This subpart prescribes policy requirements for submitting and processing payment requests in electronic form.

(a) The contractor shall submit payment requests in electronic form unless directed by the contracting officer to submit payment requests by mail. Purchases paid with a Government-wide commercial purchase card are considered to be an electronic transaction for purposes of this rule, and therefore no additional electronic invoice submission is required.

(b) The contracting officer may direct the contractor to submit payment requests by mail, through the United States Postal Service, to the designated agency office for -

(1) Awards made to foreign vendors for work performed outside the United States;

(2) Classified contracts or purchases when electronic submission and processing of payment requests could compromise the safeguarding of classified or privacy information;

(3) Contracts awarded by contracting officers in the conduct of emergency operations, such as responses to national emergencies;

(4) Solicitations or contracts in which the designated agency office is a VA entity other than the VA Financial Services Center in Austin, Texas; or

(5) Solicitations or contracts in which the VA designated agency office does not have electronic invoicing capability as described above.

The contractor shall submit electronic payment requests through -

(a) VA's Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System at the current website address provided in the contract; or

(b) A system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 852.232-72, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests, in solicitations and contracts exceeding the micro-purchase threshold, except those for which the contracting officer has directed otherwise under 832.7001, and those paid with a Governmentwide commercial purchase card.