(a) Receipt and Control. Requests received after 5:00 p.m. EST will be considered received the following business day. Upon receipt of a request for records, the FOIA Officer must:
(1) Open a file in DLA's specified control system designed to ensure accountability and compliance with the FOIA. The control system will include the data elements needed to compile the statistics required in the annual Department of Justice FOIA report or other reports required by another authority. Each request shall automatically be assigned a unique tracking number.
(2) Screen the request for defects in the description, the requester category, the fee declaration, and full postal address. The FOIA Officer will notify the requester of any such defects and provide assistance to help remedy the defects. The FOIA Officer will place the request on-hold until the request is perfected. When a DLA FOIA Requester Service Center receives a request for records that clearly belong to an agency outside of DoD, the requester shall be told these are not agency records and, if possible, provide the name of the agency that may hold the records. No referral of the request is made outside of DoD.
(3) Once a request is perfected, DLA may make one request for additional information unrelated to fees and toll the 20 working-day period while awaiting the information. Tolling the 20 working-day period is not limited for fee related issues.
(4) DLA will provide the requester with the FOIA tracking number and the track in which the FOIA was placed (see Sec. 300.7(b)). Each DLA FOIA Requester Service Center has a telephone line to inform the requester of the status of their request (see Appendix A of this part).
(5) DLA uses the date-of-search cut-off (this cut-off is the day before the search begins) to ensure that as many records as possible will be captured by the agency's search. A FOIA request may not be on-going or open-ended in nature. DLA Components are responsible for providing records in possession and control of DLA at the time the search for records begins. DLA Components are not required to expend DLA funds to establish data links that provide real-time or near-real-time data to a FOIA requester.
(b) Multi-track Processing. DLA components shall process requests with all due diligence according to their order of receipt. A DLA component uses three processing tracks by distinguishing between simple, complex, and expedited requests based on the need to search and collect from multiple directorates/locations; the need to search for, collect and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of records; and/or the need to consult with other DLA or DoD Components having a substantial interest in the releasability of the record. Requesters are notified in the acknowledgement letter of the track the request is placed in. Requests placed in the simple track will typically be completed within the statutory time limit for responding to requests. Requests placed in the complex track may be narrowed or modified in order to qualify for faster processing within the specified limits of DLA's simple track. Expedited processing must be requested and a requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a statement, certified to be true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge and belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited processing. Within ten calendar days of its receipt of a request for expedited processing, the proper component shall decide whether to grant expedited processing and shall notify the requester of the decision. If a request for expedited processing is granted, the request shall be given priority and processed as soon as practicable. If a request for expedited processing is denied, any appeal of that decision shall be acted on expeditiously. Refer to the DoD FOIA Handbook for information on multi-track processing (http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/dfoipo/foiaHandbook.html#long).
(c) Payments in Arrears. Where a requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged within 30 calendar days, DLA may require the requester to pay the full amount owed, plus any applicable interest, before beginning to process a new or pending request from the requester (see OMB Fee Guidelines (http://www.dod.gov/pubs/foi/dfoipo/docs/OMBGuidelines_FOIAFees.pdf)). Interest will be at the rate prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717, and confirmed with the servicing Financial Operations Office.
(d) Misdirected Requests. A misdirected request is a request received by DLA's FOIA Office for records maintained by another DLA or DoD Component. Misdirected requests shall be forwarded promptly, but in any event not later than ten days after the request is first received by any component of the agency that is designated in this regulation to receive requests (see Appendix A of this part). The receiving FOIA Office shall route the request to the proper DLA or DoD FOIA Office and the response time will commence on the date that the request is received by the proper FOIA Office, but not later than ten working days after the request is first received by any DLA or DoD FOIA Office. Misdirected FOIA requests are not forwarded outside of DoD.