Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 774 (R.S., §§ 236, 951; June 10, 1921, ch. 18, §§ 304, 305, 42 Stat. 24).

Word “action” was substituted for “suits”, in view of Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Section 774 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., provided that “no claim for a credit shall be admitted, upon trial”, etc. This was changed to “evidence supporting the defendant’s claim for a credit shall not be admitted”, to clarify the meaning of the section. The case of U.S. v. Heard, D.C.Va. 1940, 32 F.Supp. 39, reviews the conflicting decisions on the question whether compliance with the section must be pleaded, and offers persuasive argument that it need not be, and that the section was designed as a rule of evidence. The wording of the remainder of the section also supports this conclusion, as pointed out by Judge Learned Hand in U.S. v. Standard Aircraft Corp., D.C.N.Y. 1926, 16 F.2d 307, followed in the Heard case.

Changes in phraseology were made.

2004—Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office” in two places.