DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Contract Management Agency
INSTRUCTION
Government Purchase Cards
Contracts Directorate DCMA-INST 117
CPR: DCMA-AQ March 29, 2013
Validated current, March 10, 2014
1. PURPOSE. This Instruction:
a. Reissues DCMA Instruction (DCMA-INST), “Government Purchase Cards” (Reference
(a)).
b. Supplements the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 8 and 13.301 (Reference (b))
and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Parts 208 and 213 (Reference
(c)) procedures for use of a Government-wide commercial purchase card.
c. Is established in compliance with DoD Directive 5105.64 (Reference (d)).
2. APPLICABILITY. This Instruction
provides standard procedures to be followed at field
activity and operational levels respectively.
3. MANAGERS’ INTERNAL CONTROL PROGRAM. In accordance with the DCMA-
INST 710, “Managers’ Internal Control Program” (Reference (e)), this Instruction is subject to
evaluation and testing. The process flowchart is located at Appendix A.
4. RELEASABILITY – UNLIMITED. This Instruction is approved for public release.
5. PLAS CODE. E211, Procure Supplies and Services.
6. POLICY RESOURCE WEB PAGE. https://home.dcma.mil/policy/117r
7. EFFECTIVE DATE. By order of the Director, DCMA, this Instruction is effective
immediately.
Timothy P. Callahan
Executive Director
Contracts
DCMA-INST 117
March 29, 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1 – POLICY
1.1. Policy ................................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2 – ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1. Government Purchase Card (GPC) Billing Official .........................................................5
2.2. Billing Official Supervisor ................................................................................................5
2.3. Agency/Organization Program Coordinator (A/OPC)......................................................5
2.4. GPC Cardholders ..............................................................................................................6
2.5. Contracting Officer ...........................................................................................................6
2.6. Payment Cardholder..........................................................................................................6
2.7 All DCMA Employees ......................................................................................................6
2.8 The Command Chain ........................................................................................................6
CHAPTER 3 - PROCEDURES
3.1. Establish a GPC Billing Official Account ........................................................................7
3.2. Establish a GPC Cardholder Account ...............................................................................7
3.3. Use of the GPC to Purchase Supplies or Services ............................................................8
3.4. Use the GPC to Make Contract Payments ......................................................................10
3.5. Inspection and Rating .....................................................................................................10
3.6. Misuse, Fraud, and Abuse ...............................................................................................10
3.7. Notification of Misuse ....................................................................................................11
APPENDIX
Appendix A. Government Purchase Card Flow Process ........................................................13
GLOSSARY
Acronyms ................................................................................................................................18
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REFERENCES
(a) DCMA Instruction, “Government Purchase Cards,” July 31, 2011 (hereby canceled)
(b) FAR Parts 8 and 13.301
(c) DFARS Parts 208 and 213
(d) DoD Directive 5105.64, “Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA),”
January 10, 2013
(e) DCMA-INST 710, “Managers’ Internal Control Program,” September 12, 2011
(f) Department of Defense Financial Management Handbook (DoDFMR) Volume 5, Chapter 33 and
Volume 10, Chapter 23
(g) DCMA “Government Purchase Card (GPC) User’s Guide,” October 2, 2012
(h) Sections 1301, 1341, and 1517 of title 31, United States Code, Anti-Deficiency Act
(i) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (USD) Memorandum on “Government Charge Card
Disciplinary Guide for Civilian Employees” dated April 21, 2003
DCMA-INST 117
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CHAPTER 1
POLICY
1.1. POLICY. It is DCMA policy that:
1.1.1. The payment for supplies and services is completed effectively and efficiently via the
Government wide commercial purchase card.
1.1.2 Except as provided in FAR 32.1108(b)(2) (Reference (b)), the Government-wide
purchase card is authorized for use in making and/or paying for purchases of supplies, services,
or construction in accordance with the references listed in this instruction.
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CHAPTER 2
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1. GOVERNMENT PURCHASE CARD (GPC) BILLING OFFICIAL. The GPC billing
official shall:
2.1.1. Demonstrate high integrity and ethical behavior.
2.1.2. Complete training requirements.
2.1.3. Complete the DCMA Cardholder/Billing Official Setup form (located on the resource
page) and DD Form 577, Appointment/Termination Record-Authorized Signature. Then they
must submit the forms to the GPC Inbox.
