(a) General. Section 8(d) of the Act (46 U.S.C. 40501(e)) authorizes the Commission, in its discretion and for good cause shown, to permit increases or decreases in rates, or the issuance of new or initial rates, on less than the statutory notice. Section 9(c) of the Act (46 U.S.C. 40703, 40704(a)) authorizes the Commission to permit a controlled carrier's rates, charges, classifications, rules or regulations to become effective on less than 30 days' notice. The Commission may also in its discretion and for good cause shown, permit departures from the requirements of this part.
(b) Clerical errors. Typographical and/or clerical errors constitute good cause for the exercise of special permission authority but every application based thereon must plainly specify the error and present clear evidence of its existence, together with a full statement of the attending circumstances, and shall be submitted with reasonable promptness after publishing the defective tariff material.
(c) Application.
(1) Applications for special permission to establish rate increases or decreases on less than statutory notice or for waiver of the provisions of this part, shall be made by the common carrier, conference or agent for publishing. Every such application must be submitted to the Bureau of Trade Analysis and be accompanied by a filing fee of $307.
(2) Applications for special permission shall be made only by letter, except that in emergency situations, application may be made by telephone or facsimile if the communication is promptly followed by a letter and the filing fee.
(3) Applications for special permission shall contain the following information:
(i) Organization name, number and trade name of the conference or carrier;
(ii) Tariff number and title; and
(iii) The rate, commodity, or rules related to the application, and the special circumstances which the applicant believes constitute good cause to depart from the requirements of this part or to warrant a tariff change upon less than the statutory notice period.
(d) Implementation. The authority granted by the Commission shall be used in its entirety, including the prompt publishing of the material for which permission was requested. Applicants shall use the special case number assigned by the Commission with the symbol “S”.
[64 FR 11225, Mar. 8, 1999, as amended at 67 FR 39860, June 11, 2002; 70 FR 10330, Mar. 3, 2005; 74 FR 50722, Oct. 1, 2009; 81 FR 59144, Aug. 29, 2016; 83 FR 50294, Oct. 5, 2018; 85 FR 72578, Nov. 13, 2020]