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Claim for Air Transportation and Warehousing Services

B-201635 Feb 25, 1981
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Highlights

A company submitted a claim for the payment of 15 invoices for air transportation and warehousing services provided to the Department of the Air Force. Statutory law provides that claims against the United States are not payable unless they are received within 6 years after the claim first accrued. Although the claim was filed more than 6 years after the invoices' dates, the company argued that its claim should be considered since it had communicated with the Air Force within the 6-year timeframe. The fact that the company communicated with the Air Force within the required timeframe did not alter the fact that the claim was not received by GAO until after the 6-year statute of limitations. Since GAO was without authority to waive or modify the application of the statute, it was barred from considering the claim. The company also submitted a claim for the payment of three additional invoices for similar services provided to the Air Force. Payment of the invoices could not be justified since: (1) the first invoice evidenced a claim against a private party and not the Government; (2) a copy of the second invoice was not submitted and the record did not show any other documentation to support payment; and (3) the third invoice was for a fuel charge which was a cost to be borne by the contractor. Accordingly, the claim was dismissed in part and denied in part.

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