SIT Control Number Issue Resurfaces

One of the very first issues that popped up in DPS invoicing was the disconnect between the date that a shipment went into storage, and the Julian date embedded in the SIT control number on the date the PPSO actually did the approval in the DPS system.  We blogged about this issue back in March of 2009, and here is an excerpt:

We have recently been able to invoice a handful of these, and the invoices have paid for the full amount of storage time, regardless of the Julian date reflected in the SIT control number. Therefore, it appears that a SIT control number issued after the fact will not prevent TSPs from collecting the full amount due them for storage.

In the year and a half since we wrote that, our conclusion has proven to be true. We have been able to get SIT paid for the full amount, regardless of the Julian date in the SIT control number. While we had thought this issue was behind us, we have received a lot of questions on this very topic lately.

Apparently, some of the European PPSOs are falling behind on approving SIT requests, and have told the local agents that they will not be catching up anytime soon. Therefore, there are a lot of SIT control numbers being issued after the shipment has been placed into SIT, which is causing concerns on the TSPs about getting paid the full amount for SIT.

Our response has been the same as it was in March 2009. Payment at this time should not be a problem, but we have also reiterated our concerns about defending these shipments in a GSA post audit situation. Despite the fact that we have been told that GSA is aware of this issue, we would not be surprised to see overcharges two years down the road, based on the fact that the date we billed for SIT doesn’t match up with the Julian date in the SIT control number. Our recommendation continues to be that TSP continues to ensure that the shipment’s paper records accurately reflect the date the shipment went into SIT, so that we can use those to defend any future overcharges.

Related Posts

1. SIT Invoicing Issue in DPS - March 17th, 2009
2. Payment Delays Due to Missing Info in DPS - August 11th, 2009
3. New DPS Invoicing Transmission Issue Identified - November 8th, 2010