Effective January 1, 1983, the General Assembly mandated all State agencies to comply with Section 17 (amended) of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code. This section requires the delivery of a voucher for payment to the Comptroller General's Office within thirty (30) workdays from the receipt of the goods and/or services, whichever is later. Interest not to exceed 6.25 percent per annum will be levied against the agency's funds for the unpaid balance beginning on the thirty-first (31) workday.

These regulations are promulgated by the South Carolina Comptroller General's Office and apply to all State agencies. Agencies currently authorized to make lump sum withdrawals on vouchers will be expected to comply with these regulations. State agencies on the Comptroller General's system are expected to exercise prudence to ensure all invoices and vouchers are delivered to the Comptroller General's Office within thirty (30) workdays to avoid the assessment of late payment charges. No Interest Expense - Late Payment charges will be paid to a vendor if the invoice with the voucher was received by the Comptroller General's Office within thirty (30) workdays. It is the duty and responsibility of the respective agency, board, commission or institution director to ensure compliance with these regulations.

"(A) Beginning January 1, 1983, all vouchers for payment of purchases of goods or services shall be delivered to the Comptroller General's Office within thirty (30) workdays from receipt of the goods or services, whichever is received later by the agency. After the thirtieth workday, the Comptroller General shall levy an amount not to exceed 6.25 percent per annum from the funds available to the agency, such amount to be applied to the unpaid balance to be remitted to the vendor.

(B) All agencies and institutions of the State are required to comply with the provisions of this section. Beginning July 1, 1983, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Mental Retardation, the Department of Corrections, the Interagency Council on Public Transportation ... shall process all payments for goods or services through the Comptroller General's Office. Only the lump sum institutions of higher education shall be responsible for the payment of all goods or services within thirty (30) workdays after the receipt of the goods or services, whichever is received later and shall pay an amount not to exceed 6.25 percent per annum on any unpaid balance which exceeds the thirty (30) workday period.

(C) The Comptroller General shall issue written instructions to the agencies to carry out the intent of this section. All offices, institutions and agencies of state government shall fully cooperate with the Comptroller General in the implementation of this section.

(D) The thirty-day period shall not begin until the agency, whether or not the agency processes vouchers through the Comptroller General, certifies its satisfaction with the received goods or services.

(E) Invoices submitted for gas, electricity, telephone, water and sewer services provided by public utilities subject to rate regulation by the Public Service Commission are exempt. The Budget and Control Board excludes late payment charges under Section 11-35-45 thereby allowing public utilities to assess late payment charges under their respective tariffs as approved by the Public Service Commission."

1. No Interest Expense - Late Payment charges will be paid to any political sub-division of the State or to any company owned or operated by any political sub-division of the State under the provisions of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code.

2. No Interest Expense - Late Payment charges will not be paid to any State employee. This proviso applies to payments for travel, dual employment or any other business conducted with an agency of the State.

3. No Interest Expense - Late Payment charges will be paid to any State legislator, board or commission member for travel expenses.

4. The thirty (30) workday time frame begins with the agency's receipt of the goods or services or the invoice, whichever is later. The agency is responsible to see that the information necessary to determine when the invoice is received by the agency is shown on the invoice. The time frame ends with the receipt of the voucher and invoice in the Comptroller General's Office.

5. Commencing on the thirty-first (31) workday after delivery of goods and services to the agency, a daily finance charge (0.0171232%) will be assessed. This charge will cease when the invoice and voucher are received by the Comptroller General's Office. This late payment charge will be added to the voucher by the Central State Finance Division of the Comptroller General's Office. Agencies will be notified of all changes made through a telephone conversation. This will be confirmed in writing with a form issued by the Comptroller General's Office for each invoice affected. However, no assessments will be made for less than $5.00.

6. The agency is responsible for notifying the vendor that the check amount include a late payment charge assessment.

7. Invoices with vouchers received by the Comptroller General's Office which are over thirty (30) workdays old, will be assessed the interest penalty. A written explanation for the delay must be attached if the late payment charge is not to be applied. It will be the responsibility of the agency to attach any explanations needed to the invoice.

8. Any late payment charges submitted by a vendor on an invoice should be deleted. However, every courtesy should be extended to the vendor in resolving any misunderstandings. If the agency determines a late payment charge is owed the vendor, a voucher should be submitted to the Comptroller General's Office. The expenditure object code 2205-Interest Expense - Late Payment Charges would be used to pay the charge. The interest expense would be computed at 6.25 percent per annum.

