Policy Documents

• Department of Defense Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs. The purpose of this guide is to help Department of Defense (DoD) officials establish and manage charge card programs. It provides a high-level overview of the policies and processes, with a goal to streamline and consolidate processes common to the purchase, travel, and fuel card programs.
• The Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy issues class deviations when necessary to allow organizations to deviate from the FAR and DFARS. Attachments in Word format for class deviations can be found Here.
• The Policy Log Matrix lists all relevant Purchase Card Policy by year and includes a summary of each policy document for easy browsing.
• The Archive provides historical GPC documents for reference by the Purchase Card community.




Purchase Card Policy

SmartPay 3

• 2020
  
  

  Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card Guidance Related to Recording Transactions Involving National Interest Action Codes and Emergency Acquisition Authorities (GPC 2021-1) (12/09/20): This memorandum directs Heads of Contracting Activity to issue component-level guidance to the workforce on recording and retaining Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card (GPC) information when National Interest Action (NIA) Codes are issued for applicable operations, as defined herein.

  Guidance on the Implementation of Adjusted Government Charge Card Cardholder Special Designation Thresholds (10/06/20): This memorandum summarizes and provides guidance for the implementation of the new Department of Defense Government Purchase Card Cardholder Special Designation thresholds, effective October 1, 2020.

  Recording Implementation of Section 889(a)(1)(B), Prohibition on Contracting withEntities Using Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services orEquipment, when using the Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card (09/09/20): This memorandum provides guidance for recording Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card purchases in accordance with the requirements of Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Using Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

  Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card Guidance Related to Implementation of the Section 889(a)(1)(B) Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Using Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (8/11/20): This memorandum provides guidance on the use of Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Cards as it relates to the 889(a)(1)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019, which prohibits contracting with entities using certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment, effective August 13, 2020, as stated in Interim Federal Acquisition Regulation rule 2019-0009.

  Department of Defense SmartPay® 3 Government-wide Comercial Purchase Card Oversight and Reporting - SP3 Transition Memorandum #12 (7/16/20): This memorandum specifies updated milestones for the full implementation of policies, procedures, and electronic program management and control compliance tools mandated for use during the DoD Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card SmartPay® 3 task orders. Components are required to fully implement the Monthly Agency/Organization Program Coordinator (A/OPC) and Semi-Annual Head of Activity (HA) Review processes as specified in the timeframes provided.

  2020 General Services Administration SmartPay Training Forum (5/13/20): All DoD GPC Program oversight personnel are encouraged to attend, subject to availability of resources, the 2020 GSA SmartPay Training Forum. The Forum is scheduled for 4-6 August and will be held virtually. The Training Forum is not designed for Cardholders.

  Department of Defense SmartPay® 3 Government-wide Comercial Purchase Card Guidance for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (4/2/20): This memorandum offers detailed information and guidance to promote compliance with acquisition policies applicable to the Department of Defense (DoD) Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card (GPC) Program in responding to the emergency determination made by the President on March 13, 2020 in response the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Department of Defense Policies and Procedures Governing Non-Appropriated Funds SmartPay® 3 Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card Use - SP3 Transition Memorandum #11 (4/1/20): The Department of Defense (DoD) Charge Card Guidebook policies require that all Government Purchase Card (GPC) SmartPay® 3 (SP3) programs using Non-Appropriated Funds (NAF) must comply with the same policies, practices, and regulations as those using Appropriated Funds. DPC has established a new internal control that will be applicable to all NAF GPC SP3 programs from the effective date of this memorandum in order to ensure NAF funded GPCs are properly segregated for oversight.

  Reporting COVID-19 Related Actions to the Federal Procurement Data System (3/31/20): This memorandum reminds the contracting community that, while issuing contract awards and modifications in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to accurately report new or amended contract actions to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) in a timely fashion using the National Interest Action code (P20C), added to FPDS on March 13, 2020. It also provides guidance on FPDS reporting for COVID-19-related actions made via Other Transactions and financial assistance instruments.

  Purchases from Federal Prison Industries; Updated List of Federal Supply Classification (FSC) Codes to be Competed (3/11/20): This memorandum provides an updated list of Federal Supply Codes (FSCs) for which products must be procured using competitive (or fair opportunity) procedures. CHs must comply with FAR Part 8 FPI regulatory requirements for items estimated between $3500.01 and the Micro-Purchase Threshold. Components that authorize CHs to purchase above $3,500 need to be sure they have policies and procedures in place and have provided applicable training concerning the requirements outlined in FAR Subpart 8.6 and DFARS Subpart 208.6 regarding acquisition from FPI (also referenced by the trade name UNICOR).

