4 FAM 840
Reimbursable agreements
(CT:FIN-442; 04-26-2017)
(Office of Origin: CGFS/FPRA/FP)
4 FAM 841 Scope and purpose
(CT:FIN-389; 03-18-2008)
This subchapter covers the Departments procedures for
processing interagency and intraagency reimbursable agreements for materials or
performance of work or services on a reimbursable basis under the Economy Act,
31 U.S.C. 1535; Section 632 (b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) as
amended, or similar provisions of law.
4 FAM 842 Agreement Requirements
(CT:FIN-442; 04-26-2017)
a. Interagency agreements under the Economy Act must
conform to subpart 617.500 of the Department of State Acquisition Regulation
(DOSAR). All parties must agree to the terms and conditions set forth in the
agreement and an authorized official(s) from each agency signs the agreement
for validity.
b. An interagency agreement must include the following
billing information (per TFM Bulletin No. 2007-03):
(1) Description of service to be provided;
(2) Parties involved;
(3) Roles and responsibilities of each party,
including the method and frequency of performance reporting; provisions for
advance payments and method of liquidating such advance, if needed; the
parties right to modify, cancel, or terminate the agreement; an alternate
dispute resolution clause; a clause specifying that if the buyer cancels the
order, the seller is authorized to collect costs incurred prior to cancellation
of the order, plus any termination costs;
(4) Legal authority (e.g., The Economy Act, 31 U.S.C.
1535);
(5) Billing address, including point-of-contact name
and telephone number; and
(6) Amount (can also be an estimate) and method of
payment.
c. An interagency agreement must include the following
accounting information:
(1) Obligation number;
(2) Fund cite (line of accounting), if different from the
obligation document number;
(3) Treasury account symbol (TAS) for both trading
partners;
(4) Business event type codes (BETC) for both trading
partners;
(5) Business partner network (BPN) for both trading
partners;
(6) Agencys invoice number, if any;
(7) Agencys purchase order (project) number, if any;
(8) Agency locator code (ALC) or disbursing station symbol
number (DSSN) (if a Department of Defense (DOD) organization) or tax/employer identification
number, if the agency does not participate in the Intra-governmental Payment
and Collection (IPAC) program; and
(9) Military interagency purchase request (MIPR)
number, if any (DOD only).
NOTE: The
Department of Treasury requires all the information listed above when
transacting reimbursements via the IPAC system.
d. Every agreement should contain a provision whereby
the agency receiving the service, i.e., the buying agency, provides a copy of
the final agreement to its ALC/DSSN contact, which should be located in the
agencys accounting and finance office or its assigned DOD Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) office. The purpose is to provide the buying
agencys accounts payable (disbursing) section with documentation in support of
any IPAC transaction applied to the agreement.
e. When the Department of State provides the services,
i.e., when the Department is the selling agency, it submits the signed
agreement, along with a reimbursement memorandum request stating the
appropriation(s), point limitation(s), and allotment number(s) credited for
income, to the BP/RPBI/FCR director for action.
4 FAM 843 Types of REIMBURSABLE
AGREEMENTS
(CT:FIN-442; 04-26-2017)
a. There are three types
of reimbursable agreements referred to in
this section:
(1) IntraagencyA State
Department bureau/office provides goods or services to another bureau/office
within the Department;
(2) Accounts receivableThe Department of State
(seller) provides goods and/or services to another Federal agency, and that
agency reimburses the Department; and
(3) Accounts
payableAnother Federal agency provides goods and/or services to the Department
of State (buyer), and the Department reimburses that agency.
b. Electronic payments are required between Federal
Government agencies; the standard payment methodology is IPAC. No check
writing techniques shall be used between and among Federal agencies unless
written approval is obtained from the Department of the Treasury, Financial
Management Service.
4 FAM 844 REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS
4 FAM 844.1 Intraagency Reimbursable
Agreements
(CT:FIN-442; 04-26-2017)
a. Intraagency (internal) reimbursement agreements are
established when a State Department bureau or office provides goods or services
to another bureau/office within the Department.
b. A written agreement (may be in memorandum form) must
be established between the customer (buyer) and servicing (seller) bureau. The
sellers executive office submits the
agreement, after it is cleared by the seller, to the BP/RPBI/FCR director for
action. The agreement must include the statutory
authority, purpose, reimbursement amount, and buyers fiscal citation(s)
to be charged and the sellers account/allotment to be credited. Also, the
submission must include appropriate documentation in support of the buyers
charge(s).
