Amazon For Business Account Shutdown Occurred June 15.

As previously communicated to accountholders, the university’s Amazon for Business Account (AFB) shut down on June 15, 2021. 

The shutdown was necessary to comply with the Illinois Procurement Code due to purchases under the AFB account exceeding the small purchase threshold.  The four purchasing offices have worked with the Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative (IPHEC) to secure State authority through a cooperative purchase to continue use of the AFB account; however, Amazon was unable to provide the documentation necessary to secure State approval for continued use of the AFB account.

It is recommended that users search iBuy for products previously purchased through the AFB account in order to transition these purchases to contracted suppliers.  Please visit the iBuy resource page for additional information:
https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/iBuy/

P-Card Purchases Made Using a Personal or Private Amazon Account
The P-card is a vehicle for purchases, its use does not change the need for compliance to the Illinois Procurement Code and Administrative Rules. Additionally, any P-Card purchase made using a personal or private Amazon account would not be allowed under Business and Financial Policies and Procedures, Section 7.6 – The University Purchasing Card (P-Card). Specifically, storing the P-Card number in the Amazon account combined with the inability to obtain sales tax exemption for the purchase would prohibit these types of purchases.

Reimbursement Requests for a Purchase from Amazon Using Personal Funds
Any Amazon reimbursement request for an Amazon purchase after July 15, 2021, will be reviewed to determine compliance with the Business and Financial Policies and Procedures, Section 7.4 – Cash Purchases. Specifically, the purchase must be:

• Less than $500;
• Not available from a University of Illinois System contract; and,
• Approved by a unit head having determined that the purchase is in the best interests of the unit and the University.

The university will not reimburse purchases from Amazon that do not comply with Section 7.4 of the Business and Financial Policies and Procedures. It is strongly recommended that users use the iBuy catalog suppliers or contact their Purchasing office for purchase options.

Please note that the shutdown of the AFB account does not affect purchases for Amazon Web Services (cloud services) nor the Amazon eCode/Mechanical Turk program (for payments to human subjects). Amazon Web Services are contracted through a competitive request for proposal and has the underlying state authority for its use while the Amazon eCode program is being reviewed for compliance with State authority.

The purchasing offices will continue to work with IPHEC to secure State authority for our AFB account; however, at this time the AFB account is shut down until State authority can be secured.