  Final Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card Disciplinary Category Definitions Guidance (1/27/20): In order to unify disciplinary category terms and associated definitions across the Federal Government's charge card programs and to ensure continued accurate and complete GPC reporting across the DoD Components, the attached definitions guidance as set forth in the August 27, 2019 revisions to OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B, and as updated in GSA SmartPay Smart Bulletin No. 031, is hereby adopted for use across all DoD GPC SmartPay 3 programs. This guidance shall be used in completing DoD GPC reporting requirements, in conducting Annual Managing Account Reviews (until phased out), and in conducting the integrated three-pronged, system-enabled oversight review cycle upon adoption.

• 2019
  
  

  Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment 6.0.0 Release The Procurerment Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) 6.0.0 release deployed June 24, 2019. This release impacts the following enterprise-wide capabilities: (1) the Electronic Data Access (EDA) system, (2) the Contracting Officer Representative Tracking (CORT) Tool (reengineered into the Joint Appointment Module (JAM) and Surveillance Performance Monitoring (SPM)), and (3) an enhancement for Government Purchase Card (GPC) Cardholder roles to be available for nomination and appointment in JAM.

  Deployment of Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment Joint Appointment Module Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card Cardholder Appointment Capability - SmartPay® 3 Transition Memorandum #10 On June 23, 2019, the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment Release 6.0.0 deployed the ability to issue Joint Appointment Module (JAM) GPC Cardholder (incorporates carded, cardless, and convenience check accounts) appointments, including 10 GPC CH Special Designation Authority Types. This release completes the initial implementation of the GPC JAM appointment workflow capability for all GPC roles that require formal delegation authority and/or appointment.

  Refund Validation under SmartPay® 3 - SP3 Transition Memo #9 Every quarter, the Component Program Manager (CPM) or his/her designee is responsible for working closely with the Comptroller to ensure that the accuracy of refunds earned are validated and that refund receipts are properly recorded. CPMs and Comptrollers can use the bank's Quarterly Refund Summary and Quarterly Refund Detail reports to validate refunds earned.

  Closeout of Air Force/Defense Agencies SmartPay® 2 Task Order - SP3 Transition Memorandum #8 DPC/CeB is initiating the SP2 AF/DA task order closeout process. This will first require closeout of all SP2 managing and cardholder accounts, including Annual Managing Account Reviews, SP2 GPCs and convenience checks, and other SP2 closeout items. A/OPCs are required to close outstanding delinquencies, disputes, and other open transactions in a timely manner, working with the bank until all CH and MA accounts under their purview are closed.

  Purchase Card On Line System Data Mining Case Closure, Phase 2 – SP3 Transition Memorandum #7 This memo addresses the status of the required closure of Purchase Card On-Line System (PCOLS) data mining cases under SmartPay® 2. The remaining unadjudicated PCOLS cases with transactions valued at $1,000 or greater that posted after September 15, 2018, must be closed within three weeks of April 19, 2019. DPC will instruct U.S. Bank to reduce the associated SP3 Managing Accounts' transaction authority to $1 for all cases remaining open past the suspense date, if not already reduced.

  Department of Defense SmartPay® 3 Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card Policies, Procedures and Tools – SP3 Transition Memorandum #6 This memo and its attachment specify updated policies, procedures, and electronic program management and control compliance tools mandated for use by all DoD Components executing transactions under the terms of the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and Defense Agencies and Activities, and U.S. Navy GPC SP3 Tailored Task Orders.

  OUSD (A&S) Prohibited Purchases Memo (3/1/19) (requires a CAC to access): This For Official Use Only memorandum provides additional information on Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card prohibitions.

  2019 General Services Administration SmartPay Training Forum (2/15/2019): All DoD GPC Program oversight personnel are encouraged to attend, subject to availability of resources, the 2019 GSA SmartPay Training Forum. The Forum is scheduled for 16-18 July 2019 in Atlanta, GA, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and Atlanta Marriott Marquis properties. Travel dates are 15 and 19 July. The Training Forum is not designed for Cardholders.

  DoD Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs (1/9/2019): By FY 2020, DPC/CeB will no longer support coordination of the subject Guidebook across the Department's charge card programs. The existing Guidebook will be replaced with a GPC-unique document.

• 2018
  
  

  Purchase Card Online System Data Mining Case ClosureNon-Compliance Ramifications – SP3 Transition Memorandum #5 (12/20/2018): On October 11, 2018, OUSD(A&S) DPC/CeB mandated that allopen SmartPay (SP) 2 data mining (DM) cases valued at $1,000 or greater shallbe closed no later than December 21, 2018. Until such closure/adjudication, SP3successor accounts are to have transaction authority of $1. To ensurecompliance with this policy, on January 7, 2019, OUSD(A&S) DPC/CeB willdirect U.S. Bank to reduce the managing account (MA) transaction authority foreach SP3 successor account with open DM cases. Once the open cases have been closedat the MA level, the preexisting account thresholds will be reinstated.

