Terms and conditions Minimum Essential Coverage Information Reporting
As of 10/01/2020

Please read the following Terms of Use that govern access and use of the File Exchange System (FX System).

The FX System is owned and operated by the State of California, Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and allows for the electronic filing of information returns by or on the behalf of an applicable entity (as defined by Revenue & Taxation Code section 61000(a)) and as required by California’s Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) Information Reporting (IR) Program (MEC IR Program).

By selecting “I have read the Terms and Conditions,” you knowingly and voluntarily agree to be bound by the Terms of Use, which are a binding electronic agreement between you and FTB. In addition, you agree to comply with any accompanying documentation that apply to your access and use of the FX System, including the FTB File Exchange system – 1094 1095 Technical Specifications Part 1 and Part 2, File Exchange Schema, 1094 and 1095 Schemas, 1094-B and 1095-B California business rules, 1094-C and 1095-C California business rules, and FTB File Exchange System – 1094 1095 Testing Specifications, and any change or amendment. All other uses are prohibited and constitute misuse of property of the State of California.

“You” means you, the individual with authority and responsibility for the electronic filing of MEC information returns on behalf of yourself and/or your applicable entity and for ensuring compliance with all requirements of the MEC IR Program (Responsible Official), as well as any individual added to the account as an authorized user (a Contact) by the Responsible Official.

Registration

Use of the FX System is conditional upon compliance with the Terms of Use, including the requirement to provide FTB with the requested information for registration and enrollment and to accept the Terms of Use. If you do not provide the requested information or accept the Terms of Use, then you will not be able to access or use the FX System and meet any applicable electronic filing requirement.

Only an individual with authority and responsibility for the electronic filing of MEC information returns on behalf of an applicable entity and the compliance with all requirements of the MEC IR Program may register as a Responsible Official for the applicable entity’s MEC IR Provider e-Services Account.

To register for an MEC IR Provider e-Services Account on behalf of an applicable entity, the Responsible Official will be required to enter certain identifying personal information (including their full legal name, social security number, date of birth, residential address, phone number, and business email address) and to create a unique user name and password. Do not use a disposable email address for registration.  The Responsible Official will also need to enter the applicable entity’s name and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).

You are prohibited from registering for another person and/or impersonating, imitating, or pretending to be another person when registering for the applicable entity’s MEC IR Provider e-Services Account.

Enrollment

Once the Responsible Official has registered for the applicable entity’s MEC IR Provider e-Services Account, the Responsible Official will need to complete the Enrollment Request to access or use the FX System.

The Responsible Official will need to enter additional identifying information about:

• The applicable entity (including type of business structure, physical and mailing address, and business phone number);
• Any authorized user added by the Responsible Official (including their full name, job title, email address, business phone number and role as either another Responsible Official or a Contact);
• The role of applicable entity (issuer, transmitter, or software developer); and
• The Transmission Channel the applicable entity is applying to use (e.g., Application to Application (A2A) through the FX API Channel or FTB’s FX Portal (.xml file upload)).

You agree to provide true, accurate, current, and complete information as prompted by the registration process, and you agree that you will maintain and promptly update this information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. You must notify us immediately, but no later than 30 days after the change, of any changes to your registration or enrollment information.

If you provide information that is false, inaccurate, obsolete, misleading or incomplete, or if FTB has reasonable grounds to suspect that information you provided is false, inaccurate, obsolete, misleading, or incomplete, then we may deny your registration and/or enrollment, and/or limit, block, suspend, revoke, or terminate the applicable entity’s Information Return Provider e-Services Account.

Access and Use

You are prohibited from using the FX System for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by the Terms of Use, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by FTB.

You and all authorized users must keep the account user name and password confidential.

You may receive emails at the email address you provided during registration or enrollment for updates and activities on the applicable entity’s account. You are responsible for any charges or fees assessed by your providers of Internet, telephone, and mobile services.

We reserve the right to limit, deny, block, suspend, revoke, or terminate access to and use of the FX System to any user at any time without notice for any reason, including but not limited to, breach of the Terms of Use, unauthorized access or use, inactivity or nonuse of an account, unauthorized access or use of the user name or password, or if we have reason to believe the applicable entity’s account has been compromised.

Access to and use of the FX System may also be limited, denied, blocked, suspended, revoked, or terminated by FTB at any time due to conditions or actions by any person that may lead to security risks or liability for FTB, equipment failure, equipment, software or system maintenance, an emergency situation, violation of applicable local, state or federal laws, regulations or ordinances, or as required by law, regulation, ordinance, or court order.

