[Retired Customs Service Employee's Entitlement to Relocation Costs]

The Customs Service requested an advance decision regarding whether an employee was entitled to reimbursement for certain relocation costs incident to his erroneous retirement and subsequent reinstatement. GAO held that: (1) although Customs asserted that the individual was entitled to reimbursement for all expenses associated with his relocation, upon his reinstatement, his decision to relocate after being erroneously retired was a personal choice and was not attributable to the Customs error; (2) the government could not be bound by the erroneous acts of its employees; and (3) the receipt of information later established to be erroneous did not afford a legal basis for a payment from appropriated funds. Accordingly, the claim was denied.