### April 21, 2004

### AGAR ADVISORY

##### 

##### UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

##### OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

#### AGAR ADVISORY NO. 65

# Foundation Financial Information System (FFIS) Vendor Table (VEND)

#  Maintenance -- Procedures for Adding New Vendors

**INTRODUCTION:** This AGAR Advisory provides procedural guidance for
compliance with the Department of Agriculture's, (USDA's) Office of the
Chief Financial Officer requirements for adding vendors to the FFIS VEND
Table. This Advisory supplements AGAR Advisory No. 59, Central
Contractor Registration (CCR).

**ABBREVIATIONS:**

AGAR Agriculture Acquisition Regulation

CCR Central Contractor Registration database

COMT FFIS Communication Table

DCIA Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996

DUNS Data Universal Numbering System

EFT Electronic Funds Transfer

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation

FFIS Foundation Financial Information System

VEND FFIS Vendor Table

OCFO Office of the Chief Financial Officer, USDA

OCFO COD OCFO, Controller Operations Division

OCFO COD ACPRB OCFO, COD, Accounting and Processing Branch

OPPM Office of Procurement and Property Management, USDA

PVND FFIS Pre-Approval Vendor Request Data Entry Table

TIN Taxpayer Identification Number

**SUMMARY:**

1.  Unless otherwise specified, the abbreviation OCFO used in this
    Advisory refers to OCFO COD and OCFO COD ACPRB, New Orleans, LA.

2.  This AGAR Advisory applies to acquisitions executed pursuant to the
    FAR.

3.  By Memorandum of February 19, 2004, the OCFO established changes in
    the information required when requests to add vendors to the VEND
    table are submitted to OCFO. These changes were issued to improve
    compliance with the DCIA and utilize the information available in
    the CCR database.

4.  To ensure that the VEND table includes EFT information for vendors
    and parties not excepted from the requirement for EFT payment, OCFO
    requires specific information when new vendors are added. This
    change is part of the initial phase of an OCFO project to update the
    VEND table. As OCFO progresses with its project, including updating
    the existing VEND table files with EFT information from CCR, OPPM
    will provide status information, as available.

**SPECIFIC ISSUES:**

***Background*:**

1.  The DCIA mandates that Federal payments be made by EFT unless waived
    in accordance with specific circumstances set forth in 31 CFR 208.4.
    Federal payments include not only payments to vendors, contractors
    and grantees, but also benefit payments, federal wages, salaries and
    retirement payments, interagency payments, loans, etc. (See 31 CFR
    208.2). FAR Subpart 32.11, "Electronic Funds Transfer," provides
    implementing policy and procedures for payments to contractors by
    EFT.

2.  FAR Subpart 4.11, "Central Contractor Registration," requires that
    prospective contractors be registered in the CCR database prior to
    award of a contract or agreement unless excepted in accordance with
    FAR 4.1102(a). Existing contracts, executed prior to the
    implementation of the CCR registration requirements, are required to
    be modified to incorporate the requirement to register in CCR.

***General CCR Registration and EFT Information*:**

1.  The DUNS Number, is a unique nine character identification number
    available free of charge from the commercial company Dun &
    Bradstreet. A vendor must have a DUNS number to register in CCR. It
    is the key vendor identifier used in CCR. The DUNS+4 refers to the
    DUNS number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, plus a 4-character
    suffix that is assigned by the vendor to establish additional CCR
    records for identifying alternative EFT accounts for the same vendor
    located at the same physical address. Dun and Bradstreet has no
    affiliation with the 4-character suffix.

2.  When vendors register in the CCR database, EFT information is
    **required** to be input into the database by the vendor before the
    registration is considered complete. The "fields" for EFT
    information are mandatory fields in the CCR database.

3.  Once a vendor's registration is complete (including information in
    all mandatory fields), CCR validates the information and the
    vendor's registration becomes an "Active Registration." That
    registration is valid for one (1) year. Annual review and update by
    vendors of their CCR information is required for their registration
    status to remain "Active."