Terms Incorporated by Reference

In addition to these Terms of Use, you agree to the terms of use and notices for FTB’s Application Programing Interface (API) specified at the following link, which are hereby incorporated into this agreement and may be found at FTB’s APIs Terms and Conditions.

Protecting the Account

Notification of Unauthorized Access

Unauthorized access into the FX System or misuse may constitute crimes under state and/or federal law. We reserve the right to pursue any such violations and prosecute to the fullest extent permitted by law.

To protect confidential information, you are required to notify FTB as soon as you are aware of any suspected information security violation, such as:

• The user name or password is lost, stolen, or compromised.
• Any unauthorized access to or use of the applicable entity’s account.
• Any other breach of security has occurred.

Notification should be made by email to FTB’s Security Operations Center at FTB HCM Deactivation. Include your user name, the email address used to register the applicable entity’s account, and a brief description of the suspected information security violation in your email notification to us. Do not include the account password.

Your continued access and use of the FX System is subject to you providing all requested information and your full cooperation with us.

FTB staff will never make unsolicited contact to request your user name or password. If you are contacted by anyone requesting this information, immediately report such contact to FTB’s Security Operations Center at FTB HCM Deactivation.

Preventing Misuse

Federal, state, city, and local government laws, regulations, and ordinances are in place to safeguard taxpayer data and personal information. You agree to use appropriate safeguards to prevent any unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential taxpayer information and other personal information. Failure to adhere to your responsibilities for safeguarding taxpayer data and personal information may subject you to legal action. Taxpayer information including HCM data that you transmit through the FX System is confidential. Unauthorized access, inspection, disclosure, adjustment, destruction of information through the FX System, or misuse of the FX System may result in criminal and civil actions and/or penalties under state and federal laws. (Penal Code Section 502, California Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 19542 and 19542.1, Civil Code Sections 1798.53 and 1798.56, Title 26 United States Code Sections 6103, 7216, and 7431, and Title 18 United States Code Sections 1028 and 1030.)

Caution: Is Your Computer Secure?

Additional Provisions

Liability and Limitations

FTB makes no claims, representations, promises, or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the FX System and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the FX System. No warranty of any kind, implied, express, or statutory, including, but not limited to, the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, workmanlike effort, and freedom from computer virus or malicious or unauthorized code, is given with respect to the FX System or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. FTB does not warrant that access to the FX System will be uninterrupted, timely, or error-free. The FX System is provided on an “as-is” and “as available” basis “with all faults.” In particular, the operation of the FX System may be interrupted due to maintenance, updates, or system or network failures. FTB disclaims all liability for damages caused by any such interruption and errors in functioning.  FTB does not warrant that data loss will not occur.

Under no circumstances will FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees be liable or responsible for any damages of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, the FX System, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, consequential, punitive, and special damages, and for any lost revenues, lost profits and loss of business, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the cause of action, whether based on contract, tort, or otherwise.

In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees will not be liable or responsible for any damages, losses, expenses, or costs that you suffer as a result of: (i) your use of, or inability to use, the FX System; (ii) any interruption or failure of the FX System; (iii) vulnerabilities in the FX System; (iv) the downloading or use of any information, data or materials obtained through the FX System; (v) any failure to complete a transaction using the FX System, or any loss of data due to the FX System interruptions, delays, non-deliveries, misdeliveries, or other cause; (vi) any loss of data; (vii) anything beyond the reasonable control of FTB, including, but not limited to, any interruption or failure of a third party's equipment, services, software, or network; (viii) any unauthorized use or modification of the fx system, or the equipment, software or technology used to provide the FX System; (ix) viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other harmful or undesirable applications, files, data, or software; (x) the attempt by unauthorized users (for example, "hackers") to obtain access to your device, data, transmissions, website, computer system(s), or networks; or (xi) force majeure (Examples of such causes, include, but are not limited to, acts of God (including, but not limited to, fire, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, pandemics), unusual action of the elements (weather), strikes, riots, large scale computer system, network or power failure, or acts of the public enemy (including, but not limited to, terrorism or cyber-attack), acts of the federal or state government in either its sovereign or contractual capacity, or the collateral effects of any of the foregoing).

No provision of this agreement shall be interpreted as a waiver or or limitation on any rights of FTB to assert governmental immunity or sovereign immunity.

In no event shall you seek or be entitled to rescission, injunctive, or other equitable relief, or to enjoin or restrain the operation of the FX System, content or other material used or displayed through the current FTB website or successor site.

