This section contains guidance and procedures for the IRS Relocation or Household Goods Coordinator in administering the IRS Household Goods Program to assure quality service for moving employees and reduce the Government costs.

This section of the manual covers those aspects of the movement of household goods and personal effects of IRS employees that are the primary responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Deputy CFO, Beckley Finance Center Travel Management Section. The CFO, Beckley Finance Center Travel Management Section has the responsibility of coordinating household goods moves under the Commuted Rate System. This section pertains to those employees who are being transferred from one station to another for permanent duty; new appointees to positions outside contiguous United States; employees returning to their original stations from completed tours of duty; and certain new appointees or student trainees who are being moved to places where there is a staffing shortage. Wherever Household Goods traffic, programs or responsibilities are stated in this section reference is made only to those shipments moving via the Actual Expense Method (sometimes called the Internal Revenue Bill of Lading or (IRBL) method.

The regulations for the provisions described herein are pursuant to Federal Travel Regulations Chapter 30 Relocation Allowances, as authorized in the Federal Contracts and Property Management Regulations (FMR), (41 CFR 102-117.225) Centralized Household Goods Traffic Management Program.

The General Services Administration (GSA)/National Customer Service Center http//www.kc.gsa.gov/fsst, administers the Centralized Household Goods Traffic Management Program. The program provides more economical and efficient service to federal executive agency employees. The basic components of the program are cost comparisons, carrier approval, price negotiation and carrier performance measurements.

Household Goods (HHG) are the personal effects of IRS employees and their dependents. HHG include household furnishings, equipment, appliances, furniture, clothing, books, and similar personal property which belong to the employees or members of their immediate family at time of shipment or when storage begins. The employees may not ship as part of their HHG property which is for resale or disposal rather than for use by the employees or their immediate family, nor such items as hazardous materials, liquor, airplanes, mobile homes, camper trailers, boats, birds, pets, livestock, cordwood, building materials, property belonging to any persons other than the employees or their immediate family, or any property intended for use in conducting a business or other commercial enterprise.

IRS may authorize the transportation of privately owned vehicles (POV) in connection with an employees transfer or a new appointee's assignment, if the transportation is advantageous and cost effective to the Government.

The management of the Service's policy and procedures of household goods movement and general liaison with GSA is the responsibility of Media and Publications; Distribution Requirements Branch/Postal and Transport Policy Section. The Postal and Transport Policy Section is also responsible for providing the field with general assistance in daily operations.

The Postal and Transport Policy Section Traffic Analyst performs the following:

The Traffic Analyst is responsible for the following as appropriate;

The travel staff of the CFO Beckley Finance Center as the HHG Coordinator is responsible for informing relocating employees of their rights and responsibilities to contact the assigned HHG carrier as soon as possible after selection, coordinating any arrangements pertaining to the move.

The CFO is responsible for policies and procedures governing all aspects, except the movement of HHG, of travel and transportation of employees with respect to accounting systems and allowable expenses.

The CFO travel staff as the HHG coordinator, is responsible for counseling the moving employee, coordinating and controlling the movement, quality control, preparing bill of lading, authorizing services, etc.

The Traffic Analyst is responsible for voucher review and certification for payment.

The Relocation Handbook contains the HHG entitlements as outlined in the Service-wide Interim Financial Management Policies and Procedures/documents/Travel Handbook web site athttp//cfo.fin.irs.gov/IntFinMgmt

Valuation should be stated on the IRBL before it is issued to the carrier.

IRS authorizes employe's goods to be shipped at Full Value Protection. This method guarantees either replacement of articles lost or damaged while in carrier's custody, reimbursement for full replacement cost, or satisfactory repairs. Depreciation is not applied. Full Value Protection will be provided by the carrier only if shipment is declared at a minimum lump sum value of $21,000 or $5 for each pound of weight in the shipment, whichever is greater. The Government will pay the increased valuation charges at no cost to the employee.

The employee should be informed that under the Military Personnel and Civilian Employee's Claims Act of 1964 (PL 88-558) the Government has a liability to employees who suffer loss or damage to their household goods up to a maximum of $40,000. On both IRBL and Commuted Rate Schedule, HHG liability cannot exceed the depreciated replacement value of each article at the employe's destination area of residence.

Accessorial Services include those extra services performed by the carrier in conjunction with the move. These services include stair carry, or excessive distance carry, appliance servicing, piano carry, crating and uncrating, storage charges, etc.

Two basic kinds of storage may be involved in an employee relocation; storage in transit (SIT), and non-temporary storage.

The carrier is liable to the owner for loss and/or damage to the owner's personal property in an amount not to exceed the released valuation for any articles over which the carrier has control or custody. Custody on the part of the carrier shall be considered to begin at the time performance of service commences and continue until services are completed. This includes time in storage.

When moving on an IRBL, all packing and unpacking is paid for by IRS up to 18,000 lb. The carrier will pack everything at the origin and unpack everything at the destination if the employee wishes this service. When unpacking is done by the carrier, that carrier is also required to remove all packing material from the employe's residence. However, if the unpacking is done by the employee, the carrier will return one time and remove the packing material at the Government's expense.