4.  When procurement personnel review the CCR database
    ([http://www.ccr.gov](http://www.ccr.gov/)) to verify that a
    proposed awardee is registered in CCR, they must ensure that the
    vendor's registration status is "Active in CCR." If the registration
    is incomplete or inactive, that vendor is not considered to be
    registered and should be notified to register in CCR. See the
    guidance at FAR 4.1103(c).

5.  Solicitation provision FAR 52.204-7 requires that the offeror
    "enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of
    its offer, the annotation "DUNS" or "DUNS+4" followed by the DUNS or
    DUNS+4 number that identifies the offeror's name and address exactly
    as stated in the offer. The DUNS number will be used by the
    Contracting Officer to verify that the offeror is registered in the
    CCR database." The DUNS (or DUNS+4) number will also be used by OCFO
    to access the necessary information (including TIN and EFT banking
    and routing information) for adding that vendor to the VEND table.

6.  If there is a DUNS+4 number in the vendor's CCR record, that is the
    number that is required by OCFO for input into the VEND Table. Many
    vendors will only have a 9-digit DUNS number. However, if there is a
    DUNS+4 number, personnel must ensure that they pass that DUNS+4
    number to OCFO.

***Requirements for Addition of New Vendors to FFIS*:**

By memorandum of February 19, 2004 (copy attached), the OCFO established
a policy that new vendors will not be added to FFIS unless EFT
information is provided. When agencies submit requests to add new
vendors to the VEND Table they must provide the information listed below
as part of their request. Agencies are responsible for the accuracy of
the information in the VEND maintenance requests provided to OCFO.
Agencies are responsible for maintaining records of the determinations
on CCR registration applicability and/or the basis for
waivers/exceptions to payment by EFT. OCFO will return to the submitter
any requests that do not comply with these requirements.

1.  *[For vendors registered in CCR.]{.underline}*

> a\. Agencies shall submit VEND maintenance requests to OCFO with the
> following information:

1.  Vendor's name and address

2.  Statement that the vendor is registered in CCR (example: CCR=Y), and

3.  The vendor's DUNS or DUNS+4 number.

    b.  OCFO will access the vendor's information (e.g., TIN and EFT) in
        CCR to add that vendor to the VEND table.

    c.  If the vendor record in CCR does not include TIN or EFT
        information, that registration is not an "Active" registration,
        and the request to add the vendor to the VEND table will be
        returned by OCFO to the submitter of the request.

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2.  *[For vendors excepted from the requirement to register in
    CCR]{.underline}*, pursuant to FAR 4.1102, but *[required to provide
    banking information for EFT payments.]{.underline}*

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a.  Agencies shall submit VEND maintenance requests to OCFO with the
    following information:

    1.  Vendor's name and address;

    2.  Statement that the vendor is [not]{.underline} required to
        register in CCR (example: CCR=N);

    3.  TIN - (FAR 52.204-3, "Taxpayer Identification");

    4.  DUNS Number - (FAR 52.204-6, "Data Universal Numbering System

> (DUNS) Number"); and

5.  EFT Information - (FAR 52.232-34, "Payment by Electronic Funds
    Transfer

> \- Other than Central Contractor Registration," FAR 52.232-38,
> "Submission of Electronic Funds Transfer Information with Offer").

b.  The corresponding FAR provisions and clauses for commercial items
    acquisitions are at: FAR 52.212.1, 52.212-3, 52.212-4 and 52.212-5.

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3.  *[For vendors excepted from the requirement to register in CCR and
    excepted from the requirements for contract payments by EFT pursuant
    to FAR 32.1103.]{.underline}*

> Agencies shall submit VEND maintenance requests to OCFO with the
> following information:

a.  Vendor's name and address

b.  Vendor's TIN

c.  Statement that the vendor is [not]{.underline} required to register
    in CCR (example: CCR=N);

d.  The exception to the requirement for payment through EFT, including
    the citation for applicable FAR 32.1103 exception. (The current
    exceptions for payment through EFT are listed on Attachment B to
    this Advisory.)

