Restricted Vendors for Reimbursement and Non-PO Vouchers
Purpose
To provide guidance on vendors which are restricted per state and federal laws for purchases made by UTEP employees and students with the intent of submitting an expense report for reimbursement and vendor payments submitted on a non-PO voucher.
Policy
As required by the Texas Government Code (TGC) and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) sections provided below, vendors falling within the classifications below may not participate in contracts or receive payments from state agencies such as The University of Texas at El Paso.
- Debarred Vendor List - TGC 2155.077
- Vendors on the System for Award Management (SAM) database: US Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Asset Control's master list of Specifically Designated Nationals & Blocked Persons - FAR 4.1102
- Vendors on the Texas Divestment Statue Lists - TGC 808.051, TGC 809.051, & TGC 2270
- Listed in Section 1260H of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, owned by the government of a country or controlled by any governing or regulatory body located in a country on the US Department of Commerce's foreign adversaries list under 15 CFR ยง 791.4 - EO GA 48
- Vendors and individuals listed on hold in the Texas Identification Number System - TGC 2107.008
Procedures
University departments, faculty, staff and students should utilize expense reimbursements for travel and entertainment expenditures only. All other expenditures should utilize direct payment methods such as Miner Mall/PO vouchers and non-PO vouchers for approved vendors. These methods apply the highest level of vendor screening prior to the purchase, which ensures compliance with the state and federal statutes mentioned in the Policy section of this guideline.
The University Disbursement and Travel Services staff will run Visual Compliance on all international vendors identified in non-PO vouchers and expense reports, prior to approval of the document. If Visual Compliance demonstrates that the vendor falls within the lists/databases in items one through four in the Policy section of this guideline, the document will be rejected, and payment will not be issued. The UTEP employee or student who sourced the vendor for goods or services will be solely responsible for payment to the restricted vendor.
The University Enterprise Reporting System, PeopleSoft, will automatically place a payment hold on any approved vouchers and/or expense reports for vendors and individuals listed on hold in the Texas Identification Number System. Payments to vendors and individuals on hold will not be released until the hold has been removed in the Texas Identification Number System and subsequently in PeopleSoft.
Alternatively, the University may release payments if the hold source agency or agencies consent to the release of the payment. The consent must be:
- In writing.
- Obtained on a payment-by-payment basis while the payee remains on hold.
- Retained for audit purposes.
Vendors and individuals on hold are solely responsible for contacting the Texas Comptroller's Office for details of their hold and for contacting the hold source agency to release the hold.
Applicability
Applies to all University faculty, staff and students.
Responsible Party
Comptroller
Last Updated: February 2025
