provided in regulations of the General Accounting Office, 4 CFR 5.1 and 5.2, and certified as provided in 4 CFR 5.5. If the application for refund is made by the legal representative of an incompetent, it shall be supported by the certification and documentation required by 4 CFR 5.4. Such application must be accompanied by the identification card issued to the head of the household by the certifying agency.

(g) Coupons as obligations of the United States, false claims, and crimes. (1) Coupons are an obligation of the United States within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 8. The provisions of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, "Crimes and Criminal Procedure," relative to counterfeiting and alteration of obligations of the United States and the uttering, dealing in, etc., of counterfeit obligations of the United States are applicable to these coupons. All program participants and any other persons, partnerships, corporations, or other legal entities (hereinafter referred to in this subsection as "persons") having custody, care and control of coupons, shall at all times use care and caution in receiving, storing, transmitting, or otherwise handling coupons to avoid acceptance, transfer, negotiation, or use of spurious, altered, or counterfeit coupons or any unauthorized transfer, negotiation, or use of coupons and to protect coupons from theft, embezzlement, loss, damage or destruction. Any unauthorized issuance, use or transfer of coupons by any program participant or other person, or any false statement made by any program participant or other person, in any application or certification required by this part, by the plan of operation of any certifying or issuing agency, or by instructions of AMS or the Federal Reserve System, may subject such program participant or other person to criminal prosecution under any applicable provision of Title 18 U.S. Code or civil liability under the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 231 or either, or both, as well as to any legal action as may be maintained under State law.

(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of this part to the contrary, coupons may be issued to persons authorized by AMS for use in examining and inspecting program operations, compliance with program regulations, and for other purposes determined by AMS to be required for proper administration of the program. Such coupons which have been so issued and used, as well as any coupons which

AMS believes may have been issued, transferred, negotiated, used, or received in violation of any provisions of this part or of any applicable statute, shall, at the request of authorized representatives of AMS and on issuance of a receipt therefor by such representatives, be released and turned over to AMS by the bank receiving such coupons, or by any other person to whom such request is addressed, together with the certificate(s) of redemption accompanying such coupons, if any. Any such coupons so requested shall not thereafter be eligible for redemption through Federal Reserve Banks or other collection channels: Provided, however, That AMS may redeem such coupons from any such bank or person by payment of the face amount thereof upon determination by AMS that such direct redemption of coupons is warranted under all of the circumstances of the examination or inspection in which such coupons were used. Coupons received by AMS under this paragraph (g) shall be held by AMS for such disposition as may be determined by AMS on completion of the examination or inspection in which such coupons were used. In the event such coupons have not been redeemed by AMS as provided in this subsection, claims or demands relative thereto may be mailed to the local AMS Food Stamp Project Office for the project area involved.

(h) Mailing of notices and other documentation to AMS. All plans of operation, requests for authorization of food retailers and wholesale food concerns, notices and all other documents required by these regulations to be forwarded to AMS, except the responses to letters of charges for which specific provision is made in paragraph (d) of this section, shall be sent to the local AMS Food Stamp Project Office, or the appropriate office of AMS for the project area involved as indicated below:

(1) For project areas in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia: Food Distribution Division, AMS, United States Department of Agriculture, 346 Broadway, New York 13, New York.

(2) For project areas in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia: Food Distribution Division, AMS, United States Department of

Agriculture, 50 Seventh Street NE., Atlanta 23, Georgia.

(3) For project areas in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin: Food Distribution Division, AMS, United States Department of Agriculture, 536 South Clark Street, Chicago 5, Illinois.

(4) For project areas in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas: Food Distribution Division, AMS, United States Department of Agriculture, 500 South Ervay Street, Dallas 1, Texas.

(5) For project areas in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Mon

tana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming: Food Distribution Division, AMS, United States Department of Agriculture, Appraisers Building, Room 344, 630 Sansome Street, San Francisco 11, California.

(i) Saving Clause. Any or all of the provisions of this part may be withdrawn or amended by the Department.

NOTE: The recordkeeping and reporting requirements herein specified have been approved by, and any further such requirements that may be established will be subject to the approval of, the Bureau of the Budget in accordance with the Federal Reports Act of 1942.