[Federal Register: October 1, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 190)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 56689-56690]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01oc03-27]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Small Entity Compliance Guide
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of the
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the
Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
of 1996. It consists of a summary of rules appearing in Federal
Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2001-16 which amends the FAR. An asterisk
(*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has
been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information
regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2001-16 which precedes this
document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.arnet.gov/far
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Duarte, FAR Secretariat, (202)
501-4225. For clarification of content, contact the analyst whose name
appears in the table below.
List of Rules in FAC 2001-16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subject FAR case Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* I..................................... Central Contractor Registration 2002-018 Parnell.
* II.................................... Electronic Commerce in Federal 1997-304 Davis.
Procurement.
III..................................... Unique Contract and Order 2002-025 Zaffos.
Identifier Numbers (Interim).
* IV.................................... Procurements for Defense 2002-026 Zaffos.
Against or Recovery From 2002-003
Terrorism or Nuclear,
Biological, Chemical or
Radiological Attack; and
Temporary Emergency
Procurement Authority.
V....................................... Notification of Overpayment, 2001-005 Parnel.l
Contract Financing Payments.
VI...................................... Caribbean Basin Country-- 2003-006 Davis.
Dominican Republic.
VII..................................... Prohibited Sources............. 2001-015 Davis
VIII.................................... Economic Planning, Employee 2002-001 Loeb.
Morale, and Travel Cost
Principles.
IX...................................... Technical Amendments...........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item I--Central Contractor Registration (FAR Case 2002-018)
This final rule amends FAR parts 1, 2, 4, 13, 32, and 52 to require
contractor registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR)
database prior to award of any contract, basic agreement, basic
ordering agreement, or blanket purchase agreement on or after October
1, 2003. In addition, the rule requires contracting officers to modify
existing contracts whose period of performance extends beyond December
31, 2003, to require contractors to register in the CCR database by
December 31, 2003.
Item II--Electronic Commerce in Federal Procurement (FAR Case 1997-304)
This final rule implements section 850 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998, Public Law 105-85, and section
810 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2001, Public Law 106-398. Section 850 amends titles 10, 15,
40, and 41 of the United States Code to eliminate the preference for
electronic commerce within Federal agencies to be conducted on the
Federal Acquisition Computer Network (FACNET) computer architecture.
Section 810 amends 41 U.S.C. 416 and 15 U.S.C. 637 to allow
solicitation notices to be published via a single Governmentwide point
of entry on the Internet designated in the FAR or via the Commerce
Business Daily (CBD). The objectives of the rule are (1) to
[[Page 56690]]
designate a single Governmentwide point of entry on the Internet,
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fedbizopps.gov, where agencies are required to provide
convenient and universal public access to information on their
procurement opportunities, and (2) to require electronic access to
notices of solicitation through the single Governmentwide point of
entry as a replacement for paper (or electronic) publication in the
CBD.
Item III--Unique Contract and Order Identifier Numbers (FAR Case 2002-
025)
This interim rule amends the FAR to require each reporting agency
to assign a unique procurement instrument identifier (PIID) for every
contract, purchase order, BOA, Basic Agreement, and BPA reported to the
Federal Procurement Data System; and to have in place, no later than
October 1, 2003, a process that will ensure that each PIID reported to
FPDS is unique, Governmentwide, and will remain so for at least 20
years from the date of contract award.
Item IV--Procurements for Defense Against or Recovery From Terrorism or
Nuclear, Biological, Chemical or Radiological Attack, and Temporary
Emergency Procurement Authority (FAR Cases 2002-026 and 2002-003)
This rule finalizes interim rules 2002-026 and 2002-003, which
increased the amount of the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified
acquisition threshold and provide expanded access to streamlined
procedures for procurements of supplies or services by or for an
executive agency that are to be used to facilitate defense against or
recovery from terrorism or nuclear, biological, chemical, or
radiological attack.
This final rule also amends the FAR to add the querying of
commercial databases that provide information relevant to the agency
acquisition as a technique for conducting market research.
Item V--Notification of Overpayment, Contract Financing Payments (FAR
Case 2001-005)
This final rule amends FAR parts 12, 32, and 52 to require the
contractor to notify the contracting officer if the Government overpays
when making an invoice payment or a contract financing payment under
either a commercial item or a noncommercial item contract.
Item VI--Caribbean Basin Country--Dominican Republic (FAR Case 2003-
006)
This final rule amends FAR 25.003, 25.400, and the clauses at FAR
52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes
or Executive Orders--Commercial Items, and FAR 52.225-5, Trade
Agreements, to implement the direction of the USTR to reinstate the
treatment of certain products of the Dominican Republic as eligible
products under acquisitions subject to the Trade Agreements Act, as
published by the USTR in the Federal Register at 68 FR 27883, May 21,
2003. This change will allow Government purchase of products
originating in the Dominican Republic that are not excluded from duty-
free treatment under 19 U.S.C. 2703(b), unless otherwise restricted by
law.
Item VII--Prohibited Sources (FAR Case 2001-015)
This final rule removes Serbia, the Taliban-controlled regions of
Afghanistan, and Iraq from the list of prohibited sources and points
the contracting officer to lists of entities and individuals subject to
economic sanctions that are available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.epls.gov/TerList1.html.
The contracting officer is no longer authorized in
unusual circumstances to acquire for use outside the United States
supplies or services restricted by this section, unless specifically
authorized by the OFAC. However, OFAC has granted authority to
Department of Defense personnel to make emergency acquisitions in
direct support of U.S. or allied forces deployed in military
contingency, humanitarian, or peacekeeping operations in a country or
region subject to economic sanctions administered by OFAC.
Item VIII--Economic Planning, Employee Morale, and Travel Costs
Principles (FAR Case 2002-001)
This final rule amends the FAR to revise three cost principles: (1)
FAR 31.205-12, Economic planning costs; (2) FAR 31.205-13, Employee
morale, health, welfare, food service, and dormitory costs and credits;
and (3) FAR 31.205-46, Travel costs. The changes restructure the
paragraphs and remove unnecessary and duplicative language to increase
clarity and readability. The rule does not change the allowability of
costs. The case was initiated to consider suggestions made at a series
of public meetings. This rule is of particular interest to contractors
and contracting officers who use cost analysis to price contracts and
modifications, and who determine or negotiate reasonable costs in
accordance with a clause of a contract, e.g., price revision of fixed-
price incentive contracts, terminated contracts, or indirect cost
rates.
Item IX--Technical Amendments
This amendment makes editorial changes at FAR 8.404(b)(6) and
24.202(a).
Dated: September 24, 2003.
Laura G. Auletta,
Director, Acquisition Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 03-24591 Filed 9-30-03; 8:45 am]