The weight of the shipment is determined by weighing the moving van before and after loading the shipment, and the difference or net weight is the weight on which charges are paid.

The carrier is obligated to use a scale which will permit the employee to observe the weighing. The moving employee should protect him/herself and the IRS from overcharging by going to the scale and observing the weighing of the vehicle before and after loading the shipment.

The empty moving van should initially be weighed by certified weigh master on a certified scale. The fuel tanks on the vehicle must be full and the vehicle must contain all pads, chains, dollies, and hand trucks and other equipment needed in the transportation of the shipments loaded or to be unloaded on that vehicle. The driver should not be on the truck.

If upon arrival at destination the employee is not satisfied with the accuracy of the shipment weight, the carrier required, upon the employees and/or IRS' timely request, to again weigh the vehicle before and after delivery. The moving employee should observe the reweighing. The billing weight shall be the reweigh weight regardless or whether it is higher or lower than the initial weighing. There is no charge for reweighing.

The driver or someone representing the carrier will make an inventory of articles as they are being loaded. The carrier's representative will make a notation on the inventory showing the condition of the employe's furniture and other goods. The employee or the employe's representative should be present while this inventory is being prepared. The employee should make sure that a proper description of the condition of his/her furniture is entered. In the event of loss or damage noticed on delivery, entries must be made on both the carrier delivery receipt and inventory forms. The driver should sign these forms acknowledging the specifics of the loss or damage. High value items should be listed on a separate "high value" inventory.

After cost comparison analysis and employee counseling, the determination is made on the method of moving, IRBL or Commuted Rate Method. In almost every instance, it will be more cost effective for the IRS to select the IRBL Actual Expense Method. However, if it is determined that the move will be accomplished under the Commuted Rate Method, the moving employee is responsible for carrier selection and all other arrangements.

If it is determined that the move will be accomplished under the Actual Expense Method, the HHG Coordinator selects the carrier from the computer printout obtained from the GSA Transportation Management Services Solutions (TMSS).

Carrier selection requires using the carrier or carriers that can provide the required service at the lowest overall delivered cost to the Government. This does not mean that the IRS must select the lowest cost carrier.

When contacting carriers, it should be stated that the move to be booked is authorized under the GSA Household Goods Tender of Service. Additional information that should be given to the carrier, so they may determine if they can accept the shipment, is as follows: agency name, packing dates, pickup dates, storage requirements, valuation, delivery dates, origin address and destination address.

The carrier accepting the move must be given additional information as follows: employee name, home telephone number, office telephone number, electronic mail address, accessorial services required, liability (insurance) requested, GSA control number, etc.

All booking contacts with carriers should be documented on the computer printout list of carriers.

The CFO travel staff should prepare the IRBL when the move has been booked (accepted) by a carrier. However, an IRBL must not be issued without a signed, dated copy of Form 4253, Authorization for moving Expenses, in the possession of the travel staff.

IRBL must be prepared as explained in the IRS handbook - (IRBL User Guide, Doc. 11933)

The moving employee must complete GSA Form 3080, Household Goods Carrier Performance Report and mail or fax it to the HHG Financial Services Analyst for submission to GSA.

Feedback from moving employees is the primary means GSA has to determine whether a carrier is dependable.

If the employee is advised to move under the Actual Expense Method all expenses are paid by IRS provided the move is accomplished on an IRBL. However, all non-reimbursable moving expenses and shipping costs of all unauthorized items will be billed to the employee by the Beckley Finance Center.

If the moving employee elects to move himself/herself via self-move method, reimbursement will be for actual expenses incurred and documented (Truck rental, gas, oil, equipment, hired labor, etc.), limited to the cost of the carrier listed on GSA computer printout with whom IRS would have scheduled the move.

If the moving employee elects not to use the carrier selected by the CFO travel staff, the employee may elect to move by another carrier he/she chooses and still move on IRBL. However, the employee must submit a memorandum to the HHG Coordinator stating that he/she will pay the difference between the charges of their selected carrier and the carrier recommended by the travel staff.

if the moving employee selects his/her own carrier and elects not to move via IRBL, reimbursement will be limited to the computed charges, based on pounds actually moved, of the carrier recommended by the HHG Coordinator.

If the employee is advised to move under the Commuted Rate Schedule then the applicable interstate moves will be reimbursed under the Commuted Rate Schedule as computed on pounds actually moved and the distance between origin and destination. The amount authorized is shown on the GSA cost comparison.

Intrastate or short distance moves that could ship under the Commuted Rate Schedule will require analysis by the travel staff. If it is determined that the actual charges for the move will not exceed the Commuted Rate Schedule, the move may be accomplished on an IRBL using any commercial carrier. IRS will pay all authorized charges under these circumstances.

Funds for expenses are issued in one lump sum in the amount allotted under the Commuted Rate schedule. If the employe's expenses exceed the amount allotted, or are non-reimbursable, the employee must pay the difference.