4 FAM 844.2 Interagency Accounts
Receivable Reimbursable Agreements
(CT:FIN-442; 04-26-2017)
a. The Department of State, as the seller agency, is
required to record an unfilled/unbilled customer order immediately upon receipt
and to accept an authorized intragovernmental order.
b. For those agreements
where State Department is the seller, the Accounts Receivable Branch (CGFS/F/RR/RMICD/ARB)
initiates the IPAC payment transaction based
on information from the Budget Resource Management System (BRMS) or subsequent
financial system module supporting reimbursable activity. However, in special circumstances or for compelling business reasons, an agreement may be
negotiated to allow the customer agency to
initiate the IPAC transaction. CGFS/F/RR/RMICD/ARB and BP/RPBI/FCR must review
and clear all State Department seller agreements that allow customer agencies to
initiate the IPAC payment transactions
before they are signed. If nonperformance of service, overcharge,
compromise or settlement of dispute, cancellation of agreement, or other action
reducing the financial obligation of the other agency occurs, the Department
must credit the funds back to the other agencys account. Credits must be
processed within 10 business days after receiving the buyer or seller refund
notification via IPAC or accounts payable (check payment request).
c. CGFS/F/RR/RMICD/ARB must
forward a hard copy of the paper-based Form SF-1080, Voucher for Transfers
Between Appropriations and/or Funds, or Form SF-1081, Voucher and Schedule of
Withdrawals and Credits, to the specified (other) agency and any supporting
reimbursement documentation. The U.S. agencies involved should agree to a
reasonable billing schedule. Each Form SF-1080 and form SF-1081 billing must
be prepared with sufficient information so that the other agency can readily
identify the related order.
d. BP/RPBI/FCR, in coordination with CGFS/F/RR/RMICD/ARB, should process all undisputed bills
for payments within 15 business days after the billing date. The seller
bureau/office within the Department may suspend or terminate services for
agencies that fail to make payments for undisputed portions within 30 business
days of the billing date. See 6 FAH-5 H-441
for suspension or termination of ICASS services.
4 FAM 844.3 Interagency Accounts
Payable Reimbursable Agreements
(CT:FIN-442; 04-26-2017)
a. When the Department of State, as the buyer agency,
determines that a requirement will be fulfilled by another agency, the
Department prepares and transmits an intragovernmental order to the other
(seller) agency. Negotiations between the business partners may take place
prior to the preparation of the order, and the other agency may prepare the
order for the Department. However, the order number assigned by the Department
serves as the document control number. In addition, necessary funding
information/citation must be included on the order.
b. An obligation must be recorded in the Departments financial
management system prior to transmitting the authorized order to the other
agency. If the obligation number is different from the order number, then the
obligation record must include the intragovernmental order number and any
interagency agreement associated with the obligation. An intragovernmental
order will be deemed accepted when signed by both business partners.
c. The Departments additional responsibilities as the
buyer include:
(1) Providing the seller with its agency locator code
(ALC) or disbursing station symbol number (DSSN) (for all Department of Defense
(DOD) organizations) or tax/employer identification number, if the agency does
not participate in the IPAC program. This information must be included in the
interagency agreement so that the seller can collect the funds;
(2) Returning unidentified bills to the appropriate
U.S. agency;
(3) Establishing a system for verifying receipt of
goods and services;
(4) Promptly paying bills for services/goods rendered
or bills submitted in advance, as specified in the term of the agreement. A
bill or request for payment is not subject to audit or certification in advance
of payment. Proper adjustment of amounts paid in advance must be made as
agreed to by the seller and buyer on the basis of the actual cost of goods,
services, or units provided; and
(5) Using regular follow-up procedures to ensure that
ordered goods and services are received and accepted.
4 FAM 845 Forms Used
(CT:FIN-389; 03-18-2008)
The forms used in vouchering reimbursable payments to
other U.S. agencies are form SF-1080, Voucher for Transfers Between
Appropriations and/or Funds, and form SF-1081, Voucher and Schedule of
Withdrawals and Credits.
4 FAM 846 Intragovernmental Register
(CT:FIN-389; 03-18-2008)
Agencies must register their buying and selling units with
the Business Partner Network (BPN). To register on the BPN, a business unit
must first obtain a dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number. Both the bureau/office/organization that signs a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU), interagency agreement, or other obligating document and
the other Federal agency must register and reference their respective DUNS
numbers in the agreement for the intragovernmental funding transaction.
4 FAM 847 Dispute Process
(CT:FIN-433; 09-13-2013)
The buyer and seller are expected to resolve any dispute
within 30 business days of the billing date, or as specified in the agreement
terms, for ICASS (see 6 FAH-5 H-462).
Dispute resolution must involve program offices, accounting offices,
contracting offices, and CFOs, as appropriate. Disputes must be documented in
writing with clear reasons for the dispute. Disputes resulting from accounting
treatment or contractual treatment will be resolved within 60 days by a CFOs
Councils Committee (per TFM Bulletin No. 2007-03). When the Department is the
seller, if the dispute is not resolved prior to the end of the fiscal year, the
Departments allotment will be reduced for the unauthorized balance. Also, any
compromise or settlement resulting in further charges to the buyer must be
resubmitted to BP/RPBI/FCR, which will post the charge(s) as an agreement
amendment.
4 FAM 848 and 849 unassigned