SSN Policy Manual

Policy Manual

A reasonable effort to obtain a taxpayer identification number should include the mailing of a written request. The request should inform the customer that the bank is required to maintain, for the use of the Department of the Treasury, a list of customers who have failed to supply the financial institution with a TIN within the forty-five day period. Dated: August 30, 1974. [Source: 39 Fed. Reg. 32336, September 6, 19741 While this is an interesting historical reference, it is not the law and reliance upon it as law is dangerous. Immediately after being published in the Federal Registers, these regulations were also published in the Code of Federal Regulations. When citing laws and regulations bankers would be wise to refer to a current copy of the United States Code or the Code of Federal Regulations where the statute reflects the currently enforceable laws and regulations. However, the above historical information copied from the Federal Register more than twenty years ago and the current regulation both reflect the requirement that the financial institution must request a social security number or taxpayer ID number when opening an account and that the financial institution is not in violation of the law or regulation if they made a reasonable effort to get an identity number. Additionally, you should note that the FDIC Law, Regulations and Related Acts also Findings and purpose of the "Privacy Act of 1974." Section 2 of the Act of December 31, 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-579; 88 Stat. 1896), which enacted section 552a of title 5, United States Code, provides as follows: SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that- (1) The privacy of an individual is directly affected by the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personal information by Federal agencies; (2) the increasing use of computers and sophisticated information technology, while essential to the efficient operations of the Government, has greatly magnified the harm to individual privacy that can occur from any collection, maintenance, use, or dissemination of personal information; (3) the opportunities for an individual to secure employment, insurance, and credit, and his right to due process, and other legal protections are endangered by the misuse of certain information systems; (4) the right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by the Constitution of the United States; and (5) in order to protect the privacy of individuals identified in information systems maintained by Federal agencies, it is necessary and proper for the Congress to regulate the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information by such agencies. (b) The purpose of this Act is to provide certain safeguards for an individual against an invasion of personal privacy by requiring Federal agencies, except as otherwise provided by law, to- (1) permit an individual to determine what records pertaining to him are collected, maintained, used, or disseminatedby such agencies; contain the following Privacy Act notification: 8000 - Miscellaneous Statutes and Regulations