Responsibilities

Responsibilities and Controls

All purchases made with the MIT Procurement Card create financial obligations for which the Institute is responsible. This card carries the following responsibilities that the cardholder and department agree to abide by:

Cardholder Responsibility

The cardholder is responsible for all use of his/her card. NO OTHER PERSON IS AUTHORIZED to use the card. By accepting this card, all cardholders must:

• Follow all policies and procedures established in this guide;
• When purchasing from the MIT or Harvard Coop, be sure to specify the Institute coop number. This number is 13-3;
• Retain all proof of delivery/purchase documentation (i.e. packing slips, sales receipt, etc.) and forward them to your verifier;
• Contact and resolve any disputes with suppliers;
• Immediately notify the MIT Credit Card Administrator if a card is lost or stolen (See Lost or Stolen Card section).

Non-Allowed Purchases

All purchases made using the MIT Procurement Card are subject to the Institute's policies and procedures regarding appropriate and allowable purchases. The following regulated or otherwise restricted items may not be purchased using the Procurement Card:

Meals and Entertainment

Meeting-related food expense is considered a sensitive item with regard to categorization as an allowable or unallowable expense. The MIT Procurement Card may be used to purchase food under the following conditions:

• The prospective food purchase is determined to be permissible under MIT policy (Reference CAO Memorandum on Meeting Expense dated December 11, 1992);
• The purchase should be for meeting-related, take-out/catered service or local dining only. All food charges should then be reviewed and reallocated according to proper MIT policies and procedures.

To avoid difficulty with government reimbursement issues, any food purchased with the MIT Procurement Card will be automatically placed on Non-Recoverable Expense G/L Account (Object Code) 421000 (462). Under normal circumstances, these types of expenses should not be directly billed to WBS cost objects. If the primary cost object specified on the Procurement Card application was sponsored research, then all food purchases will automatically be placed on the departmental secondary cost object specified. These charges can be reallocated within the 21 days allowed for reallocation. Charges older than 21 days will be swept clean and posted to the departmental secondary cost object; any adjustments after the charges have been swept will need to be done using the MIT journal voucher system.

Department Responsibility

An authorized representative from the department must approve MIT Procurement Card application(s) submitted by departmental employees. By approving the application(s) the department agrees to accept responsibility for all purchases made using the approved card and must assign a non-research Institute-funded cost object to serve as a secondary cost object. In addition, the department must:

• Follow all policies and procedures established in this guide;
• Ensure that the department receives and retains all proof of delivery/purchase documentation (i.e. packing slips, sales receipt, etc.) from the cardholder;
• Support the MIT Procurement Card charges to their monthly detailed transaction report with the respective proofs of delivery.
• Retain the supporting documentation in accordance with the requirements specified by "A Guide to Retention of MIT's Financial Records." All departments must be able to produce these records upon request during both internal and external audits;
• Promptly notify the MIT Procurement Card Administrator of any change in employment status of cardholder (i.e. termination, transfer);
• Contact the MIT Procurement Card Administrator to change or cancel cardholder privileges;
• Notify the MIT Procurement Card Administrator immediately of any fraudulent charges.