[Request for Review of GSA Settlement Action]

An airline requested a review of a General Services Administration (GSA) financial settlement stipulating that funds owed by the government to the requester would be withheld because of the requester's failure to refund amounts owed the government. GSA claimed from the requester the amount representing the value of unused airline tickets for a particular period of time. Although the requester remitted part of the total sum, GSA initiated setoff procedures to collect the remaining sum. The requester argued that: (1) the recovery time limit for the funds had expired; and (2) GSA did not prove that the refunds for the amount claimed were actually due. GAO held that, although GSA was not barred by statutory time limits from recovering the monies, it did not establish with certainty the amount of the refund. GSA should discontinue setoff against the firm's monies and refund monies already withheld. Accordingly, the claim was sustained.