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Reimbursement for Transportation of Household Goods and Temporary Quarters Subsistence

B-196774 Aug 19, 1980
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Highlights

A certifying officer asked whether an employee was entitled to additional reimbursement for the transportation of household goods and temporary subsistence expenses incident to an intra-agency transfer. The agency disallowed the employee's claim for reimbursement for the shipment of househood goods in excess of the maximum allowable weight. The employee then claimed additional reimbursement on the basis that he packed his own household goods for shipment, which should be credited against his liabilty for the cost of shipping the excess weight. The shipment was made on a Government bill of lading by the actual expense method of shipment. Under this method, the contract is between the Government and a designated carrier and the Government pays the carrier directly. No regulation under the actual expense method authorizes an allowance for services voluntarily provided by an employee, even though the expense of such services would be reimbursable if provided by an authorized carrier. The employee did reduce his costs by packing his own goods in that the costs of packing the excess weight were not incurred. It was held that the employee was not entitled to receive a credit for the value of the packing services he rendered, but remained liable for the cost of shipping the excess weight of household goods. The agency denied the employee's claim for the cost of groceries while he occupied temporary quarters on the basis that the employee did not provide receipts as required by the individual region in itemizing his temporary subsistence expenses. GAO viewed the regulations as vesting in the head of the agency the discretion to require receipts for additional types of subsistence expenses. However, regulations that are applicable agency-wide require only that expenses for meals and food be reasonable. Thus, because the agency's regulations do not require receipts for groceries, the itemized claim for such expenditures was allowed if it was otherwise proper.

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