1.14.7. Motor Vehicle Fleet Management Program

(1) The IRS handles disciplinary action for unauthorized use in accordance with provisions of 31 USC, Section 1349, and IRM 6.751.1, Discipline and Disciplinary Actions: Policies, Responsibilities, Authorities, and Guidance, which specifies a minimum suspension of at least 30 days for anyone who uses or authorizes the use of a motor vehicle for other than official purposes. Also refer to IRS Document 11500, Guide to Penalty Determinations.

(2) An employee’s immediate supervisor will report possible unauthorized use, presence of unauthorized persons in a vehicle, or personal misconduct to the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

(1) Use of a motor vehicle between an IRS employee's residence and place of employment qualifies as transportation for an official purpose only when the Secretary of the Treasury determines that:

1. transportation between residence and various locations is required for performance of field work, in accordance with applicable regulations. These determinations will be for a maximum of two years or as determined by the Secretary.

2. transportation between residence and various locations is essential for safe and efficient performance of intelligence, counterintelligence, protective services, or criminal law enforcement duties. These determinations will be for a maximum of two years or as determined by the Secretary.

3. highly unusual circumstances, a clear and present danger, an emergency or other compelling operational considerations make this type of home-to-work transportation essential to conduct official business. These determinations are effective for not more than 15 calendar days, extendable for two 90 day periods at the discretion of the Secretary.

(2) Commuting miles between the employee's residence and official duty station will not exceed 50 miles one way unless an exception is approved by the Secretary. Use of the home-to-work vehicle to commute will not exceed 49 percent of the total usage of the vehicle during the fiscal year.

(3) Home-to-work transportation will only be authorized when such use will substantially increase the economy and efficiency of the government, and will not be authorized solely or principally for the comfort or convenience of the employee. Home-to-work transportation will be authorized only to complete those tasks necessary for the accomplishment of the IRS mission, and not authorized solely for the comfort or convenience of the employee.

(4) Home-to-work authorizations will not be based on the grade or position of the employee.

(5) Transit subsidies and other transit/parking benefits will be adjusted to take into account the use of home-to-work transportation.

(6) The IRS will acquire vehicles for home-to-work use that are the most fuel efficient and lowest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emitting necessary to execute mission requirements. The IRS will place Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) where the appropriate alternative fuel is available. Home-to-work vehicles must be incorporated into the IRS vehicle allocation methodology.

(1) The IRS may only provide an employee with home-to-work transportation after a determination has been executed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The IRS Commissioner will determine which employees may be eligible to use home-to-work transportation and will submit requests for determinations and renewals in memorandum format to the office of the Deputy Chief Financial Officer (DCFO) and Office of Asset Management (OAM).

(2) Each memorandum will:

1. explain the basis for the request. (i.e., include facts and circumstances that clearly demonstrate how the relevant statutory standard is met and how the use of a government vehicle will substantially increase the efficiency and economy or how it is essential to the conduct of government business)

2. describe the types and numbers of employees who will be authorized to use the motor vehicles as well as the situations in which they will be used.

3. describe how the bureau will conduct and document adequate training at least annually to home-to-work transportation employees on home-to-work transportation and applicable requirements for use of a government vehicle.

4. describe the reviews and administrative controls which will be relied on to mitigate risk of unauthorized use, abuse, loss, and theft of the vehicles and verify that home-to-work transportation is used solely for the purpose for which it is intended.

5. identify specific individuals to be responsible for conducting the reviews and emphasizing compliance with administrative controls.

6. provide a written statement of assurance that the requested home-to-work determinations are necessary to the IRS mission requirements and satisfy applicable statutes and regulations. This statement will include an affirmative statement that the necessary funding is approved and available to cover the costs required for the timeframe requested for home-to-work transportation. Execution of this statement of assurance cannot be delegated.

(3) Each request will also provide a detailed business case, including but not limited to:

1. a cost-benefit analysis for using home-to-work transportation.

