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Physical Loss.— For relief of liability of an
accountable person for a physical loss of funds,
vouchers, or records, the following rules apply:
The Secretary of Defense must determine that
the official was carrying out official duties when
the loss occurred.
The loss must not have been the result of an
illegal, incorrect, or improper payment.
The loss must not have been the result of fault or
negligence by the official.
The finding of the Secretary of Defense is binding
on the Comptroller General. In all cases of physical loss
by disbursing officials, the Secretary of Defense is the
relief authority, regardless of the amount of the loss,
However, the Secretary of Defense has delegated this
authority to the Director, DFAS. The Director, DFAS,
acts for the Secretary of Defense to make the required
determinations and grant or deny relief for all requests
submitted under the provisions of the DODFMR,
Volume 5. In turn, the Director, DFAS, has delegated
this authority to the Director, DFAS-CL, for
Department of the Navy personnel. Therefore, any
accountable person associated with a physical loss in a
Navy DO’s account may request relief from the
Director, DFAS-CL. To qualify for relief, however, the
accountable person must not have been faulty or
negligent in executing his or her duties. In addition, the
loss must not have resulted in an illegal, improper, or
incorrect payment.
Illegal, Incorrect, or Improper Payment.— In the
case of a liability resulting from an illegal, incorrect, or
improper payment, the Comptroller General may grant
relief to a disbursing official. But first a determination
must be made that the official did not act in bad faith or
show lack of reasonable care in making the payment.
However, if it is determined that the accountable official
failed to pursue diligent collection action according to
prescribed procedures, relief may be denied.
Except in certain circumstances, the Comptroller
General is the relief authority for cases involving
illegal, improper, or incorrect payments. Although the
Comptroller General acts on his or her own initiative or
upon a written recommendation of the Secretary of
Defense, he or she still independently determines
whether relief should be granted. In turn, the Secretary
of Defense has delegated the authority to make the
required recommendations on all requests for relief of
liability for illegal, improper, or incorrect payments to
the Director, DFAS. The Director, DFAS, has further
delegated this authority to the Director, DFAS-CL, to
act for Department of the Navy personnel.
When the illegal, improper, or incorrect payment is
a result of a double payment or overpayment of $3,000
or less, the authority to grant relief has been delegated
to the Secretary of Defense. The overpayments covered
by this provision must result from a mechanical or
clerical error during the check-issue process. The
double payments must have resulted from the issuance
of a second check (recertified payment) to a payee based
on the payee’s statement that the original check had
been lost, stolen, or not received. These irregularities
can occur when the original check (along with its
replacement/recertified check) is negotiated by the
payee, or when checks are issued in incorrect amounts
as a result of inadvertent clerical error. The final
authority to grant relief in these cases has been
delegated down to the level of Director, DFAS-CL, for
Navy personnel.
In any case, when relief of liability would not be
appropriate, when doubt exists about the application of
statutory relief standards, and when the amount
involved is over $3,000, the case will be referred to the
Comptroller General for resolution.
PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING RELIEF
FROM LIABILITY.— Except for minor losses, as
previously discussed, requests for relief of liability
normally will be made by the accountable individual.
When the accountable individual is a deputy or cashier,
he or she should submit the request through the
accountable DO.
Generally, the request should be submitted within
30 days after the loss has occurred. If an investigating
officer has been appointed, a copy of the investigation
report will be included as an attachment to the request
for relief.
Letter.— A request for relief of liability should be
in the form of a letter from the accountable individual.
For physical losses, the letter requesting relief will be
addressed to DFAS-CL through the accountable DO
and the requestor’s chain of command. The letter and
all forwarding endorsements will provide a complete
report of the circumstances resulting in the deficiency
and a reference to the findings of any fact-finding body,
report of investigation, or other proceedings. For
illegal, incorrect, or improper payments, the letter
requesting relief will be addressed to the Office of the
General Counsel, U.S. General Accounting Office, and
routed through the requestor’s chain of command and
DFAS-CL.
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