2.1.4. Review, approve, and certify statements at Access Online (Reference (f)).
2.1.5. Submit prospective cardholder’s training certificates and setup forms to the GPC
Inbox.
2.1.6. Initiate new account requests for prospective cardholders in the DoD Purchase Card
Online System (PCOLS) Authorization, Issuance and Maintenance (AIM) application.
2.1.7. Review, approve, certify, and initiate manual payment for the use of the GPC to make
contract payments.
2.2. BILLING OFFICAL SUPERVISOR. The billing official supervisor provisions (creates a
role and populates the role with a person) the new billing official to the Billing Official Pool in
the DoD PCOLS Enterprise Monitoring and Management of Accounts (EMMA) application.
2.3. AGENCY/ORGANIZATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR (A/OPC). The A/OPC
shall:
2.3.1. Issue appointment letters for GPC billing officials and cardholders.
2.3.2. Establish new billing officials on existing billing accounts or setup a new billing
account at US Bank.
2.3.3. Inspect and rate program members in accordance with the GPC User’s Guide
(Reference (g)) (only Level III and IV A/OPC will do the inspection and rating).
2.3.4. Notify the command chain (commander and supervisor) promptly when a misuse of
the GPC has been discovered.
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2.3.5. Review recommendations of corrective actions for GPC misuse from the command
chain and concur/nonconcur within 5 business days.
2.4. GPC CARDHOLDERS. GPC cardholders shall:
2.4.1. Demonstrate high integrity and ethical behavior.
2.4.2. Complete training requirements.
2.4.3. Complete DCMA Cardholder/Billing Official setup form.
2.4.4. Use the GPC to purchase supplies and services using the procedures outlined in this
instruction.
2.5. CONTRACTING OFFICER. The contracting officer shall:
2.5.1. Specify the use of a GPC as the method of payment on a contract as long as clause
FAR 52.232-36, Payment by Third Party (Reference (b)) is included in the contract.
2.5.2. Retain copies of the invoice, and a statement that reflects payment in the contract file.
2.6. PAYMENT CARDHOLDER. The payment cardholder shall:
2.6.1. Receive a copy of the contract (and any modifications), an invoice from the vendor,
and a receiving acknowledgement from the customer before authorizing payment.
2.6.2. Retain a copy of the contract, the invoice, and the receiving documents in the GPC
purchase file.
2.6.3. Reconcile monthly statements promptly.
2.7. ALL DCMA EMPLOYEES. All DCMA employees are responsible for identifying and
stopping fraud, waste and abuse of the purchase card.
2.8. THE COMMAND CHAIN. The command chain shall respond to the A/OPC with their
investigation into the cause of any misuse of the GPC, along with the corrective action to prevent
such misuse in the future within 10 business days.
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CHAPTER 3
PROCEDURES
3.1. ESTABLISH A GPC BILLING OFFICIAL ACCOUNT.
3.1.1. Prospective GPC billing officials must complete the following training requirements
before an account is assigned to them:
3.1.1.1. Defense Acquisition University (DAU) GPC Tutorial CLG001.
3.1.1.2. Section 508 Training.
3.1.1.3. Access Online training at DCMA Media Site.
3.1.1.4. Certifying Official Legislation Foundation Training.
3.1.2. Prospective billing officials must complete the DCMA Cardholder/Billing Official
Setup form and the DD Form 577, and submit the forms to the GPC Inbox.
3.1.3. The billing official supervisor provisions (creates a role and populates the role with a
person) the new billing official to the Billing Official Pool in the DoD PCOLS EMMA
application.
3.1.4. The A/OPC will issue an appointment letter authorizing the billing account.
3.1.5. The A/OPC will establish the new billing official on the existing billing account or
setup a new billing account at US Bank.
3.2. ESTABLISH A GPC CARDHOLDER ACCOUNT.
3.2.1. Prospective GPC cardholders must complete the following training requirements before
a card is issued to them:
3.2.1.1. DAU GPC Tutorial CLG001.
3.2.1.2. Section 508 Training.
3.2.1.3. Access Online training at DCMA Media Site.
3.2.2. Prospective cardholders must complete the DCMA Cardholder/Billing Official Setup
form.