***Updates of EFT information for New Vendors Added to FFIS under the
procedures described in OCFO memorandum of February 19, 2004 and this
AGAR Advisory*:**

1.  Vendors required to register in CCR, are responsible for ensuring
    that the information in CCR is current and correct. OCFO will obtain
    the updates from the CCR database to update the VEND table.

2.  For vendors not required to register in CCR, updates to EFT
    information should be transmitted to OCFO Table Maintenance Section
    via the on-line COMT or PVND table. OCFO plans to implement the PVND
    table in the near future.

***Inclusion of CCR information into FFIS for Vendors already in the
VEND Table*:**

The update of information for vendors already registered in FFIS will be
part of a future effort by OCFO. A time frame for this effort has not
yet been established by OCFO.

***CCR and Vendor Express*:**

Based on direction received from OCFO COD, effective May 1, 2004, except
for non-contractual transactions processed under a Type 60 order,
vendors should not be advised to contact the National Finance Center
(NFC) to initiate the enrollment process of the Vendor Express Program
(VXP). Type 60 orders for non-contractual transactions are used by Rural
Development and the Farm Service Agency to process various program
contract payments such as property taxes, appraisals,
custodian/caretaker fees, foreclosures, etc., in the legacy Central
Accounting System (CAS). Type 60 orders for non-contractual transactions
will continue to be processed in CAS until October 1, 2004 at which time
FFIS will provide the capability to process these transactions.

VXP was originally put in place to facilitate vendor submission of EFT
information to NFC. For vendors registered in CCR, this separate process
that predates CCR is no longer necessary (except as noted above for Type
60 orders for non-contractual transactions) as the required TIN and EFT
information is available in the CCR database. The *vendor* is
responsible for ensuring that its information in CCR is current and
correct at all times.

***CCR Exceptions and DCIA Waivers/Exceptions*:**

1.  The procedures established by the OCFO Memorandum of February 19,
    2004 and this AGAR Advisory, are based on 2 separate requirements:

    a.  The FAR Subpart 4.11 requirement for vendor registration in the
        CCR database, and

    b.  The DCIA 31 CFR 208 and FAR Subpart 32.11 requirement for
        payments by EFT.

2.  Unless a vendor meets one of the exceptions to the requirement to
    register in CCR, it must register in CCR. Unless a vendor meets one
    of the DCIA waiver categories (also described as exceptions in FAR
    32.11), then payment by EFT is required.

3.  The exceptions to the requirement to register in CCR and the DCIA
    waivers/exceptions to payment by EFT are not the same.

4.  Questions have been received about the exception to the requirement
    for CCR registration at FAR 4.1102(a)(6):

> "Micro-purchases that do not use the electronic funds transfer (EFT)
> method for payment . . . "
>
> This exception requires that the procurement action be a
> micro-purchase AND also that it meet one of the exceptions to the
> requirement for payment by EFT.

**QUESTIONS:**

If you have questions about this advisory, please contact Pat Honda by
telephone at 202-720-8924, by fax at 202-720-8972, or by email to
<pat.honda@usda.gov>. Questions regarding the attached OCFO Memorandum
may be directed to the OCFO COD ACPRB Table Maintenance Section at
504-426-5362.

This advisory is available at
*<http://www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/advisories.html>.*

**EXPIRATION DATE:** Until Canceled

ATTACHMENT A

  ----------------------------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  ![](media/image1.png){width="0.84375in"   United States\    Office of the\    P.O. Box 60000\
  height="0.4895833333333333in"}            Department of\    Chief Financial\  New Orleans\
                                            Agriculture       Officer           Louisiana 70160

  ----------------------------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

  ---------- -------------------------------------------------------------
  Date:      February 19, 2004

  In reply   COD
  refer to:  

  Subject:   Changes in Vendor Table (VEND) Maintenance Requests

  To:        FFIS VEND Users
  ---------- -------------------------------------------------------------

Effective February 9, 2004, to comply with the provisions of the Debt
Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) of 1996 and the Central Contractor
Registration (CCR) requirements, submitters of VEND Table maintenance
requests to the Controller Operations Division (COD), Accounting
Processing Branch (ACPRB) are responsible for providing accurate vendor
electronic funds transfer (EFT) information (bank account, account type,
and bank routing number) and a determination on whether the vendor must
be registered in the CCR database (*www.ccr.gov*).

