320 ALLOWABLE ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE (eff. 10/29/06 TL:SR-670)
Expenditures for items of the following kinds incurred in the foreign
country or area of assignment or detail by employees and adult family members
acting with or on their behalf described in Section 312, may be approved for
reimbursement or payment:
a. entertainment of a protocol nature, such as that normally offered by
the principal and high-ranking subordinate officers of the Foreign Service at
posts abroad on such occasions as national holidays and on such other important
occasions as visits of noted personages or of public vessels or aircraft. However, reimbursement for entertainment
solely for employees of the Executive Branch of the United States Government
and their families is prohibited. (See
Section 330d);
b. entertainment undertaken by employees to promote personal
relationships necessary to the performance of their official duties;
c. gratuities (in addition to those related to entertainment) to persons
not employed by the United States, where such gratuities are used primarily to
extend courtesies or to conform to social or diplomatic custom and subject to
the limitations of Section 320d; (eff. 10/29/06 TL:SR-670)
d. purchase of flowers, wreaths and similar tokens for presentation in
accordance with local custom on appropriate occasions such as weddings, births
or deaths of important personages. The cost of items purchased under this
subsection may not exceed the lesser of the limits established under 22 USC
2694 for gifts of minimal value (as defined in 41 CFR 102-42) or an agency’s
implementing regulations; (eff. 10/29/06 TL:SR-670)
e. entertainment of members and employees of the Legislative and/or
Judicial Branches of the United States Government, or other American citizens
who are not employees of the Federal Government, including State and local
officials and business persons;
f. hiring extra waiters, busboys or other temporary help to serve at
official functions, and overtime for ORE staff serving at official
representation events; (eff. 10/29/06 TL:SR-670)
g. rental costs incurred for ceremonial dress required of staff
accompanying an Ambassador in presenting their credentials to the head of
state; rental costs incurred by Ambassadors, Deputy Chiefs of Mission and
officers serving as Charge D’Affaires for formal morning dress required by host
country protocol for official ceremonial occasions. Reimbursement for rental costs of formal wear
for all other occasions is prohibited. Where economical to the U.S. Government
and authorized by agency regulation, agencies may permit the purchase of formal
morning dress for the purposes listed above so long as such attire is only used
for official purposes (eff. 10/29/06 TL:SR-670);
h. printing, engraving or purchase of invitations to official functions,
seasonal greeting cards, or other printing and engraving related to
representation functions, where there exists agency authority for such printing
and engraving (e.g. Department of State authority under 22 U.S.C. 2669(a))
(eff. 10/29/06 TL:SR-670); and
i. other representational expenses which the head of agency may authorize
or approve as being of a type to promote the interests of the United States.