There are no third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the FX System; modify the requirements for, or terms of access to, the FX System; or modify any accompanying policies, for any reason, at any time and without notice. Upon any such termination, any and all rights of access to or use of the FX System granted to you by FTB will terminate and you must cease use of the FX System. Upon termination, you must also comply with Customer’s instruction to return or delete any data accessed or acquired through the FX System, unless expressly permitted by FTB or prohibited by law. Neither party will be liable to the other for any damages resulting solely from termination of these FX System Terms of Use. However, the Terms of Use will continue to apply to your prior use of the FX System and anything related to, or arising from, such use. You agree that FTB will not be liable to you or any third party for any reason, including, but not limited to, use, modification, suspension, or termination of the FX System.

You further agree that FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees are not liable or responsible, and you agree not to seek to hold FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees liable or responsible, for any losses or damages resulting from the conduct of any third parties, including, but not limited to, unauthorized access to the FX System, or unauthorized interception of, or access to, transmissions from your device(s), website, computer system(s) or network(s), while using the FX System.

You also agree to defend, hold harmless and indemnify FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees from any third party claim or action arising from or in any way related to the FX System, including all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses from all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, court actions, administrative proceedings, arbitration, mediation, judgments, litigation costs, and attorneys’ fees, of every kind and nature.

The Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement with you regarding the access and use of the FX System and supersede and replace all prior understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding the FX System. Any waiver of any provision of the Terms of Use will be effective only if in writing and signed by an FTB authorized representative.

The Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. The Terms of Use are severable and operate separately. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision or portion of the Terms of Use to be unenforceable, the unenforceable provision will be modified so as to render it enforceable to the maximum extent possible, and the remainder of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.

Privacy Notice

The privacy and security of your personal information is of the utmost importance to us. You have the right to know what types of information we gather, how we use it, and to whom we may provide it. You have a right to see our records that contain your personal information and bring any inaccuracies to our attention.

We collect relevant personal information through lawful means to administer the California Revenue & Taxation Code (R&TC). Any subsequent use will be consistent with the original purpose. We will not disclose your personal data without your consent, unless authorized by law. We use security technologies to protect all of your information from unauthorized viewing by either internal or external sources.

Our policies regarding the personal information we collect and manage are governed by law, including the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Sections 1798 – 1798.78), except as provided in R&TC Section 19570. Refer to our Privacy Notice (FTB 1131), which provides additional information regarding use, collection, and disclosure of personal information.

All of the information requested with registration is required to access and use the FX System, and we will use it to identify you and the device(s), computer system(s) and network(s) used to access and use the FX System. In addition to the information collected with the registration for the FX System, access information is automatically logged by FTB servers and software programs, including the date and time of access, session length, and pages visited under the user name. The stored information will be used to operate, deliver, and improve the FX System, monitor access to and use of the FX System for security reasons, determine usage for planning and licensing purposes, and terminate access in the event of illegal, unauthorized, or improper use. In the event of illegal or unauthorized use, the information collected may also be used for purposes of investigation and documentation of such use and in connection with any civil, administrative or criminal proceedings, and may be provided to appropriate law enforcement. We collect, compile, and use statistical information for the purpose of evaluating, managing, and improving the FX System operations, and to report statistics regarding the access and use of the FX System.

We may disclose your personal information to FTB employees for the purposes of verifying users and carrying out duties related to information security and tax administration; to law enforcement; to any individual with your consent (such as, your authorized representative); and to comply with subpoenas and government orders.

The director of the Privacy, Security, and Disclosure Bureau maintains records related to the FX System. You can obtain information about your records by:

Mail

Privacy Officer MS A181
Franchise Tax Board
PO Box 1468
Sacramento, CA 95812-1468

Phone

(916) 845-3226

Refer to FTB’s Privacy Policy Statement.

The Terms of Use are subject to change without notice. By selecting "I have read the Terms and Conditions" before accessing the FX System and using the services, you agree to the revised Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the revised Terms of Use, or if we terminate the right to use the FX System by amending the Terms of Use, you must stop using the FX System. Please review the Terms of Use, so that you will be aware of any changes.

By selecting "I have read the Terms and Conditions," you knowingly and voluntarily agree to enter this electronic agreement and comply with and accept all of the Terms of Use stated above. You also agree that any violation of any term or condition may result in the denial of your registration, suspension, limitation, blocking, revocation, or termination of your access and use of the FX System, and failure to meet any applicable electronic filing requirement.