3.2.3. The billing official must submit the prospective cardholder’s training certificates and
setup form to the GPC Inbox.
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3.2.4. The billing official initiates the new account request in the DoD PCOLS AIM
application. Required approvals in AIM include:
• Cardholder Supervisor
• Billing Official
• Billing Official’s Supervisor
• Resource Manager
• A/OPC
3.2.5. The A/OPC will issue an appointment letter authorizing use of the account.
3.2.6. The cardholder account is then opened at US Bank.
3.3. USE OF THE GPC TO PURCHASE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES.
3.3.1. Identify the mission requirement (Reference (g)).
3.3.2. Determine if the total known requirement is within the cardholder's limits (Reference
(g)).
3.3.3. Determine if funds are available (Reference (h)).
3.3.4. Screen mandatory sources of supply and obtain any required approvals (Reference
(g)).
3.3.5. Screen for prohibited items in the DCMA GPC User’s Guide, Appendix A, (Reference
(g)).
3.3.6. Submit a completed GPC Prior Approval Form to the billing official for signature
(Reference (g)).
3.3.7. Verify that the merchant accepts the GPC Visa card (Reference (g)).
3.3.8. Place the order (in person, via telephone, via internet). Remember to inform the
merchant of the Government's tax exempt status (Reference (g)).
3.3.9. Log purchase in the Access Online Order Management system and the DCMA
Monthly Purchase Log (Reference (g)).
3.3.10. Record the date of receipt in Access Online and the DCMA Monthly Purchase
Log. If the item(s) are received by someone other than the cardholder, written verification that
the item or service was received must be in the cardholder's files (Reference (g)).
3.3.11. Make a property book entry if it is an inventory item (Reference (g)).
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3.3.12. Comply with all laws and regulations pertaining to prohibited items and items
requiring coordination prior to purchase such as (Reference (g)):
3.3.12.1. Prohibited items are identified in the DCMA GPC User’s Guide (reference (g)).
3.3.12.2. Purchases requiring coordination are included in the DCMA GPC User’s
Guide, chapter 2 (Reference (g)),, and include the following:
• Information Technology (IT): Individual Workstation Peripherals and
Consumable IT Supplies Valued At Less than $500
• IT: IT Acquisitions - Non-Programmed Acquisitions Valued At $3,000 Or Below
• IT: IT Acquisitions - Non-Programmed Acquisitions Valued At Over $3,000
• Civil engineer materials and real property (installed equipment). Authorizing
Official: Local facility manager
• Construction Authorizing Official: Local Contracting Office. Construction is
limited to $2,000.
• Hazardous and Potentially Hazardous Materials (e.g. acetone, alcohol, ether, etc).
Authorizing Official: Local facilities manager.
• Facility and planning and management
• Paid Advertisements
3.3.13. Reconcile monthly statement at Access Online promptly (Reference (g)).
3.3.14. Cardholder approves and reconciles each transaction posted to the statement, in the
bank system and with hard copy documents (Reference (g)).
3.3.15. Cardholder approves the statement in its entirety once all individual transactions
have been reconciled (Reference (g)).
3.3.16. Billing official reviews, approves, and certifies statement at Access Online
(Reference (g)).
3.3.17. Cardholder is locked out after 15 days from cycle end-date. In this situation the
billing official must act for the cardholder and approve transactions prior to being able to
approve and certify the statement (Reference (g)).
3.3.18. If unable to resolve any issue with the merchant, cardholder shall start the dispute
process in Access Online (Reference (g)).
3.4. USE THE GPC TO MAKE CONTRACT PAYMENTS.
3.4.1. Warranted contracting officers may specify the use of a GPC as the method of
payment on a contract. The contract shall include FAR 52.232-36, Payment by Third Party
(Reference (b)).
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3.4.2. The payment cardholder must receive a copy of the contract (and any modifications),
an invoice from the vendor, and a receiving acknowledgement from the customer before
authorizing payment. They must forward a copy of the invoice, along with the statement that
reflects payment, to the contracting officer for the contract file.
3.4.3. The payment cardholder shall retain a copy of the contract, the invoice, and the
receiving documents in the GPC purchase file.
