TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Topics | Sections |
|---|---|
| OVERVIEW | 9.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? 9.2 What is the scope of this chapter? 9.3 What is the overall policy? 9.4 What are the authorities for this chapter? 9.5 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter? |
| RESPONSIBILITIES | 9.6 Who is responsible for the Service’s Miscellaneous Obligations (MO)? |
| MISCELLANEOUS OBLIGATION REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS | 9.7 What types of MOs does the Service process? 9.8 For what types of transactions must employees NOT use the MO process? 9.9 What commitment item should employees use on an MO? |
| FHWA POINT OF OBLIGATION (POB) PROCESS | 9.10 What is a Federal Highway Administration Point of Obligation (POB)? 9.11 How are POBs recorded in the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS)? 9.12 When is a POB MO reversed or de-obligated? 9.13 How long can the POB MO stay obligated in FBMS? |
OVERVIEW
9.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter establishes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) policy and procedures for the use of Miscellaneous Obligations (MO) in the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS).
9.2 What is the scope of this chapter?
A. This chapter applies to employees involved in the process of entering MOs into FBMS. It also applies to employees who approve, review, or record MOs and employees who advise on any aspect of the process.
B. This chapter does not cover:
(1) Intragovernmental Transactions (IGT) (i.e., buy/sell transactions and agreements with another Federal agency, bureau, or office) (see 260 FW 10 and Part 264);
(2) Federal procurement contracts (see Part 301);
(3) Federal assistance agreements (i.e., grants and cooperative agreements) (see Parts 515 - 517);
(4) Memorandums of Agreement (MOA), Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), or other agreements where the Service does not transfer funds or property (see Part 301); and
(5) Reimbursable agreements where a non-Service entity pays the Service to provide products or services (see 264 FW 2).
9.3 What is the overall policy? We must only use MOs under limited circumstances, when there is no other, more specific, business process or transaction type available in FBMS. The employee who creates an MO bears the responsibility for the accuracy and accountability of these actions.
9.4 What are the authorities for this chapter?
A. Department of the Interior’s (Department) Office of Acquisition and Property Management:
(1) Contractor Access to FBMS (Departmental Acquisition, Arts, and Asset Policy (AAAP)-0063),
(2) Purchase of Training at the Department (Departmental AAAP-0052), and
(3) Supplemental Policy for Interagency and Intra-Departmental Agreements (Departmental AAAP-0190).
B. Department’s Office of Financial Management:
(1) Financial Management Handbook, Chapter 31, FBMS Segregation of Duties Policy;
(2) Inter-Intra Agency Agreement Handbook; and
(3) Policy on Appropriate Uses of Miscellaneous Obligations.
C. Documentary Evidence Requirement for Government Obligations (31 U.S.C. 1501).
D. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR).
E. Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Programs (23 U.S.C. 201).
F. General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR 5).
G. Government Accountability Office’s Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (the Red Book):
(1) The Bona Fide Needs Rule, Chapter 5, section B; and
(2) Obligation of Appropriations, Chapter 7.
H. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget.
I. OMB Circular A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control.
J. U.S. Department of Transportation:
(1) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Project Funds Management Guide for State Grants, Attachment 1; and
(2) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21 Century Act.
K. U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Treasury Financial Manual, Part 2, Chapter 4700, Federal Entity Reporting Requirements for the Financial Report of the United States Government, Appendix 8, Intra-governmental Transaction (IGT) Buy/Sell.
L. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal [Grant] Awards (2 CFR 200).
M. 328 Departmental Manual, Administrative Control of Funds; Chapter 1, Statute, Responsibilities, Violations.
9.5 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter?
A. Certifying funds official is the employee in the duty station/office who has the authority to certify that funds are available for an MO.
B. Commitment items (Budget Object Code [BOC]) are codes that drive the general ledger posting of individual transactions. These codes describe the nature of the service or article for which obligations are first incurred, regardless of the purpose, function, or program served. Users should refer to the Department's BOC definitions list and choose the code that best fits the transaction.
C. Document creator is the employee who has the role in FBMS to create an MO document and is responsible for obtaining the appropriate level(s) of approval.
