24320 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

appropriate order placement

procedures. The contracting officer

should keep submission requirements to

a minimum. Contracting officers may

use streamlined procedures, including

oral presentations. In addition, the

contracting officer need not contact each

of the multiple awardees under the

contract before selecting an order

awardee if the contracting officer has

information available to ensure that

each awardee is provided a fair

opportunity to be considered for each

order. The competition requirements in

part 6 and the policies in subpart 15.3

do not apply to the ordering process.

However, the contracting officer must—

(A) Develop placement procedures

that will provide each awardee a fair

opportunity to be considered for each

order and that reflect the requirement

and other aspects of the contracting

environment;

(B) Not use any method (such as

allocation or designation of any

preferred awardee) that would not result

in fair consideration being given to all

awardees prior to placing each order;

(C) Tailor the procedures to each

acquisition;

(D) Include the procedures in the

solicitation and the contract; and

(E) Consider price or cost under each

order as one of the factors in the

selection decision.

(iii) The contracting officer should

consider the following when developing

the procedures:

(A)(1) Past performance on earlier

orders under the contract, including

quality, timeliness and cost control.

(2) Potential impact on other orders

placed with the contractor.

(3) Minimum order requirements.

(B) Formal evaluation plans or scoring

of quotes or offers are not required.

(2) Exceptions to the fair opportunity

process. The only exceptions to the

requirement to provide each awardee a

fair opportunity to be considered for

each order exceeding $2,500 are—

(i) The agency need for the supplies

or services is so urgent that providing a

fair opportunity would result in

unacceptable delays;

(ii) Only one awardee is capable of

providing the supplies or services

required at the level of quality required

because the supplies or services ordered

are unique or highly specialized;

(iii) The order must be issued on a

sole-source basis in the interest of

economy and efficiency as a logical

follow-on to an order already issued

under the contract, provided that all

awardees were given a fair opportunity

to be considered for the original order;

or

(iv) It is necessary to place an order

to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

(3) Pricing orders. If the contract did

not establish the price for the supply or

service, the contracting officer must

establish prices for each order using the

policies and methods in subpart 15.4.

(4) Decision documentation for

orders. The contracting officer must

document in the contract file the

rationale for placement and price of

each order.

(5) Task and Delivery Order

Ombudsman. The head of the agency

must designate a task-order contract and

delivery-order contract ombudsman.

The ombudsman must review

complaints from contractors and ensure

they are afforded a fair opportunity to be

considered, consistent with the

procedures in the contract. The

ombudsman must be a senior agency

official who is independent of the

contracting officer and may be the

agency’s competition advocate.

(c) Limitation on ordering period for

task-order contracts for advisory and

assistance services. (1) Except as

provided for in paragraphs (c)(2) and

(c)(3), the ordering period of a task-order

contract for advisory and assistance

services, including all options or

modifications, normally may not exceed

5 years.

(2) The 5-year limitation does not

apply when—

(i) A longer ordering period is

specifically authorized by a statute; or

(ii) The contract is for an acquisition

of supplies or services that includes the

acquisition of advisory and assistance

services and the contracting officer, or

other official designated by the head of

the agency, determines that the advisory

and assistance services are incidental

and not a significant component of the

contract.

(3) The contracting officer may extend

the contract on a sole-source basis only

once for a period not to exceed 6

months if the contracting officer, or

other official designated by the head of

the agency, determines that—

(i) The award of a follow-on contract

is delayed by circumstances that were

not reasonably foreseeable at the time

the initial contract was entered into; and

(ii) The extension is necessary to

ensure continuity of services, pending

the award of the follow-on contract.

7. Amend section 16.506—

a. In paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d)(1), and

(e) by removing the words ‘‘The

contracting officer shall insert’’ and

adding, in their place, the word

‘‘Insert’’;

b. In paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3), and

(d)(4) by removing the words ‘‘the

contracting officer shall’’; and

c. By revising paragraphs (d)(5), (f),

and (g) to read as follows:

16.506 Solicitation provisions and

contract clauses.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(5) If the contract—

(i) Includes subsistence for

Government use and resale in the same

schedule and similar products may be

acquired on a brand-name basis; and

(ii) Involves a partial small business

set-aside, use the clause with its

Alternate IV.

* * * * *

(f) Insert the provision at 52.216–27,

Single or Multiple Awards, in

solicitations for indefinite-quantity

contracts that may result in multiple

contract awards. Modify the provision

to specify the estimated number of

awards. Do not use this provision for

advisory and assistance services

contracts that exceed 3 years and $10

million (including all options).

(g) Insert the provision at 52.216–28,

Multiple Awards for Advisory and

Assistance Services, in solicitations for

task-order contracts for advisory and

assistance services that exceed 3 years

and $10 million (including all options),

unless a determination has been made

under 16.504(c)(2)(i)(A). Modify the

provision to specify the estimated

number of awards.

PART 37—SERVICE CONTRACTING

37.201 Definition.

8. Amend section 37.201 by revising

the section heading to read as set forth

above, and by removing the definition

‘‘Advisory and assistance services’’.

