Allowable purchases?

See FAR 1.603-3 and related agency supplement. By my read it is only allowable when the agency head so delegates the authority. The most common delegation is where folks are issued a micro-purchase card but by read of the FAR one could conclude that the agency head could delegate someone (note it msut be in writing) without a card to make a micro-purchase.

I agree, but recently an employee submitted a SF-1161, Claim for Reimbursement for Expenditures on Official Business, for reimbursement of various office supplies and copying services. The purchase was under the micro-purchase threshold and the fed employee made the purchase using their personal credit card. I thought ratification would be necessary, and at the very least some type of counseling to the employee who made the purchase. However, it appears my agency may consider this to be an acceptable practice and the employee will receive reimbursement, no questions asked.

The whole thing seemed contrary to what I'd learned about purchasing power resting with the head of an agency and being delegated down to HCA's, HCAD's, and from there to CO's and purchase card holders.

I was curious if there was something in the books I wasn't aware of, or if this was a bad practice.

I think you may be referring to Standard Form 1164. Within the Department of Defense, you may want to take a look at DoD 7000.14-R, Vol. 10, ch. 11, "Payment as Reimbursement for Personal Expenditures," which points out its procedures "must not be used simply to avoid normal practices or circumvent laws or regulations." Certainly there are reimburseable personal expenses in furtherance of the agency's mission. Where it may get fuzzy is whether the item for which reimbursement is sought is not squarely (an authorized) personal expense. For instance, the government typically treats registration fees (e.g., for conferences) as personal expenses, which seems from one perspective may seem somewhat counterintuitive. Consider whether the item proposed for reimbursement is analogous to something historically treated as being reimburseable.

alexreb - I believe Jacques is headed in the right direction no matter the agency and that being said check your internal policies too. If there is written agency wide policy that allows the SF-1164 route then so be it. I would suggest that in many agencies agency wide policy is made under the authority of the agency head and therefore meets intent of FAR.

Most agencies really don't have much policy on this. I did a google search and see some, like the USGS, are clear such purchases of supplies are prohibited. See below. But I found nothing that clearly says the opposite that it's permitted.

2. Policy.

A. Authorized Uses. USGS employees may be reimbursed for the following cash expenditures:

(1) Mileage reimbursement, tolls, and parking fees for use of privately owned vehicle for official business. Mileage reimbursement is for local travel only and is based on the mileage from the duty station to the place of official business and return. An employee must deduct the normal daily commute if departing from or returning to their residence. This deduction should be clearly notated on the SF-1164.

(2) Taxicab, bus, subway, and streetcar fares.

(3) Registration fees for attendance at meetings within the local area - receipt required. Note: For payments using the Government charge card, ?purchase business line? is the preferred method of payment for registration fees.

(4) Training and tuition - receipt and training form required. The training form must be signed by the approving official and the SF-1164 should be annotated that no other payment mechanism was accepted by the vendor.

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B. Prohibited Uses. SF-1164 shall not be used to claim reimbursement for the following:

(1) Any official Government purchase, such as supplies or equipment, made by an employee who has not been designated with purchase authority. Any micro purchase made in the local area should be charged to the Government charge card by an employee with purchase authority only.

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Thanks all. My agency doesn't seem to have policy on this, but the DOD and USGS references seem to be saying the same things, i.e., the SF-1164 is for reimbursement of personal expenses and not official government purchases of supplies/services. Some type of delegated purchasing authority is required for the latter.