3.4.4. Payment cardholder reconciles monthly statement promptly.
3.4.5. Billing official reviews, approves, certifies, and initiates manual payment.
3.5. INSPECTION AND RATING. Level III and Level IV A/OPCs will inspect and rate
program members in accordance with the GPC User’s Guide (Reference (g)).
3.6. MISUSE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE.
3.6.1. DCMA employees are responsible for identifying and stopping fraud, waste, and
abuse of the purchase card. All employees must report instances of suspected fraud or abuse to
the billing official, supervisor, A/OPCs, procurement official, legal counsel, or the Inspector
General’s office.
3.6.2. Employees should be alert for the following possible indicators of fraud, waste, or
abuse:
3.6.2.1. Repetitive buys to the same vendor.
3.6.2.2. Purchase cards and account numbers are not safeguarded.
3.6.2.3. The billing official or cardholder authorizes someone else to use the card.
3.6.2.4. Inadequate oversight by management and/or billing officials.
3.6.2.5. Improper purchases.
3.6.2.6. Payments made for items not received.
3.6.2.7. Split purchases to avoid credit card limitations.
3.6.2.8. Someone other than the billing official approving a cardholder’s account.
3.6.2.9. Cardholders returning merchandise to vendors for store credit vouchers instead
of having card credit issued back to the GPC account; and intentional use of the GPC for other
than official Government business.
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3.6.3. Disciplinary Action for Improper or Fraudulent Use: Improper, fraudulent use or
abuse of the GPC (including convenience checks) is forbidden and may result in disciplinary
action and pecuniary liability. DCMA requires supervisors, who receive information indicating
that an employee has engaged in misuse of the GPC, to take appropriate action. The
circumstances of each individual case will determine the appropriate type of corrective or
disciplinary/adverse actions (Reference (i)).
3.7. NOTIFICATION OF MISUSE.
3.7.1. If A/OPC becomes aware of the misuse (misuse means improper, fraudulent, abusive
or negligent use of the GPC including use at establishments or for purposes inconsistent with the
official business of DCMA or applicable standards of conduct) of a GPC account, then they will
notify the command chain (commander and supervisor) promptly, when possible within 3
business days, that the misuse has been discovered. This notification will be in the form of an
email or if discovered as part of the annual audit process, via a briefing at the conclusion of the
audit.
3.7.2. The Command chain will respond to the A/OPC with their investigation of the cause
and their corrective action to prevent such misuse in the future. This response shall be provided
to the A/OPC within 10 business days and shall include:
3.7.2.1. Signed statements of all pertinent facts of the transaction from the billing official
and the cardholder.
3.7.2.2. All documents pertaining to the transaction including but not limited to the GPC
Pre-approval form, GPC Purchase Log, receipts, invoices, packing slips.
3.7.2.3. Commander’s recommendation to continue or close the billing official and
cardholder’s accounts.
3.7.2.4. Commander’s recommendation of corrective action.
3.7.2.5. Provide the A/OPC a statement that appropriate corrective or
disciplinary/adverse action has been taken.
3.7.3. The A/OPC will review the recommendations and concur/nonconcur with the
Commander’s recommendations within 5 business days.
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Start 3.1.1.
APPENDIX A
ESTABLISH A GPC BILLING OFFICIAL ACCOUNT
Stop: Account is
opened at US Bank.
Prospective GPC Billing
Officials must complete
the training requirements
listed in section 3.1.1.
Prospective Billing
Official must complete the
DCMA Cardholder/Billing
Official Setup Form and
DD577. Send to GPC
Inbox.
The A/OPC will issue an
Appointment Letter
authorizing the Billing
Account.
The A/OPC will establish
the new Billing Official on
the existing Billing
account or set up a new
Billing account at US
Bank.
Billing Official Supervisor
provisions new Billing
Official in DoD PCOLS
EMMA application.
DCMA-INST 117
March 29, 2013
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Start 3.2.1.
APPENDIX A
ESTABLISH A GPC CARDHOLDER ACCOUNT
Stop: Cardholder
Account is then
opened at US Bank.
Prospective Cardholders
must complete the training
requirements listed in
section 3.2.1.
Prospective Billing
Official must complete the
DCMA Cardholder/Billing
Official Setup Form.
Billing Official initiates
the new account request in
the DoD PCOLS AIM
application. Required
approvals are listed in
section 3.2.4.
