Appropriation To Cover Printing Costs Incurred by Commission of Fine Arts

The Department of the Interior requested a decision on which fiscal year appropriations should be charged for the costs incurred by the Commission of Fine Arts for publication of its book "Sixteenth Street Architecture, Volume I," which was printed by the Government Printing Office (GPO). The Commission first ordered the printing of the book in 1977 by a printing and binding requisition accompanied by a manuscript of the book. It indicated that payment would be charged to the fiscal year (FY) 1977 appropriation. It reordered the printing services in 1978 and indicated that it would be charged to the FY 1978 appropriation. GPO completed the work in 1979. At the request of the Commission, it billed part of the costs to the Commission's 1977 appropriation and part to the 1978 appropriation. Interior believed that the entire cost should have been charged against the Commission's FY 1977 appropriation. The Commission felt that the cost should have been distributed by FY based on the actual incurrence of expenses by GPO and the availability of funds for printing. The general rule in such instances is that payments under government contracts are charged to the fiscal year appropriation current at the time that the legal obligation arises. The fact that performance of the work extended over more than one fiscal year did not mean that payments were to be split among fiscal years on the basis of services actually performed. GAO held that the printing and binding requisition accompanied by a manuscript was sufficient to allow the GPO to proceed with the job and that this created a valid obligation. Therefore, GAO agreed with Interior that the entire cost of printing the publication should have been charged to the Commission's FY 1977 appropriation.