Merge pull request #625 from GSA/GSA/issue-614-update-content

Gsa/issue 614 update content

src/content/smart-bulletins/016.md

@@ -50,15 +50,13 @@ Section 237-25(a)(3), Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), exempts the general excise
 
 The exemption provided in 237-25(a)(3), HRS, has been temporarily suspended by Act 105 SLH 2011 for the period from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013. The suspension means that the gross income derived from sales of tangible personal property to the Federal government will no longer be exempt from the general excise tax and will be taxable at the 4% rate. However, amounts for which the general excise tax exemption is temporarily suspended will continue to be exempt from the county surcharge of 0.5%.
 
-Section 2 of Act 105, SLH 2011, creates a new section under Chapter 237, HRS, which provides for the suspension of the exemption. Under this new section, subsection (b) provides 
-
-that the previously exempt income is taxable at the rate of 4%. Therefore, gross income derived from sales of tangible personal property to the Federal government is NOT taxable at the wholesale rate of 0.5% even though the Federal government (e.g., commissary) may "resell" the tangible personal property.2 See HRS section 237-4(a)(1). Whether the transaction qualifies as a wholesale transaction taxable at 0.5% is irrelevant in light of Act 105's provision imposing tax at the 4% rate.
+Section 2 of Act 105, SLH 2011, creates a new section under Chapter 237, HRS, which provides for the suspension of the exemption. Under this new section, subsection (b) provides that the previously exempt income is taxable at the rate of 4%. Therefore, gross income derived from sales of tangible personal property to the Federal government is NOT taxable at the wholesale rate of 0.5% even though the Federal government (e.g., commissary) may "resell" the tangible personal property.2 See HRS section 237-4(a)(1). Whether the transaction qualifies as a wholesale transaction taxable at 0.5% is irrelevant in light of Act 105's provision imposing tax at the 4% rate.
 
 **Grandfathering Rules Applicable to Request for Proposals Issued by the Government** Act 105 states that gross income from "binding written contracts entered into prior to July 1, 2011, that does not permit the passing on of increased rates of taxes" will be exempt from general excise tax even if the amounts would be made taxable by the suspension of an exemption. In Tax Announcement 2011-10, the Department provided special rules for government contracts executed in response to an invitation to bid so that a bid in response to an invitation to bid would be treated as a binding written contract for purposes of Act 105 if the bid or award was made prior to July 1, 2011, and the accepted bid or award ultimately resulted in a fully executed written contract. 
 
 Unlike bids in response to an invitation to bid, a proposal in response to a request for proposal issued by a local, state, or Federal government will not be treated as a binding written contract. However, an award in response to a request for proposal will be treated as a binding written contract and will be grandfathered from the suspension of an exemption in Act 105, provided the award is made before July 1, 2011, and results in a fully executed written contract. 
 
-This bulletin relates to the United States Government charge cards issued under the "GSA Smart Pay" Program and references the general excise tax exemption for sales of tangible personal property to credit unions. This is a temporary suspension of the exemption outlined in 237-25(a)(3), HRS. For more information, contact the Technical Section at (808) 587-1577 or by e-mail at [email protected]. 
+This bulletin relates to the United States Government charge cards issued under the "GSA SmartPay®" Program and references the general excise tax exemption for sales of tangible personal property to credit unions. This is a temporary suspension of the exemption outlined in 237-25(a)(3), HRS. For more information, contact the Technical Section at (808) 587-1577 or by e-mail at [email protected]. 
 
 ## Action
 

src/content/smart-bulletins/026.md

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 4.606(a)(1)(iii) states that, a
 1
 CCCM provides purchase card data to FPDS as part of its responsibilities under the Government card program. The data CCCM reports to FPDS is housed outside of the regular database and is not co-mingled with data submitted by agencies/organizations, removing any concerns regarding duplicative reporting. CCCM reports only agency level data, such as the total numbers of transactions and total dollars. CCCM data does not associate orders placed using the purchase card with specific IDVs. If an agency/organization requires that FPDS contain that data for the purposes of tracking and monitoring IDV-specific utilization, agencies/organizations must report such orders to FPDS directly. 
 
-Agencies / Organizations have the option to consolidate FPDS reporting for orders at or below the micro-purchase threshold placed with the purchase card that would otherwise be administratively burdensome to report separately. The FPDS Express Reports can be used for this purpose, as outlined in FAR Subpart 4.606(a)(3). For example, an agency/organization may have a single IDV where 50% of the orders for the month were placed with the purchase card and fall at or below the micro-purchase threshold. In this situation, the agency/organization would report all orders over the micro-purchase threshold via separate Contract Action Reports (CARs) as required by FAR 4.606 but could also choose to combine all orders that fall at or below the micro-purchase threshold under a single IDV-specific FPDS Express Report for the purposes of tracking total IDV-specific utilization. When FPDS Express Reports are used, they should be submitted at least monthly. 
+Agencies /organizations have the option to consolidate FPDS reporting for orders at or below the micro-purchase threshold placed with the purchase card that would otherwise be administratively burdensome to report separately. The FPDS Express Reports can be used for this purpose, as outlined in FAR Subpart 4.606(a)(3). For example, an agency/organization may have a single IDV where 50% of the orders for the month were placed with the purchase card and fall at or below the micro-purchase threshold. In this situation, the agency/organization would report all orders over the micro-purchase threshold via separate Contract Action Reports (CARs) as required by FAR 4.606 but could also choose to combine all orders that fall at or below the micro-purchase threshold under a single IDV-specific FPDS Express Report for the purposes of tracking total IDV-specific utilization. When FPDS Express Reports are used, they should be submitted at least monthly. 
 