The A/OPC will issue an
Appointment Letter
authorizing use of the
account.
Billing Official submits
the prospective
Cardholder’s training
certificates and setup form
to the GPC Inbox.
DCMA-INST 117
March 29, 2013
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Start 3.3.
Stop:
Determine
appropriate
method of
Acquisition.
Stop: Obtain
funding.
Stop:
Determine
appropriate
method of
Acquisition
.
Stop: Process
Completed.
APPENDIX A
USE OF GPC TO PURCHASE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES
1
1
If the Cardholder is locked out of the system, the Billing Official must act for the Cardholder.
Cardholder shall start the
dispute process in Access
Online.
Place order and inform the
merchant of the
Government’s tax exempt
status.
Identify the mission
requirement.
Screen mandatory sources
of supply and obtain
approvals.
Screen for prohibited
items IAW DCMA GPC
User’s
Guide, Appendix
A.
Submit GPC Prior
Approval form to Billing
Official to approve.
Log purchase in the
Access Online Order
Management system and
the monthly Purchase Log.
Record the date of receipt
in Access Online and
DCMA Monthly Purchase
Log IAW 3.3.10.
Contact the Accountable
Property Officer (APO) to enter
the item into the Defense
Property Accountability System
(DPAS).
Comply with all laws and
regulations pertaining to
prohibited items and items
requiring coordination IAW
3.3.12.
Reconcile monthly
statement at Access
Online promptly.
Cardholder approves and
reconciles each transaction
posted to statement, in the
bank system and with hard
copy documents.
1
Cardholder approves the
statement in its entirety
once all individual
transactions are
reconciled.
1
Billing Official reviews,
approves, and certifies
statement at Access
Online.
Requirements
within any
cardholder’s limit?
Funds available
from FB?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Does the
merchant accept
the GPC Visa?
No
Yes
Is there an
unresolved
dispute?
No
Yes
Does the item meet
accountable
inventory standards
I/A/W the
Financial
Management
Regulation?
No
Yes
DCMA-INST 117
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APPENDIX A
USE OF GPC TO MAKE CONTRACT PAYMENTS
Start 3.4.1
Is payment by
Credit Card
acceptable?
Stop: Credit Card is
not an acceptable
form of payment.
Warranted Contracting
Officers specifies the use
of a purchase card, within
warrant their warrant
limit, and includes FAR
52.232-36 in the contract.
Payment Cardholder must
receive a copy of the contract
(and any Modifications), an
invoice from vendor and a
receiving acknowledgement from
the customer before
authorizing
payment.
No
Yes
The Payment Cardholder will
forward a copy of the contract,
the invoice, along with the
statement reflecting payment, to
the Contracting Officer for the
contract file.
Payment Cardholder shall
retain a copy of the
contract, the invoice, and
the receiving documents in
the GPC purchase file.
Payment Cardholder
reconciles monthly
statement promptly.
Billing Official reviews,
approves, certifies, and
initiates manual payment.
Stop: Process
Complete.
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Start 3.6-
3.7
Stop: Process
complete.
APPENDIX A
DISCOVERY/NOTIFICATION OF MISUSE, FRAUD AND ABUSE
Are there
indicators of
improper,
fraudulent use or
abuse of GPC?
Stop: No action necessary
beyond the normal
inspections and ratings
IAW 3.5.
Notify A/OPC and A/OPC
will notify the command
chain within 3 business
days that the misuse has
been discovered.
The command chain will respond
within 10 business days to
A/OPC with their investigation
of the cause and the corrective
action to prevent such misuse in
the future. The response shall
include information IAW 3.7.2.
No
Yes
A/OPC will review the
recommendations and
concur/non-concur with
the Commander’s
recommendation within 5
business days.
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ACRONYMS
ADP Automatic Data Processing
AIM Authorization, Issuance and Maintenance application
A/OPC Agency/Organization Program Coordinator
DAU Defense Acquisition University
DCMA-INST DCMA Instruction
DFARS Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
DoDFMR Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation
EMMA Enterprise Monitoring and Management of Accounts application
FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation
GPC Government Purchase Card
IT Information Technology
ITCSO Information Technology Customer Service Organization
PCOLS Purchase Card Online System
PLAS Performance Labor Accounting system
