Reimbursement of Expenses

A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) certifying officer requested a decision concerning the payment of expenses incurred in shipping an employee's privately owned vehicle (POV) from Italy to Washington, D.C. When the employee was transferred to the American Embassy in Italy, he purchased a POV from a fellow employee who had imported the vehicle from Germany. According to the FBI, the use of POV's by its personnel at that embassy is essential for the performance of official duties, and the employee used his POV for this. When the employee was transferred from Italy to Washington, D.C., he was advised that the POV could not be shipped to the new duty station at Government expenses under FBI policy, Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), and the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM). The claimant, unable to sell the POV in the time alloted, made shipping arrangements for the vehicle. The FBI denied the claim for reimbursement of shipping expenses. After resubmission of the claim, the FBI determined that the advice given to the claimant was erroneous citing a FAM exception provision to the prohibition against shipping a foreign-made, foreign-purchased POV to the United States at Government expense. GAO did not agree that the cited portion of the FAM applied to the claimant. Accordingly, the disallowance of the claim for reimbursement was sustained.