[FR Doc. 00–10131 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 12, 13, and 15

[FAC 97–17; FAR Case 1998–300 (98–300);

Item II]

RIN 9000–AI45

Federal Acquisition Regulation;

Determination of Price

Reasonableness and Commerciality

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 24321

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency

Acquisition Council and the Defense

Acquisition Regulations Council

(Councils) have agreed on a final rule

amending the Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) to implement Sections

803 and 808 of the Strom Thurmond

National Defense Authorization Act for

Fiscal Year 1999 (Pub. L. 105–261).

DATES: Effective Date: April 25, 2000.

Applicability Date: The FAR, as

amended by this rule, is applicable to

solicitations issued on or after April 25,

2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS

Building, Washington, DC, 20405, (202)

501–4755, for information pertaining to

status or publication schedules. For

clarification of content, contact Mr.

Jeremy Olson at (202) 501–0692. Please

cite FAC 97–17, FAR case 1998–300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

The Councils initiated this case to

implement Sections 803 and 808 of the

Strom Thurmond National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999

(Pub. L. 105–261) as follows:

(a) Section 803 of Public Law 105–

261. (1) Paragraphs (a)(2)(A) through

(a)(2)(C) of Section 803 of Pub. L. 105–

261 require that the FAR provide

specific guidance concerning—

(i) The appropriate application and

precedence of various price analysis

tools;

(ii) The circumstances under which

contracting officers should require

offerors of exempt commercial items to

provide information other than cost or

pricing data; and

(iii) The role and responsibility of

support organizations in determining

price reasonableness.

(2) Paragraph (a)(2)(D) of Section 803

is not implemented under this case.

(b) Section 808 of Public Law 105–

261. Section 808 of Public Law 105–261

requires amending the FAR to—

(1) Clarify procedures associated with

obtaining information other than cost or

pricing data;

(2) Establish that offerors who fail to

comply with requirements to provide

the information shall be ineligible for

award; and

(3) Establish exceptions, as

appropriate.

The Councils published an interim

rule in the Federal Register on

September 24, 1999 (64 FR 51828). Five

respondents submitted comments in

response to the interim rule. The

Councils considered all comments in

the development of the final rule.

This rule was not subject to Office of

Management and Budget 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.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Councils prepared a Final

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA)

consistent with 5 U.S.C. 604. Interested

parties may obtain a copy of the FRFA

from the FAR Secretariat. The FRFA is

summarized as follows:

The primary objective of this rule is to

provide guidance on determining price

reasonableness and commerciality, and to

specify that offerors failing to comply with a

requirement to provide certain information

other than cost or pricing data are ineligible

for award. There were no issues raised by the

public in response to the Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis. The rule will apply to

all offerors, large or small, that respond to

solicitations for commercial items for which

information other than cost or pricing data is

required. Few, if any, offerors are expected to

fail to comply with the requirements to

provide information other than cost or

pricing data. The rule does not impose any

new reporting or recordkeeping

requirements. There are no significant

alternatives to the rule that would

accomplish the stated objectives yet further

reduce impact on small entities. The rule

includes only FAR text revisions required to

implement the statute cited herein.

The FAR Secretariat has submitted a

copy of the FRFA to the Chief Counsel

for Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act does

not apply because the changes to the

FAR do not impose information

collection requirements that require the

approval of the Office of Management

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et

seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 12, 13,

and 15

Government procurement.

Dated: April 13, 2000.

Edward C. Loeb,

Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division.

Interim Rule Adopted as Final With

Change

Accordingly, DoD, GSA, and NASA

adopt the interim rule amending 48 CFR

parts 12, 13, and 15, which was

published in the Federal Register on

September 24, 1999 (64 FR 51828), as a

final rule with the following change:

PART 15—CONTRACTING BY

NEGOTIATION

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR

parts 12, 13, and 15 continues to read

as follows:

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 486(c); 10 U.S.C.

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c).

15.403–3 [Amended]

2. Amend section 15.403–3 at the end

of paragraph (c)(1) by removing ‘‘(see

15.403–3(a)(1))’’ and adding ‘‘(see

15.404–1)’’ in its place.

[FR Doc. 00–10132 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 25 and 52

[FAC 97–17; FAR Case 2000–003; Item III]

RIN 9000–AI73

Federal Acquisition Regulation;

Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD),

General Services Administration (GSA),

and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency

Acquisition Council and the Defense

Acquisition Regulations Council

(Councils) have agreed on a final rule

amending the Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) to implement the

determination of the United States

Trade Representative (USTR) to renew

the treatment of Caribbean Basin

country end products as eligible

products under the Trade Agreements

Act, with the exception of end products

from the Dominican Republic and

Honduras.

DATES: Effective Date: April 25, 2000.

Applicability Date: The FAR, as

amended by this rule, is applicable to

solicitations issued on or after April 25,

2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS

Building, Washington, DC, 20405, (202)

501–4755, for information pertaining to

status or publication schedules. For

clarification of content, contact Mr. Paul

Linfield, Procurement Analyst, at (202)

501–1757. Please cite FAC 97–17, FAR

case 2000–003.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

The USTR published a notice in the

Federal Register at 65 FR 9038,

February 23, 2000, renewing the

treatment of Caribbean Basin country