 When either FPDS CARs or Express Reports are utilized, Data Element 6N (Purchase Card as Payment Method) should be coded “yes” when the purchase card was or will be used to pay the contractor for the order(s) being reported. Data Element 6N provides an indication that the action was backed by a contract vehicle/document where paperless methods of invoicing and payment were used and is only used for the purposes of sustainability reporting. 
 

src/content/smart-bulletins/030.md

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Specific requirements for each business line are as follows:
 
 *Purchase cards only (to be provided to CCCM by CFO Act Agencies)* 
 - Ratio of A/Os to purchase cardholders (span of control);
-- Number of purchase cards with transaction limits over the micro-purchase threshold
+- Number of purchase cards with transaction limits over the micro-purchase threshold;
 - Ratio of the number of confirmed violations reported pursuant to P.L. 112-194 as compared to the number of valid transactions within the reporting period (GSA’s Center for Charge Card Management will obtain confirmed violation information from OMB/OFFM).
 
 *Convenience checks only:*
@@ -60,15 +60,15 @@ Specific requirements for each business line are as follows:
 - Number of fleet cards with transaction limits over micro-purchase threshold. Integrated cards only (to be provided to CCCM by CFO Act Agencies):
 - Ratio of A/Os to integrated cardholders (purchase business line - span of control);
 - Ratio of reviewing officials to integrated cards (fleet business line - span of control);
-- Number of integrated cards with transaction limits over the micro-purchase threshold and
+- Number of integrated cards with transaction limits over the micro-purchase threshold and;
 - Ratio of the number of confirmed violations reported pursuant to P.L. 112-194 as compared to the number of valid transactions within the reporting period (GSA’s Center for Charge Card Management will obtain confirmed violation information from OMB/OFFM).
 
 ### OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B Chapter 5.3.2 – Narrative Reporting – 
 For agencies/organizations subject to the CFO Act, the following information should be updated annually on a fiscal year basis and provided to CCCM *no later than 90 calendar days after the end of each fiscal year:*
 - The date(s) of most recent and next scheduled independent review(s) (e.g., OIG audits and risk assessments) for all agency charge card programs;
 - A description of the current process for monitoring delinquency, including what reports the agency reviews and what actions are taken when a problem is discovered;
 - A description of any best practices the agency employs in charge card management;
-- Progress reports on agency integration of GSA SmartPay e-payable payment process into their accounts payable processes and
+- Progress reports on agency integration of GSA SmartPay e-payable payment process into their accounts payable processes and;
 - Any additional information regarding agency management and use of charge card programs, including innovative applications to streamline business processes, increased revenue generation from expanded use for payments, and creative internal controls that maintain program integrity, flexibility, and ease of use.
 
 The due date for submission of the FY2019 agency narrative reporting to CCCM is similarly extended to NLT on February 28, 2020. This extension applies only to FY 19 reports. For FY2020 reports and beyond, agency narrative reports are due to CCCM NLT 90 calendar days after the end of the fiscal year requirement as specified in the current version of OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B.

src/content/smart-bulletins/034.md

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ The purpose of this Smart Bulletin is to detail the process which agencies servi
 
 ## Summary
 
-PM was one of the three contractor banks supporting the SP2 program. The JPM SP2 contract was originally scheduled to end on November 30, 2018, but was extended twice. The last contract extension expired in May 2019. Section C.3.4, “Record Retention and Retrieval” of the GSA SP2 master contract, requires JPM to comply with the following record retention and retrieval requirements:
+JPM was one of the three contractor banks supporting the SP2 program. The JPM SP2 contract was originally scheduled to end on November 30, 2018, but was extended twice. The last contract extension expired in May 2019. Section C.3.4, “Record Retention and Retrieval” of the GSA SP2 master contract, requires JPM to comply with the following record retention and retrieval requirements:
 
 > In addition to the record retention requirements of FAR 4.703, the Contractor shall be the Government’s agent for document repository as it relates to all transactions under the card program(s). The Contractor shall maintain electronic records of all transactions that exceed $25,000 for a period of 6 years and 3 months after final payment and for all transactions of less than $25,000 for a period of 3 years after final payment. Final payment is defined as the final payment for the particular charge under each agency’s/organization’s task order. The Contractor shall segregate this transaction information (i.e., transactions exceeding $25,000 and less than $25,000). Upon written request of the GSA Contracting Officer, the ordering Contracting Officer, the A/OPC, or the Internal Revenue Service with A/OPC knowledge and approval, the Contractor shall provide the requested information in an electronic format within 30 calendar days, unless otherwise specified, at no additional cost to the Government. In addition, Contractors shall provide online access to data for a minimum of 18 months after the transaction occurs.