DCIA mandates the use of the EFT payment method for government
disbursements. CCR is a government wide initiative to create a central
database of vendors doing business with the Federal government.

CCR registration is required for most vendors. Specifically, vendors
doing business with USDA under the terms of any of the following are
required to register:

-   Contract.

-   Basic agreement.

-   Basic ordering agreement.

-   Blanket purchase agreement.

CCR registration is not required for:

-   Vendors paid **solely** via the government purchase card.

-   Vendors performing work under a classified contract if registration
    would compromise the information or national security.

-   Vendors doing work under military contracts or for emergency
    operations.

-   Foreign vendors doing work outside the United States.

-   Vendors paid non-EFT for micro-purchases. (A micro-purchase is
    defined as the acquisition of supplies or services, the aggregate of
    which does not exceed \$2,500.)

-   Employees and Non-Employee Travelers.

Requests submitted without the required EFT and CCR information will not
be processed into VEND and will be returned to the requester. Vendors
must be in VEND in order for disbursements to be made.

**Note:** Recipients of this document should further distribute the new
requirements to appropriate personnel throughout their organizations.

Questions regarding this change should be directed to the COD, ACPRB,
Table Maintenance Section at **504-426-5362**. Additional procurement
policy information regarding CCR requirements can be obtained from the
USDA Office of Procurement and Property Management (OPPM) at
**202-720-8924**.

![](media/image2.png){width="2.0083333333333333in"
height="0.4791666666666667in"}

CHARLES L. WALLACE, Director\
Controller Operations Division

# ATTACHMENT B

# 

The Government shall provide all contract payments through EFT except
if---

-   FAR 32.1103(b)

> The payment is to be received by or on behalf of the contractor
> outside the United States and Puerto Rico (but see 32.1106(b))

-   FAR 32.1103(c)

A contract is paid in other than United States currency (but see
32.1106(b))

-   FAR 32.1103(d)

> Payment by EFT under a classified contract could compromise the
> safeguarding of classified information or national security, or
> arrangements for appropriate EFT payments would be impractical due to
> security considerations

-   FAR 32.1103(e)

> A contract is awarded by a deployed contracting officer in the course
> of military operations, including, but not limited to, contingency
> operations as defined in 2.101, or a contract is awarded by any
> contracting officer in the conduct of emergency operations, such as
> responses to natural disasters or national or civil emergencies, if---

1.  EFT is not known to be possible; or

2.  EFT payment would not support the objectives of the operation

-   FAR 32.1103(f)

> The agency does not expect to make more than one payment to the same
> recipient within a one-year period

-   FAR 32.1103(g)

> An agency's need for supplies and services is of such unusual and
> compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured
> unless payment is made by a method other than EFT

-   FAR 32.1103(h)

> There is only one source for supplies and services and the Government
> would be seriously injured unless payment is made by a method other
> than EFT

-   FAR 32.1103(i)

> Otherwise authorized by Department of the Treasury Regulations at 31
> CFR part 208
>
> Examples of authorized waivers in 31 CFR 208, not specifically
> addressed in FAR 32.1103 include:
>
> 31 CFR 208(a)
>
> Where an individual determines, in his or her sole discretion, that
> payment
>
> by electronic funds transfer would impose a hardship due to a physical
> or mental disability or a geographic, language, or literacy barrier,
> or would impose a financial hardship. In addition, the requirement to
> receive payment by electronic funds transfer is automatically waived
> for all individuals who do not have an account with a financial
> institution and who are eligible to open an ETASM under § 208.5, until
> such date as the Secretary determines that the ETASM is available

31 CFR 208(e)

> Where . . . the life or physical safety of any individual may be
> endangered, or a law enforcement action may be compromised