2. a justification that assesses the relative importance to the agency’s mission of authorizing home to work.

3. an explanation of why it is critical to the IRS mission that performance of duties begins at an employee’s residence rather than official duty station, if applicable.

4. examination of the record to determine the frequency with which response from home has been required, if applicable.

(4) Home-to-work determinations must be submitted for the Secretary’s review no later than 90 days prior to expiration.

(1) IRS functions with employees authorized for home-to-work transportation will prepare, implement, and monitor a home-to-work transportation Management Internal Controls and Compliance (MICC) plan. The documentation pertaining to the plan will be made available for periodic review by DCFO and OAM staff.

(2) The IRS function must maintain a list of active home-to-work transportation employees detailing:

1. Name and title of the employee

2. Vehicle information

3. Dates that home-to-work transportation is authorized, including approval date and expiration date

4. Location of residence, including distance between the residence and duty station

5. Type of home-to-work determination

(3) The IRS function must maintain home-to-work transportation accident reports per vehicle, if any.

(4) Employees using government-owned or leased vehicles for home-to-work transportation must maintain a vehicle usage log, including home-to-work transportation mileage, other mileage, fuel use, and maintenance. The IRS function to which the vehicle is assigned will retain the vehicle usage logs and make them available for review by the Department of the Treasury, GSA, or others as appropriate and necessary.

(5) The appropriate IRS function will submit authorized home-to-work transportation reports quarterly to DCFO, OAM on each vehicle. The reports will include operational and commuting miles.

(6) The provision of home-to-work transportation to an employee may result in “fringe benefit income” to the employee. IRS BU will track and report the taxable fringe benefits as appropriate.

(7) Employees with home-to-work authorization will receive training on home-to-work transportation awareness and compliance with federal laws and regulations and sign a home-to-work certification annually. These certifications will be maintained by the appropriate IRS function.

(1) GSA will grant unlimited exemptions from the requirement to display official US government tags, shields, and other identification to IRS motor vehicles operated in the performance of investigative, law enforcement, or intelligence duties. GSA may provide interagency fleet vehicles to the IRS without signs or identifying media when the vehicles are to be used for those purposes.

(2) The Secretary of the Treasury or designee may authorize a limited exemption from the requirement to display US government license plates and other identification on IRS-owned or leased motor vehicles. The exemption must state that identifying the motor vehicle would endanger the security of the vehicle occupants or otherwise compromise the IRS mission. The limited exemption may last from one day up to three years. If the requirement for exemption still exists beyond three years, the Department of the Treasury must re-certify the continued exemption. The IRS Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner must sign all requests for limited exemptions for IRS vehicles

(1) IRS owned or commercially leased vehicles exempted from identification requirements must be registered and inspected in accordance with the laws of the state, commonwealth, or US territory where they operate.

(2) An IRS BU acquiring IRS owned or commercially leased vehicles, other than those exempted for use within the District of Columbia, must contact FMSS motor vehicle coordinator for registration and inspection information.

(1) Motor vehicles owned or leased by the government must pass federally mandated emissions inspections in the jurisdictions in which they operate, when required by state motor vehicle or environmental departments. Unless the fees are waived, IRS must reimburse the state activity for the cost of these inspections.

(2) Motor vehicles owned or leased by the government, whether they display government tags and identification or are exempted from displaying them, must comply with emission and mechanical inspection requirements of the state, commonwealth, US territory, or the District of Columbia where they operate.

(1) FMSS maintains a centralized record of vehicles in KISAM-Asset Manager (AM) for the FMSS managed fleet. CI maintains records of its vehicles in CIMIS. These records describe the motor vehicle, the tag number, the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), and the storage location of each vehicle.

(1) Employees operating government-owned or leased vehicles must complete the defensive driving training listed below on an annual basis, and self-certify completion of the requirements by checking a box on the vehicle usage log. Managers of employees who operate government-owned or leased vehicles must ensure annual educational requirements are met.

