Citation Nr: 21023469 Decision Date: 04/20/21 Archive Date: 04/20/21 DOCKET NO. 18-47 321 DATE: April 20, 2021 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation benefits in the amount of $7,813.81 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND As an initial matter, the Board notes that on August 24, 2020 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement) was received. In a statement accompanying the VA Form 10182, the Veteran stated that she submitted the form in response to an August 12, 2020 letter from the Board. The Board notes that the August 12, 2020 letter directing the Veteran to appeal under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) review system was issued in error. The Veteran’s appeal remains pending in the legacy appeal system. Should the Veteran elect to opt-in to the AMA system, any such opt-in must comply with the requirements under 38 C.F.R. § 3.2400(c)(2). The development directed by the Board in its last remand in August 2019 was not accomplished. Where the remand orders of the Board or the Court are not complied with, the Board errs as a matter of law when it fails to ensure compliance. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The August 2019 remand directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) to provide the Veteran with a Statement of the Case (SOC), as the Board found that the Veteran raised the issue of whether the debt was properly created, to include the amount of debt owed and the matter of sole administrative error. 38 C.F.R. § 20.201. As noted in the Board remand, where a Veteran challenges the validity of the debt and seeks waiver of the debt, the Regional Office must first fully review the debt’s validity and, if the office believes the debt to be valid, prepare a written decision fully justifying the validity of the debt before referring the waiver request to the Committee on Waivers and Compromises. See VAOPGCPREC 6-98 (July 24, 1998). The Board notes that a debtor has the right to informally dispute the existence or amount of the debt, to request waiver of collection of the debt, to a hearing on the waiver request, and to appeal the Department of Veterans Affairs decision underlying the debt, by filing any such dispute or request in writing. 38 C.F.R. § 1.911 (emphasis added). Nevertheless, in a May 2020 subsequent development letter, the RO informed the Veteran that submission of VA Form 21-0958, Notice of Disagreement (NOD) was required prior to adjudication of the issue of whether the overpayment of compensation benefits in the amount of $7,813.81 due to change in dependency status was properly created, to include the amount of debt owed and the raised matter of sole administrative error. The Veteran was informed that the NOD must be returned within 30 days. The Veteran subsequently returned a signed VA Form 21-0958 in May 2020. In an August 2020 memorandum, the RO stated that no SOC was issued as deviation from the Board’s remand instructions was required. Specifically, the RO stated that VA sent a letter to the Veteran dated May 1, 2020 requesting that the Veteran submit an NOD on the standardized form, and that the Veteran did not respond. As noted above, the Veteran submitted the requested form in May 2020. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that a remand is necessary, as there has not been substantial compliance with the August 2019 Board remand directives. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Issue an SOC with respect to the claim of whether the overpayment of compensation benefits in the amount of $7,813.81 due to change in dependency status was properly created, to include the amount of debt owed and the raised matter of sole administrative error. TANYA SMITH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Bynum, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.