[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 129 (Thursday, July 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38402-38403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10579]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION


Establishment of a Transaction Fee for Transportation Services 
Provided for the GSA, Office of Global Supply

AGENCY: Federal Supply Service, GSA.

ACTION: Notice in response to comments on proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: GSA published a notice in the Federal Register at 70 FR 73248 
on December 9, 2005, and an extension to that notice at 70 FR 76455 on 
December 27, 2005, soliciting comments on the establishment of a 4% 
transaction fee for transportation services provided for the GSA, 
Office of Global Supply. Subsequent meetings were held with 
transportation service provider industries and the GSA, Office of 
Global Supply. This notice is in response to the comments GSA received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Ms. Mary Anne Sykes, Transportation 
Programs Branch, by telephone at 703-605-2889 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed rule is applicable to the 
Freight Management Program (FMP), Standard Tender of Service (STOS), 
for transportation services provided to the Eastern Distribution Center 
(EDC), Burlington, NJ; Western Distribution Center (WDC), French Camp, 
CA; and the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and National 
Industries for the Severely Handicapped (NISH). It applies to all 
transportation service providers (TSPs) transporting these shipments.
    Comments were received from the following individual transportation 
service providers, their representatives, and various industry 
associations:
    Associations
    American Trucking Associations
    National Motor Freight Traffic Association
    Transportation Intermediaries Association
    NYP, Inc.
    Fiore Associates
    Transportation Service Providers
    Crossroad Carriers
    Economy Transport, Inc.
    Landstar System, Inc.
    Tucker Company
    General comments and issues raised were centered on the following 
topics:

[[Page 38403]]

     Economic justification/value proposition
     Fee is too high
     Oppose fee
     Overall increase to Government Cost
     Increase in TSP fees and administrative burden
     Fee must not apply to existing tenders
     TSP must be given time to adjust rates
     Fee must apply universally to all TSPs
     TSPs shouldn't collect and pay transaction fees
    The following responses take into consideration the comments on the 
potential impact of the proposed rule on both GSA and the 
transportation industry.
    GSA must fund its programs to remain viable and cover the cost of 
the services provided by the freight program. GSA's Federal Supply 
Service (FSS) has assessed an industrial funding fee for essentially 
all of its programs since Congress authorized GSA to charge fees for 
its services in 1987. The proposed 4% transaction fee aligns the Global 
Supply transportation services with GSA's funding mechanism for its 
other programs.
    TSPs will realize additional savings through reduction in 
administrative requirements to process invoices. TSPs that provide 
transportation services for GSA, Global Supply will benefit from TMSS 
electronic billing, electronic rate submission, automated prepayment 
audit, faster payments, online transaction tracking, automated reports, 
and complete audit history trails.
    After careful deliberations GSA decided to delay assessment of the 
4% transaction fee until the TMSS pre-payment audit and payment modules 
are complete. TSPs will be required to remit the 4% fee for paid 
invoices directly to GSA quarterly instead of deducting the 4% fee from 
each invoice via TMSS prior to payment. The Final Rule outlining the 
collection method and implementation plan will be published in the 
Federal Register once the TMSS modules are complete. The proposed 
changes will be highlighted in a Request for Offers that will be issued 
for a special rate filing window that will be opened prior to 
implementation. GSA will monitor the shipment volume to determine if 
the 4% fee needs future adjustments. GSA wants to ensure that the 
appropriate percentage is being applied.

    Dated: June 29, 2006.
Susan T. May,
Acting Director, Travel and Transportation Management Division (FBL), 
GSA.
[FR Doc. E6-10579 Filed 7-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-89-S