D. Federal Program Agency (FPA) is a department, instrumentality, office, commission, board, service, or other establishment of the U.S. Government.
E. G-Invoicing is the electronic solution FPAs use to manage IGT buy/sell transactions.
F. Initial approver is the employee in the duty station/office who has the authority to approve MOs.
G. Micro-purchase is defined by the FAR as an acquisition of supplies or services, the aggregate amount of which does not exceed the Micro-Purchase Thresholds (MPT) set by law.
H. Miscellaneous Obligations (MO) are valid obligations with non-Federal entities that do not use the acquisition, financial assistance, or G-Invoicing process in FBMS. Employees may only use MOs when they are authorized to do so.
I. PRISM isthe Department's contract management system.
RESPONSIBILITIES
9.6 Who is responsible for the Service’s MOs? See Table 9-1.
Table 9-1: Responsibilities for the Service’s MOs
| These employees... | Are responsible for... |
| A. The Director | Approving or declining to approve Servicewide policy. |
| B. Assistant Director –Management and Administration (i.e., AD – MA or Associate Chief Financial Officer) | (1) Maintaining and enforcing compliance with this policy, (2) Ensuring there are sufficient controls for the review and use of MOs, (3) Complying with the Department’s quarterly review and annual certification requirements on MOs, and (4) Identifying and establishing roles to implement approvals outside of FBMS. |
| C. Joint Administrative Operations (JAO), Administrative Operations Center (AOC), Financial Operations Division Chief | (1) Recommending changes to the MO policy; (2) Ensuring OMB, Treasury, and Departmental MO policies are part of our policy; (3) Ensuring staff record and process MOs in the Service’s financial system (i.e., FBMS); (4) Providing oversight and review of MOs in line with Departmental policy (e.g., reviews and certifications) to ensure that timely de-obligations occur as appropriate; and (5) Providing guidance on MO obligation policies and procedures. |
| D. JAO, AOC, Payments and Collections, Branch Chief | Providing guidance to Service employees on MO policies and procedures. |
| E. National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), Infrastructure Management Division (IMD), Regional Chief, or Regional Engineering Branch Chief | Ensuring FHWA Point of Obligations (POB) are properly approved and documented. |
| F. Employees involved in the process of entering MOs into FBMS (i.e., employees who create, approve, review, or record MOs or advise on any aspect of the process) | (1) Familiarizing themselves with and applying the authorities and procedures in this chapter; (2) Ensuring MOs are not used for transactions listed in section 9.8; (3) Ensuring MOs are made in accordance with all regulations, policies, and directives applicable to the activity; and (4) Ensuring that, at a minimum, the following information is provided for each approved MO document: (b) A clearly documented period of performance that includes start and end dates where possible, (c) Name of the vendor providing the good(s) or service(s), (d) A description of the good(s) or service(s) that the vendor is providing, (e) Supporting documentation as we describe in Table 9-2, and (f) Authorized approving signatures. |
MISCELLANEOUS OBLIGATION REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS
9.7 What types of MOs does the Service process? See Table 9-2.
Table 9-2: Types of MOs, Instructions, and Documentation Required
| Type | Instructions and Documentation Required |
| A. Commercial Bills of Lading (CBL) not related to a contract or employee relocation | Include signed CBL. |
| B. FHWA POB | Include: (1) Full packet of the construction plan; (2) The Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) document that the NWRS IMD Regional Chief or Regional Engineering Branch Chief has signed; and (3) The Regional Transportation Coordinator’s approval of the funding. |
| C. Inter/intra-agency Personnel Act agreements – non-Federal only | Include: (1) Notification of Personnel Action (Standard Form (SF)-50), or (2) Assignment Agreement (Optional Form (OF)-69). |
| D. Land acquisition, including easements and rights of way | Include signed contractual agreement between Realty Officer and seller (third party). |
| E. Micro-purchases using FBMS when a purchase card is not accepted and that do not include sensitive property – non-Federal only | Include: (1) Approved Acquisition Request (FWS Form 3-2109) or equivalent documentation showing fund availability/certification for the estimated amount, and (2) Quote/invoice from vendor or equivalent documentation to support the MO. Processing as an MO is optional. The items above are required for the purchase, but are not uploaded to an MO. |
| F. Tort claims | Include: (1) Report that shows the Service is obligated to pay the claim (if applicable), and (2) Court documents showing judgement against the Service (if applicable). Processing as an MO is optional. Documents do not need to be uploaded in FBMS if they contain sensitive information. However, offices must maintain the supporting documentation in accordance with their procedures for handling sensitive information. |
| G. Training courses and educational activities – non-Federal only (at or below the MPT when the purchase card is not accepted) (For purchases above the MPT up to and including $50,000, see Departmental-AAAP-0052, Purchase of Training at the Department) | Include SF-182, Authorization, Agreement, and Certification of Training, approved as follows: (1) At or below the MPT when the purchase card is not accepted – Supervisor, (2) Above the MPT up to and including $25,000 – Training Official, or (3) Above $25,000 up to and including $50,000 – Senior Training Official. |
9.8 For what types of transactions must employees NOT use the MO process? Employees must not use MOs for the following types of transactions:
A. Employee-related costs or reimbursements (e.g., awards; expenses claimed on an OF-1164, Claim for Reimbursement for Expenditures on Official Business; payroll; permanent change of station; temporary duty travel; transit subsidy; etc.).
B. Estimated or future purchases (i.e., items or services that are forecasted).
C. Express mail (e.g., FedEx).
D. FAR procurements (including when a charge card is used) for:
(1) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA),
(2) Commercial leased space,
(3) Contracts and modifications,
(4) Contracts studies,
(5) End-of-year acquisitions not processed through PRISM,
(6) Indefinite Delivery/Quantity (IDIQ) contracts,
(7) Photographic services,
(8) Realty transactions (e.g., title search, closings, fees, environmental tests, surveys),
(9) Relocation service contracts, and
(10) Task orders against IDIQs and BPA calls.
E. Federal agencies, bureaus, or offices – any type of purchases or agreements.
F. Financial assistance awards (i.e., cooperative agreements and grants).
G. Purchase of sensitive or controlled property (i.e., laptops, mobile devices, firearms, servers, desktops).
H. MOAs or MOUs.
I. Micro-purchases that can be made using the purchase card.
J. “Parking” of funding (i.e., saving prior year funds for a future purchase).
K. Split purchases.
L. Tentative quotes.
M. Training courses or other educational activities at or below the MPT when the purchase card is accepted.
N. Utilities (obligation is only allowed through a PRISM contract).
O. Volunteer payments (FWS Form 3-2373, Claim for Reimbursement for Volunteer Expenses).
P. Any other item/transaction not listed in Table 9-2.
9.9 What commitment item should employees use on an MO?
A. Employees must be careful when selecting the commitment item (BOC) for an MO.
B. Never use commitment item 252Z00 – Contracts, Other.
C. Contact the JAO Payments and Collections team with any questions about the appropriateness of a commitment item.
FHWA POINT OF OBLIGATION (POB) PROCESS
9.10 What is an FHWA POB? Title 23 U.S.C. 201 states that Federal agencies should recognize contractual obligations in the Highway Trust Fund when the PS&E for construction of a project are approved. These obligations are referred to as POB documents.
9.11 How are POBs recorded in FBMS? We record POBs in FBMS:
A. As an MO using the “ZMOB” purchase document type.
B. Using a generic vendor code of “0071324230 MISCELLANEOUS VENDOR.”
C. Using commitment item 252H00 – Contractual obligations for POB projects.
D. Attaching the following supporting documentation for the transaction:
(1) Full packet for the construction plan,
(2) PS&E document that the NWRS IMD Regional Chief or Regional Engineering Branch Chief has signed, and
(3) The Regional Transportation Coordinator’s approval of funding.
9.12 When is a POB MO reversed or de-obligated? We must reverse or de-obligate a POB MO when we enter the formal obligation in FBMS through PRISM, which ties the obligation to an actual vendor.
9.13 How long can the POB MO stay obligated in FBMS? Although the legislation does not dictate a timeframe for how long POBs may remain before a contract is awarded, the Service requires that the transaction be awarded through PRISM within 120 days. If a POB extension is needed beyond 120 days, we require a justification for the extension as part of the backup documentation.