Policies and Guidelines:
General use - Prohibited purchases - Rules - Post-purchase

Procurement card holders not abiding by University policies will have their card privileges suspended.

Disallowed purchases
Disallowed vendors
Prohibited Merchant Category Codes

Disallowed Purchases
The Procurement Card may not typically be used for purchasing the following items:

This list is not comprehensive but lists typical disallowed purchases. Any questionable purchase should be reviewed in advance by the Procurement Card Administrator.

University departments may use the procurement card for the payment of goods and services that are routinely required for, and in support of, their university missions.

To purchase typically prohibited items such as the examples listed above, the cardholder must request authorization in writing from the Director of Purchasing or the Procurement Card Administrator. The request must be in writing - e-mail is permissable - and the response must also be in writing and retained by the Procurement Card Administrator permanently with the cardholders' records. The request must be made and the response received prior to purchasing any item not typically used in support of the department's university mission.

To purchase some items, the cardholder must also obtain the written permission of their Dean or Chairman in advance of the purchase. A special occasions form must be completed for each function where the Procurement Card is used to make purchases such as food for parties, celebrations, etc. that are not routine events.

¹ Guidelines for purchase of alcoholic beverages are available at: http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/hbp/09_expend/officialguidelines.pdf. All guidelines must be observed when purchasing alcoholic beverages with the procurement card. A special occasions form should be completed for each function where the procurement card is used to make such purchases.
²Flower and plant purchases are restricted to institutional funds only and may not be purchased on state funds per the Purchasing Guidelines of the State Comptroller.
³Check with Procurement Card Administrator.
⁴TXTag toll road tags may be purchased for university vehicles on the procurement card. Personal use of a university vehicle or its state issued TXTag is a violation of university policy.

Disallowed Vendors
The following vendor types are disallowed and the procurement card charge will be rejected at the retailer site:

Airlines
Airports
Bars, taverns, nightclubs
Duty-free stores
Hotels, lodging, campgrounds
Package stores, beer, wine, liquor
Personal service providers: laundries, barbers, funeral services, dating services, health spas
Professional services, membership organizations
Doctors, hospitals, schools
Railroads
Restaurants
Service providers: financial institutions, insurance
Transportation services; boat rentals, cruise lines, marinas, steamships
Travel agencies

Prohibited Merchant Category Codes

This is page 5 of 7 in preparation for the
Procurement Card Certification Exam.