1. The ELMS course 55111, Defensive Driving or equivalent defensive driving course.

2. The ELMS course 44024, IRS Prohibition on Texting While Driving, to meet the requirements of EO 13513.

(2) In addition to drivers of government-owned and leased vehicles, the following employees will also be required to annually complete the ELMS course 44024, IRS Prohibition on Texting While Driving.

1. Drivers who use personal vehicles for official government business.

2. Employees who use a government-provided Blackberry.

3. Travel cardholders who may rent a vehicle while on official government travel.

(3) Vehicle operators who are ticketed for moving violations or involved in accidents while driving a government owned or leased vehicle are required to complete the ELMS course 55111, Defensive Driving, or equivalent, prior to being permitted to continue driving a government vehicle. The employee’s manager would add this course to the employee’s learning plan and oversee its completion.

(1) IRS is responsible for the cost of any IRS-owned or leased vehicle stored at other than a designated storage point. Before procuring parking accommodations in urban centers, the business unit official is encouraged to contact the appropriate GSA regional office to determine the availability of government owned or controlled parking space.

(2) Vehicle operators must park IRS-owned or leased vehicles in a manner that will minimize the possibility of loss or damage. IRS owned or leased vehicles must be parked and stored in a manner which will minimize the possibility of loss or damage. Priorities, in the following order, are suggested for parking, if available:

1. Assigned parking in a federal building or other space occupied by IRS;

2. Street parking or other free parking within a reasonable distance from the place where duty is performed;

3. Other federal or state agencies in the vicinity if a request for space is approved;

4. At or near an IRS employee’s residence when authorized; and

5. A commercial parking facility, if authorized.

(3) Employees with home-to-work authority must make their vehicle available to other members of their organizational unit during any extended absence (such as for training missions or vacations). If a supervisor allows a vehicle to remain at a home-to-work location, it must be secured and not left unattended in an open parking lot or in on-street parking.

(1) IRS procurement executes contracts for commercial storage or parking services for government-owned or leased vehicles.

(2) Such expenses incurred for all government-owned or leased vehicles while the employee is on official travel are payable from travel appropriations. Employees must claim and identify these charges separately on a travel voucher through the IRS e-travel system, Concur®.

(3) Vehicle operators must not use government-issued fleet credit cards for parking or overnight storage expenses. They may use the traveler’s government travel card or cash for payment per IRM 1.32.1 and IRM 1.32.11.

(4) The IRS must store surplus vehicles awaiting final disposition in a government facility.

(1) The IRS fleets managed by FMSS lease vehicles from the GSA Interagency Fleet Management System motor pool:

1. Based on GSA mileage requirements, IRS assigns GSA vehicles in priority order from highest mileage vehicles to those driven a minimum of 7,200 miles per year in metropolitan areas or 12,000 miles per year in rural areas. The IRS does not normally assign GSA vehicles when the total annual mileage is less, except in unusual circumstances where no other options exist to meet transportation needs. Offices using vehicles for occasional travel and not meeting the mileage requirements must consider “pool” use of GSA vehicles.

2. All vehicles in the FMSS-managed vehicles, except Fuel Compliance pick-up trucks, are required to be “pool” use (assigned to one or more IRS offices rather than a specific employee). If pool use of a specified vehicle in the FMSS-managed fleet is not practical due to installed equipment or specific usage requirements, the IRS office using the vehicle must provide a written explanation of the need for excluding the vehicle from the program rotation requirements to the FMSS motor vehicle coordinator.

(2) EO 10579, Relations Relating to the Establishment and Operation of Interagency Motor-Vehicle Pools and Systems, exempts any motor vehicle regularly used by an agency in the performance of investigative law enforcement or intelligence duties from inclusion in interagency motor vehicle pools. This exemption is available if the head of the agency determines that exclusive control of such vehicles is essential to the effective performance of such duties. The Department of the Treasury has determined that motor vehicles operated by Criminal Investigation division, Special Agents, meet the EO 10579 conditions.

