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119656 1 (1982-10-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacvdj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: DECISION FILE: B-208583 MATTER OF: DIGES : A LER C THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL . OF THE UNITEO STATES WASHINGTON. O.C. 20548 (VTF DATE: September 27, 1982 Bureau of Indian Affairs: Procedures for collection of administrative fees from sales of Indian timber Under 25 U.S.C. § 413, the Secretary of the Interior has broad discretion as to the deduction of administrative fees from the proceeds of commercial sales of timber from Indian lands. Contrary to the opinion of the Solicitor of the Interior Department, there is no re- quirement that administrative fees be deducted in every instance in which public funds are expended. Conse- quently, Bureau of Indian Affairs procedures reducing administrative fees otherwise collectible by any amount the tribe involved agrees to expend for timber manage- ment are not unlawful. The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, House Committee on Appropriations, has requested our opinion as to whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been acting in an unauthorized manner by depositing administrative fees col- lected from sales of timber from tribal and allotted lands into Bureau accounts, and making such funds directly available for pay- ment of expenses relating to tribal forest management activities. This request follows a recent legal opinion by the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, concluding that the Bureau's current procedures for handling administrative fees are inconsistent with 25 U.S.C. § 413 (1976). That provision authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to collect and dispose of administrative fees for work done for Indian tribes or individuals. The Solicitor has concluded that BIA's procedures amunt to a diversion from the United States Treasury of funds collected to cover costs paid for with public funds. We have examined the Bureau's procedures for collection and disposition of administrative fees in light of 25 U.S.C. S 413 and its legislative history, and conclude that those procedures do not violate the applicable statutory requirements. A detailed discus- sion of the reasons for our conclusion follows. BACKGROUND In exercising its trust responsibilities for Indian lands, the Bureau of Indian Affairs manages (normally on a joint basis with the tribe or individual concerned) the development and conmercial sale of timber from both allotted (individual) and unallotted (tribal) Indian lands. 25 U.S.C. §§ 406-407, 466. Under 25 U.S.C. SS 406-407, the legislative authority for comrcial sale of Indian

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