Budget, the Office of the State Comptroller, or any other external entity that is required by statute or regulation to approve or process corporation payments.

(f) Reasons which justify the tolling of payment time for invoices.

The following facts or conditions toll the prompt payment schedule set forth in subdivision (b) of this section:

(1) the existence of defects in the goods, property or services delivered;

(2) the existence of defects in the invoice; and

(3) suspected improprieties of any kind.

(g) Tolling regulations.

In order to toll the prompt payment schedule without penalty, the corporation has 15 days after receipt of an invoice to send a contractor notification of defects or improprieties. Corporation notification shall be in the form of a standardized letter. In the event that the corporation fails to act within 15 days, once the defect or impropriety is corrected, the number of days allowed for payment is reduced by the number of days between the 15th day and the date of notification. In the event that the corporation's objections are proved unreasonable, the date by which contract payment shall be made is calculated from the date of receipt of invoice.