9. Orders not filled in their entirety will not be entitled to the late payment charge. Thirty (30) workdays after the entire order has been delivered, a late payment charge may be assessed as provided in these regulations. This does not apply to split delivery orders when this is stipulated on the purchase order. Partial orders may be paid at the agency's discretion but no late payment charges will be allowed. Payments on partial orders should be noted as such on the invoice.

10. Disagreements concerning the delivery of goods and services are between the agency and the vendor and must be settled between those parties. The Comptroller General's Office will not arbitrate these disagreements.

11. Agencies are encouraged to batch vouchers with invoices over thirty (30) workdays old together. Any batches containing vouchers and invoices on which a late payment charge is due must have "Late Charges" written on the Transmittal Control Form. This should be shown on the left side of the form under the fiscal month area.

12. An expenditure object code 2205-Interest Expense - Late Payment was established July 1, 1982.

13. Each agency will have a line item budget category established in their administration mini-code area for Interest Expense - Late Payment Charges. It will not be funded. As late payment charges are assessed, it will be charged to this line in the agency budget. At the end of the month, every agency which has processed a late payment charge will receive a statement from the Comptroller General's Office. Each agency will process a journal voucher moving the charge to the subfund detail using the same object code shown on the statement. A transfer will have to be initiated to move an appropriation into the subfund detail at the minor object level. If the funding source is the general fund, then a journal voucher is not necessary, but a transfer will be required.

14. Vouchers containing errors should be corrected in the Comptroller General's Office whenever possible. The Central State Finance Division - Voucher Audit and Approval staff will contact agency personnel by telephone to seek authorization to correct the voucher. If the agency consents, the correction will be made and the voucher processed. If the agency insists on the voucher being returned to the agency, that request will be honored. However, the following situations should be considered:

    1. The number of days from the departure from our office to the return to our office will be calculated. This figure will be added to the number of days from the initial agency receipt to delivery at the Comptroller General's Office. If the total number of workdays exceed thirty (30), a late payment charge will be added to the voucher total.

    2. If the invoice attached to the voucher has already exceeded the thirty (30) workday time period allowed for payment, another problem is created. The number of days from the voucher's departure from our office until the return of the voucher to the Comptroller General's Office will be calculated. This will be added to the number of days on which a daily late payment was already owed. The total number of days in these circumstances will then be used to compute the interest late payment charges owed to the vendor.

15. Vouchers which have been returned to an agency to correct an error must be batched one of two ways. Before delivery back to the Comptroller General's Office, one of the following methods must be used:

    1. Batch vouchers with invoices which have not been paid within thirty (30) workdays together, if possible. Batches containing an invoice on which late payment charges are due should be designated as such. The Transmittal Control Form must be marked "Returns - Late Charges" on the upper left portion of the form under the fiscal month area.

    2. For those batches with vouchers on which no late payment charges are due, the Transmittal Control Form should be marked "Returns."

16. When a vendor refuses an Interest Expense - Late Payment charge on an invoice(s), two methods exist for repayment to be made to the State:

    1. If the vendor is one with which the agency deals consistently, the vendor may issue a credit on the next invoice submitted to the agency. When the credit is used, it must be shown as a line of accounting information on the voucher. A credit may be used by any division within the agency but it must be used within the assigned budget category.

    2. A vendor may also issue a check to the agency if a late payment charge is refused. The check must then be deposited back into the "account" from which it was paid.

17. An agency may encounter some vendors, with which it deals, who do not wish to accept a late payment charge. When this occurs, a written document to this effect from the agency's finance director or the vendor must be attached to the voucher.

18. Agencies should always take advantage of discounts offered and/or stated on invoices. Considerable savings could result with the implementation of this policy. Vouchers with invoices where the discount is taken should be batched together when possible. When discounts are taken, please write on the Transmittal Control Form "Discounts".

19. Agencies currently operating with a "lump sum" status are also expected to comply with Section 17 of Act 148 of the 1981 Code as amended. When vouchers are submitted to the Comptroller General's Office for a lump sum withdrawal, a statement certifying compliance with Section 17 of Act 148 of the 1981 Code (amended) will be required.