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                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
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###### Department of Defense

###### General Services Administration

###### National Aeronautics and Space Administration

          - 48 CFR Part 31
          - [FAC 2005-50; FAR Case 2009-026; Item IX; Docket 2010-0088, Sequence 1]
          - RIN 9000-AL54

# AGENCIES:

Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

# ACTION:

Final rule.

# SUMMARY:

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The interim rule aligned the FAR with the revised Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board standards “Cost Accounting Standard for composition and measurement of pension cost,” and “Accounting for the cost of deferred compensation.”

# DATES:

*Effective Date:*                             March 16, 2011.                        

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Edward N. Chambers, Procurement Analyst, at (202) 501-3221 for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501-4755. Please cite FAC 2005-50, FAR Case 2009-026.

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

## I. Background

                        DoD, GSA, and NASA published an interim rule in the                         **Federal Register**                         at 75 FR 34285 on June 16, 2010, to maintain consistency between CAS and FAR in matters relating to the administration of CAS. The interim rule aligned the existing FAR 31.205-6(q)(2)(i) and (ii) with revisions to CAS 412 “Cost Accounting Standards for composition and measurement of pension cost,” and CAS 415 “Accounting for the cost of deferred compensation.”                    

The CAS Board had specified that the accounting of Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) costs, regardless of type, would be covered by the provisions of CAS 415 only and not by CAS 412. The CAS Board also provided criteria in CAS 415 for measuring ESOP costs and assigning these costs to cost accounting periods.

DoD, GSA, and NASA received no comments on the interim rule and have adopted the interim rule as a final rule without change.

## II. Executive Order 12866

This is not a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not subject to review under Section 6(b) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993. This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.

## III. Regulatory Flexibility Act

                        The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration certify that this final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601,                         *et seq.,*                         because affected small businesses are currently required to comply with CAS 412 and CAS 415. While small businesses are otherwise not subject to CAS, they are subject to selected standards for the purpose of determining allowability of costs under Government contracts. Among these standards are CAS 412 and CAS 415 as set forth in FAR 31.205-6(q). For small businesses currently using CAS 415, there will be no increase in cost or effort. For small businesses that must change from CAS 412 to CAS 415, the possible change from measuring costs in accordance with CAS 412 to CAS 415 would result, at most, in a negligible increase in administrative burden because of the similarities between CAS 412 and CAS 415. The potential increase of administrative effort, albeit minor, will be offset by the uniformity and consistency in accounting for deferred compensation costs achieved by this rule that will benefit all entities by reducing their administrative burden.                    

## IV. Paperwork Reduction Act

The final rule does not contain any information collection requirements that require the approval of the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

# List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 31

      - Government procurement

      ( print page 14572)    
Dated: March 4, 2011.

Millisa Gary,

Acting Director, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy.

## Interim Rule Adopted as Final Without Change

                            Accordingly, the interim rule amending 48 CFR part 31, which was published in the                             **Federal Register**                             at 75 FR 34285 on June 16, 2010, is adopted as a final rule without change.                        

[FR Doc. 2011-5560 Filed 3-15-11; 8:45 am]

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