  Cancellation of Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card Defense Acquisition University Training Courses - Continuous Learning - GPC CLG 004 and CLG 005 (12/7/2018): To ensure GPC program officials receive a complete and up-to-date topical review during their refresher training, "DoD Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card Overview" (CLG 001) is now the required course to fulfill both initial and refresher GPC training requirements. "DoD GPC Refresher Training" (CLG 004) is hereby permanently cancelled. Additionally, due to the upcoming sunset of the Purchase Card Online System, "Purchase Card Online System (PCOLS)" (CLG 005) will also be permanently cancelled effective 21 December 2018.

  Delay in Data Mining Case Adjudications within Insightson Demand – SP3 Transition Memorandum #4 (12/3/2018): Due to a hierarchy issue with Insights on Demand (IOD), U.S.Bank’s data mining solution for SmartPay® case assignments for adjudication havebeen delayed. Case assignments will begin on approximately December 19, 2018,at which point A/BOs will need to immediately begin adjudicating their cases.All efforts will be made to accelerate this date and mitigate the impact ofthis delay.

  Appointment of Government wide Commercial Purchase Card Officials - SmartPay® 3 Transition Memorandum #3 (11/16/2018): Well defined roles and responsibilities is a key internal control requirement for successful execution of the Department of Defense (DoD) Government wide Commercial Purchase Card (GPC) program. To ensure GPC officials are consistently held accountable to execute standard enterprise-wide roles and responsibilities, the Joint Appointment Module (JAM), which deployed as an application within the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) in September 2018, is now the enterprise tool for appointing and delegating authority to GPC personnel.

  Mandated Closure of Purchase Card on Line System Data Mining Open Cases - SP3 Transition Memorandum #2 (10/11/2018): Due to the high number of open cases requiring adjudication, DPC/CeB has determined that a stratified sampling review of the DM Open Case Backlog will be required. DPC/CeB plans to release two iterations of a spreadsheet listing all open DM cases, for the past 18 months, valued at $1,000.00 or greater, on approximately 15 October 2018 and 5 December 2018. These open cases must be adjudicated prior to 21 December 20 18. Program officials shall continue to disposition all current cases in a timely manner.

  Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card Guidance Related to Class Deviation 2018-O0018 dated August 31, 2018 (9/21/2018): This memorandum rescinds reference (A) and provides Government Purchase Card (GPC) implementing guidance related to the $10,000 micro-purchase threshold (MPT) authorized for use in reference (B). See memo for more details.

  Award of DoD SmartPay®3 Government Purchase Card Tailored Task Orders - SP3 Transition Memorandum #1 (8/27/2018): The Department of Defense (DoD) recently awarded two SmartPay®3 (SP®3) Tailored Task Orders (TIO) to U.S. Bank: the Department of the Army/Department of the Air Force/Defense Agencies and Activities TTO was awarded in June 2018, and the Department of the Navy TTO was awarded in July 2018. The terms of the subject TTOs and applicable GSA SP®3 Master Contract require that the transition from SP®2 to SP®3 include the closing of all SP®2 accounts, creation of new accounts, and issuance of new purchase cards to DoD.

  Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card Prohibited Purchases (8/15/2018): The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS) Part 213.3 provides direction for authorizing, establishing. and operating Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card (GPC) programs. and directs personnel to follow the guidance in the Department of Defense Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs (Guidebook). Section A.l.2.4 of the Guidebook (effective 1 October 2017 and updated on 24 January 2018) establishes a list of items prohibited from purchase using the GPC. This memo adds the following items to the prohibited list: Video Surveillance Cameras AND Commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems.

  This For Official Use Only memorandum (10/24/18) provides additional information on the acquisition of video surveillance cameras.

  Deployment of Government Purchase Card Disciplinary Category Terms and Definitions into Data Mining Systems (8/13/2018): This memo notifies the components that Department of Defense (DoD) Government Purchase Card (GPC) data mining systems (Program Audit Tool (PAT) for the Navy; Purchase Card Online System (PCOLS) for the Army, Air Force and Defense Agencies/Activities) that support SmartPay 2 actions have been updated to reflect the disciplinary category terms and associated definitions as established in the attached memo and reflected in the DoD Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs (DoD Guidebook).

