Agency procurement and supply records document the acquisition of goods and non-personal services, controlling the volume of stock on hand, reporting procurement needs, and related supply matters which are part of daily procurement operations. The basic procurement files reflect a considerable range of procedure, from simple, small purchases to complicated prime contractor and subcontractor operations.

Any records created prior to 1895 must first be offered to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for appraisal before applying the disposal instructions. Frequently copies of procurement papers become integral parts of the other files in the agency, such as project files of various types or general subject files pertaining to program operations; such copies are not covered by this schedule because they cannot be considered and evaluated separately from the files of which they are a part.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) no longer requires agencies to maintain a separate file of contracts for site audit. The agency contract files maintained in the contracting officer's office are accessible to GAO auditors and have generally been used by them in the past.

When a claim is filed by or against the Government, records relating to the claim should be retained without regard to the otherwise applicable records retention schedules which would have authorized destruction of the records prior to the time when the claim is finally resolved unless the agency has received written approval from the GAO (44 U.S.C. Section 3309 and 62 Comp. Gen. 42 (1982)). A claim is finally resolved: (1) when it is disallowed and the time for appealing the denial or instituting suit on the claim has expired; or (2) when it is allowed and paid or the amount offered in compromise is accepted and paid; or (3) when the amount found due and owing proves uncollectible because time limits for collecting the indebtedness through legal proceedings or by way of setoff have expired.

Records documenting procurement and supply in the agencies are largely standardized by various regulations of the Comptroller General and the Administrator of General Services. The physical arrangement of the transaction files themselves differs in the various agencies, however. In all agencies the official contract files, for example, contain a minimum core of specified documents, but there are also other documents that vary in accordance with what the individual agency deems to be best for its own operating purposes.

The key procurement file is the transaction case file containing the formal contract or informal purchase order or lease instruments and all related papers. The documents flowing into the transaction file differ in detail, but they include, in addition to the purchase document, specifications, bids, schedules of delivery, the initiating requisition, invoices, and correspondence. Other copies of these documents, made for expediting and other administrative purposes, are scattered throughout the inspection, shipping, expediting, and other units of the agency procurement organization.

Other files related to the procurement and supply function include reports used for supply management purposes by the agency creating the records as well as the staff agency involved with Government-wide programs. They also include local requisition and stock inventory files and other minor supply papers. Of a specialized character in the procurement field are the title papers documenting the acquisition of real property (by purchase, condemnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise). These papers are required by the Government as long as the property remains in Government hands or if it has been sold or released -- conditionally or with recapture clauses. When properties are disposed of by quitclaim deeds, this fact should be confirmed prior to the disposal of title papers, since the title evidence might be needed by the Government to defend the title in the event the properties were disposed of by deeds containing general or special warranties.

It should also be ascertained that the title evidence relates only to the properties which were sold by the Government. In many instances, lands acquired by the Government are disposed of in different size parcels, and if the Government retains the title to any portion the title evidence should be retained. This schedule does not apply to Interior Department records relating to the public domain or to the title opinion files of the Department of Justice.

This schedule includes some of the common agency records relating to grant programs. Since many Federal agencies conduct grant programs which document projects contracted between the agency and an outside party, these records are included as an adjunct to the procurement and supply records.

See Exhibit 1.15.40–1 for General Records Schedule 3.