(1) Vehicle Purchase Limitations - Congressional authority for the purchase of new law-enforcement vehicles is contained in the annual appropriation language and applies only to passenger vehicles. CI Headquarters purchases vehicles with funds allocated specifically for that purpose. Funds available for such purpose, however, cannot be obligated until the Secretary of the Treasury, through the Assistant Secretary for Management, certifies that the purchase is consistent with departmental vehicle management principles covered in Treasury Order 102-22.

(2) Methods and Procedures - 41 CFR 101-26.5 outlines methods for obtaining new motor vehicles

(1) Passenger carrying vehicles – The IRS has set the following standards for accepting seized passenger vehicles in the IRS enforcement fleet based on study, analysis, and experience of use of seized vehicles:

1. Age - The current and three preceding model years

2. Mileage - Not exceeding 40,000

3. Make – Any make and model, except those covered in IRM 1.2.18.1.2, Policy Statement 9-85, Luxury class vehicles excluded from motor vehicle fleet except for surveillance or undercover work, for replacement of inferior vehicles as operations necessitate, to the extent they do not exceed the current fleet allocation.

4. Body - Sedans, station wagons, hatchbacks, vans, SUV and light-duty trucks

5. Requirements and dollar limits - Before acquisition, each vehicle must be subject to a safety, mechanical, and body inspection by a competent mechanic and a written estimate obtained of the cost to bring the vehicle into fleet operable condition. No seized vehicle will be acquired where the cost estimate to put into service exceeds 25% of the vehicle's current appraised value.

6. Fuel economy - Preference is given to vehicles with better fuel economy and vehicles that use renewable energy or are hybrids.

(2) Exception to Standards - Any seized passenger vehicle which does not meet the preceding standards and is desired for use in the IRS enforcement fleet because of condition, color, make, or other characteristic, may be applied for and acquired if approved by CI in accordance with applicable delegation orders.

(3) Seized Truck Standards - CI will apply national standards to determine under what conditions to acquire seized and forfeited trucks.

(4) Motorcycles – The IRS will not bring motorcycles into the enforcement fleet.

(1) An "enforcement type" vehicle is a standard vehicle equipped with certain extra features and accessories so that the vehicle will not be readily recognizable as a government-owned vehicle. It will be equipped with certain extra features to provide maximum safety to the driver and the public and with equipment to ensure speed, stamina, and durability to perform under adverse driving conditions. This is not the “police-type vehicle” usually identified with police work.

(1) In accordance with the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, IRS will acquire AFV unless no infrastructure is available in the area where a vehicle will be located. Drivers must use alternative fuel in all AFV unless the IRS obtains a Department of Energy (DOE) waiver, as required by EPAct 2005 Section 701. Where applicable and to the maximum extent possible, law enforcement vehicles will conform to the preceding provisions.

(2) The IRS will not place hybrid vehicles in locations where alternative fuel infrastructure is available to support AFV.

(3) The use of Plug-in Hybrid (PIH) vehicles will be required by all federal agencies when they become commercially available at a cost reasonably comparable to non-PIH vehicles, on the basis of life-cycle cost.

(4) To meet the requirements set forth by the Energy Policy Acts of 1999 and 2005, EO 13423, and the Energy Independence Act (EISA) of 2007 and to comply with the energy conservation, minimum fuel efficiency, alternative fuel use, and GHG emission reduction standards, all Treasury bureaus including the IRS must:

1. Select vehicles that achieve maximum fuel efficiency.

2. Limit vehicle body size, engine size, and optional equipment to what is essential to meet the IRS mission (Class I and Class II sedans for non-law enforcement; Class III, mid-size sedans for law enforcement).