  Class Deviation - 20180413 - Class Deviation 2018-O0013 (4/13/2018): This class deviation rescinds and supersedes Class Deviation 2017-O0007, dated September 1, 2017, and Class Deviation 2018-O0001, dated November 8, 2017. Effective immediately, for DoD acquisitions of supplies or services funded by DoD appropriations, contracting officers shall use the revised definitions and procedures associated with the micro-purchase threshold, simplified acquisition threshold, and special emergency procurement authority provided in the attachments to this class deviation. Note: Word formatted Attachments can be found on the DARs Class Deviations Page.

  2018 GSA SmartPay Training Forum (4/18/2018) - All Government Purchase Card oversight personnel are encouraged to attend the 2018 GSA SmartPay Training Forum. The Forum is scheduled for August 7-9, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Travel dates are 6 and 10 August 2018.

  DoD MPT Remails $5K (1/24/2018): Be advised the Department's Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT) of $5,000 remains as stated in the DF ARS Class Deviation 2017-00007, dated September 1, 2017. While section 806 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, (Public Law 115-91), amended section 1902(a)(1) of title 41, United States Code, to increase the Federal MPT from $3,000 to $10,000, section 806 did not repeal section 2338 "Micro-purchase threshold" of title 10, United States Code, or section 2339 "Micro-purchase threshold for basic research programs and activities of the Department of Defense science and technology reinvention laboratories" of title 10, United States Code.

• 2017
  
  

  DoD OMB Reporting Memorandum (10/20/2017): Effective immediately, in accordance with the requirements of references (A) through (C), the DoD GPC program will maintain statistical, narrative, and violation information for Department use and management of the DoD purchase card program, but will not submit this information to OMB.

  Lodging in Kind Memorandum (10/19/2017): U.S. Army requested Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) to provide clarifying guidance about Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card (GPC) use for travel-related expenses, specifically travel-related expenses for Lodging in Kind (LIK) ( i.e., housing provided to servists on their drill weekends if they have to travel more than 50 miles from home). On 21 September 2017, DPAP reaffirmed by memorandum to the Army that the existing policy stands.

  Army GPC Travel Prohibition (09/21/2017): This memorandum reaffirms the DPAP/Program Development and Implementation position that GPC purchases for travel-related expenses are prohibited as stated in the Department of Defense Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs, section A.2.4 Prohibited Purchases, paragraph v. This prohibition includes travel-related expenses for LIK, Subsistence in Kind (SIK), and Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) and remains unchanged.

  Department of Defense Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs Update (9/21/2017): This memorandum provides notification that an updated version of the Department of Defense Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs is posted at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pdi/pc/policy_documents.html. The effective date of this update is 1 October 2017.

  Class Deviation - 2017-O0007, Special Emergency Procurement Authorities (9/1/2017): Effective immediately, for DoD acquisitions of supplies or services funded by DoD appropriations, contracting officers and other individuals delegated micro-purchase authority shall use the special emergency procurement authorities as set forth in the definitions and procedures provided in the attachment to this class deviation.

  Class Deviation - 2017-O0006, Increased Micro-Purchase Threshold; Related guidance USA002333-17-DPAP; and Supplementals (7/13/2017_7/21/2017): Effective immediately, for DoD acquisition of supplies or services funded by DoD appropriations, contracting officers and other individuals delegated micro-purchase authority shall use the definition of "micro-purchase threshold" within this class deviation in lieu of the definition at FAR 2.101. Additional guidance and supplementary documentation are appended to the policy document.

  Interim Guidance on Government Purchase Card Disciplinary Category Definitions used in Office of Management and Budget Violations Reporting (7/3/2017): Existing guidance on Government Purchase Card (GPC) disciplinary category definitions is not consistent across the Department of Defense (DoD). This guidance provides interim definitions, examples, and intentionality for each category, and indicates which are reportable as violations to OMB (abuse, internal fraud, misuse, and delinquency) and which are not reportable (administrative discrepancy and external fraud).

  2017 GSA SmartPay Training Forum (3/9/2017) All Government Purchase Card oversight personnel are encouraged to attend, subject to availability of resources, the 2017 General Services Administration (GSA) SmartPay Training Forum. The Forum is scheduled for August 1-3, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Phoenix Convention Center.

  Temporary Suspension of DoD Government Purchase Card Refresher Training Module: Continuous Learning-GPC 004 (CLG 004) On April 7, 2016, Defense Acquisition University (DAU) released a major update to DoD Government wide Commercial Purchase Card Overview, CLG 001. To ensure the training program participants receive is both current and accurate, it has been determined that DoD Government Purchase Card Refresher Training, CLG 004 will be taken offline as the course undergoes necessary content update.

GPC policy memos for prior years, incorporated into the Department of Defense Government Charge Card Guidebook for Establishing and Managing Purchase, Travel, and Fuel Card Programs, are available on the GPC Archive page.