Final answer:
Gifts and decorations not retained by a government employing component must be reported to the GSA within a certain time frame as per agency policy or federal regulation. The exact number of days can be found in the respective agency's guidelines or standards of conduct.
Step-by-step explanation:
When dealing with the protocol for gifts received by a government component, any gifts and decorations that the employing component does not wish to retain or that are not approved for retention must be reported to the General Services Administration (GSA) within a specified number of days after depositing the gift with the head of the employing component. This procedure ensures the proper handling, logging, and potential disposal of items that cannot be retained by the respective government entity. The exact number of days for this reporting requirement may be stipulated by agency policy or federal regulation, which often can be found in the department's ethical guidelines or standards of conduct.