FAQs

Vendor Justification FAQs   |   Miscellaneous Questions

Vendor Justification FAQs

The VJF must be completed for purchases of greater than or equal to $5,000 made with federal funds. This regulation applies to funding from all federal contracting and granting agencies.

A VJF is not required for purchases under $5,000; however, internal documentation must be retained as justification of reasonable pricing.

The $5,000 requirement refers to the total of the purchase order, not price per item.

A VJF must accompany a copy of your invoice, regardless of when your purchase was made.

Do not send your VJFs to Procurement Management. Attach the form to a copy of the invoice and keep on file locally for general audit purposes.

Freight costs are considered part of the purchase price and must be included in the total cost of the item(s), even if these costs increase the purchase order to $5,000 or over.

The VJF should be signed by those who select the vendor.

If you are being billed on an interdepartmental invoice, you do not need to complete a VJF.

If you are making progress payments and each invoice is equal to or over $5,000, attach a copy of the original VJF to a copy of the invoice and retain in department files.

The $5,000 requirement affects all purchases, not just equipment.

If an individual transaction on a summary bill is equal to or over $5,000, please attach a VJF for this item or process separately in addition to a VJF for all other purchases.

If the scope of your grant or contract requires you to spend time outside the U.S. and you are purchasing goods and/or services abroad, you are still obligated to abide by federal procurement regulations as outlined in the VJF.

Service contracts for equipment maintenance priced equal to or above $5,000 should be treated as outlined in the VJF.

Miscellaneous Questions

Whom do I contact with questions about a vendor invoice?

All vendor invoice inquiries go to Accounts Payable.

How does Harvard’s Tax Exemption status apply to me?

The University, as a nonprofit educational institution, is exempt from Massachusetts sales tax, from sales tax in many other states, and from Federal Excise Tax. Since sales taxes are generally imposed only when goods are bought and consumed in the same state, sales tax does not apply when goods are ordered from an out-of-state firm and shipped to Harvard.

When an outside organization, such as a caterer or a restaurant, is hired to provide meals for students, employees or guests such as alumni fund raisers, the University is exempt from Massachusetts Meals Tax under the following conditions:

The University must be billed directly by the outside organization and must fully absorb the cost of the meals and any alcoholic beverages. The exemption is not permissible when there is any direct reimbursement by the consumers of the meals or any indirect reimbursement through a conference, registration, or other fee or charge. The sale of a meal to an exempt organization is exempt only if made to, used by and completely paid for by the exempt organization, and if no amount is paid by the members or guests.

University departments must present to the organization (caterer or restaurant) copies of the exempt purchase certificates ST-2 and ST-5.
The University is not exempt, in any case, from Massachusetts Room Tax charged by hotels, motels, and inns.