3. Lease or purchase large (Class IV) sedans or Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) only when the Treasury Office of Asset Management approves such vehicles as essential to the agency’s mission

4. Lease or purchase vehicles that do not meet the low-GHG emission ratings only if the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Management (ASM) approves these vehicles pursuant to exemption requirements. These requests must state why IRS cannot perform its mission with a low-GHG emitting vehicle and be signed at a level no lower than IRS Deputy Commissioner.

5. Submit a lease versus purchase analysis not later than March 30th of each year for purchased vehicles.

6. Ensure all law enforcement vehicles are properly classified by category LE I, LE II, or LE III, as prescribed in GSA Bulletin FMR B-33.

(5) The IRS must submit a justification memorandum to the ASM to increase fleet size. The justification should include the reason for requesting additional vehicle, the category/type of vehicle, primary use, and any special requirements.

(1) GSA leased vehicle replacement worksheets will be sent to the Fleet Program Manager to review and approve replacement requirements.

(2) Business units requesting replacement vehicles must provide the following for each replacement requested:

1. Written acknowledgement of the need.

2. Justification of any requirement changes.

(3) Business units requesting replacement vehicles which do not meet the GHG score, (i.e., sport utility vehicles or cargo vans) must submit a business case justification of why this type of vehicle is requested. The justification packet must be approved by the IRS Commissioner and submitted to the Department of the Treasury ASM no later than September 30th to receive a functional needs waiver for vehicles to be issued in the subsequent fiscal year.

(1) If a vehicle needs body or mechanical repairs that exceed the fair market value of the motor vehicle GSA may replace it without regard to the minimum replacement standards above (see 41 CFR 102-34.260).

(2) When a vehicle is damaged beyond economical repair, survey action is required before disposition. To avoid duplicating accident investigation file materials, survey files may make cross-reference to them. For additional information, see IRM 1.14.4, Personal Property Management.

(1) Each new vehicle purchased has been inspected at the factory in accordance with GSA requirements. Field activities must spot check new vehicles upon receipt to ensure that factory inspections have been adequately performed. Any deficiencies observed are to be reported to the local FMSS Motor Vehicle Coordinator as soon as noted.

(1) The following procedures are to be followed from the time a new vehicle is received until service under warranty is required. Contact your local FMSS Motor Vehicle Coordinator if any damage is discovered while performing the initial vehicle inspection.

1. While carrier damage is not a warranty item, it is the focus of the first inspection to be performed when the new vehicle is delivered. This is a general check for damage or missing parts.

2. If the vehicle was purchased Freight on Board (FOB) destination, correction of any deficiency attributable to the carrier is still the responsibility of the manufacturer, and their appropriate office must be notified.

3. If the vehicle was purchased fob. origin, then the government deals directly with the carrier. Any damage or missing parts must be noted on the Government Bill of Lading (GBL) before the document is signed. The carrier must be given the opportunity to inspect the vehicle without unreasonable delay before the vehicle is repaired. After the vehicle is repaired, the repair invoice amount will be deducted from the carrier’s invoice when IRS is billed for transportation charges. If the damage appears to be so extensive that the repair cost would exceed the transportation cost or repair of the vehicle seems uneconomical, the property officer or authorized representative may refuse to sign for, and refuse delivery of, the vehicle.

4. The receiving office will forward a copy of the receiving report to their local FMSS Motor Vehicle Coordinator.

(1) All personnel involved in acceptance and operation of motor vehicles must comply with the following maintenance and warranty provisions:

1. If the vehicle is still within the manufacturer’s warranty period, it must be taken to the nearest authorized dealer for the make of vehicle for repair at no cost to the government. The warranty/guarantee for purchased IRS vehicles is as stated in the GSA contract of purchase for the applicable year. Expenditures for repairs during the warranty period must be subject to administrative review at all levels

2. The IRS must use recycled products when available, as long as they meet manufacturer warranty requirements. These may include re-refined motor oil, and recycled antifreeze.

3. The vehicle operators must maintain fuel and mileage records and evaluate the cause of any significant change in miles per gallon of fuel used by a vehicle