Source: https://www.acquisition.gov/print/10341
Timestamp: 2020-08-07 04:33:52
Document Index: 487201756

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 33', 'art 33', 'art 33', 'art 50', 'art 50', 'art 50']

Part 33 Protests, Disputes, and Appeals
Subpart 33.1 - Protests
Subpart 33.2 - Disputes and Appeals
33.202 Disputes.
33.205 Relationship of the Disputes statute to Pub. L.85-804.
Day means a calendar day, unless otherwise specified. In the computation of any period-
(2) The last day after the act, event, or default is included unless-
Filed means the complete receipt of any document by an agency before its close of business. Documents received after close of business are considered filed as of the next day. Unless otherwise stated, the agency close of business is presumed to be 4:30 p.m., local time.
Interested party for the purpose of filing a protest means an actual or prospective offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of a contract or by the failure to award a contract.
Protest means a written objection by an interested party to any of the following:
Protest venue means protests filed with the agency, the Government Accountability Office, or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. U.S. District Courts do not have any bid protest jurisdiction.
(i) Upon notice that a protest has been filed with the GAO, the contracting officer shall immediately begin compiling the information necessary for a report to the GAO. The agency shall submit a complete report to the GAO within 30 days after the GAO notifies the agency by telephone that a protest has been filed, or within 20 days after receipt from the GAO of a determination to use the express option, unless the GAO-
(ii) When a protest is filed with the GAO, and an actual or prospective offeror so requests, the procuring agency shall, in accordance with any applicable protective orders, provide actual or prospective offerors reasonable access to the protest file. However, if the GAO dismisses the protest before the documents are submitted to the GAO, then no protest file need be made available. Information exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C.552 may be redacted from the protest file. The protest file shall be made available to non-intervening actual or prospective offerors within a reasonable time after submittal of an agency report to the GAO. The protest file shall include an index and as appropriate-
(iv) The agency report to the GAO shall include-
(i) At the same time the agency submits its report to the GAO, the agency shall furnish copies of its report to the protester and any intervenors. A party shall receive all relevant documents, except-
(i) If the protester requests additional documents within 2 days after the protester knew the existence or relevance of additional documents, or should have known, the agency shall provide the requested documents to the GAO within 2 days of receipt of the request.
(A) The additional documents shall also be provided to the protester and other interested parties within this 2-day period unless the agency has decided to withhold them for any reason (see subdivision (a)(4)(i) of this section). This includes any documents covered by a protective order issued by the GAO. Documents covered by a protective order shall be provided only in accordance with the terms of the order.
(B) The agency shall notify the GAO of any documents withheld from the protester and other interested parties and shall state the reasons for withholding them.
(1) When the agency has received notice from the GAO of a protest filed directly with the GAO, a contract may not be awarded unless authorized, in accordance with agency procedures, by the head of the contracting activity, on a nondelegable basis, upon a written finding that-
(2) In accordance with agency procedures, the head of the contracting activity may, on a nondelegable basis, authorize contract performance, notwithstanding the protest, upon a written finding that-
(f) GAO decision time.GAO issues its recommendation on a protest within 100 days from the date of filing of the protest with the GAO, or within 65 days under the express option. The GAO attempts to issue its recommendation on an amended protest that adds a new ground of protest within the time limit of the initial protest. If an amended protest cannot be resolved within the initial time limit, the GAO may resolve the amended protest through an express option.
(5) No agency shall pay a party, other than a small business concern within the meaning of section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (see 2.101, “Small business concern”), costs under paragraph (h)(2) of this section-
(i) For consultant and expert witness fees that exceed the highest rate of compensation for expert witnesses paid by the Government pursuant to 5 U.S.C.3109 and 5 CFR 304.105; or
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) means any type of procedure or combination of procedures voluntarily used to resolve issues in controversy. These procedures may include, but are not limited to, conciliation, facilitation, mediation, fact-finding, minitrials, arbitration, and use of ombudsmen.
Defective certification means a certificate which alters or otherwise deviates from the language in 33.207(c) or which is not executed by a person authorized to bind the contractor with respect to the claim. Failure to certify shall not be deemed to be a defective certification.
Issue in controversy means a material disagreement between the Government and the contractor that-
Misrepresentation of fact means a false statement of substantive fact, or any conduct which leads to the belief of a substantive fact material to proper understanding of the matter in hand, made with intent to deceive or mislead.
41 U.S.C. chapter 71 , Disputes, establishes procedures and requirements for asserting and resolving claims subject to the Disputes statute. In addition, the Disputes statute provides for-
(b) This subpart does not apply to any contract with-
(1) A foreign government or agency of that government; or
(2) An international organization or a subsidiary body of that organization, if the agency head determines that the application of the Disputes statute to the contract would not be in the public interest.
(c) This part applies to all disputes with respect to contracting officer decisions on matters “arising under” or “relating to” a contract. Agency Boards of Contract Appeals (BCAs) authorized under the Disputes statute continue to have all of the authority they possessed before the Disputes statute with respect to disputes arising under a contract, as well as authority to decide disputes relating to a contract. The clause at 52.233-1, Disputes, Disputes, recognizes the “all disputes” authority established by the Disputes statute and states certain requirements and limitations of the Disputes statute for the guidance of contractors and contracting agencies. The clause is not intended to affect the rights and obligations of the parties as provided by the Disputes statute or to constrain the authority of the statutory agency BCAs in the handling and deciding of contractor appeals under the Disputes statute.
The Government’s policy is to try to resolve all contractual issues in controversy by mutual agreement at the contracting officer’s level. Reasonable efforts should be made to resolve controversies prior to the submission of a claim. Agencies are encouraged to use ADR procedures to the maximum extent practicable. Certain factors, however, may make the use of ADR inappropriate (see 5 U.S.C.572(b) ). Except for arbitration conducted pursuant to the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (ADRA), ( 5 U.S.C.571 , etseq.) agencies have authority which is separate from that provided by the ADRA to use ADR procedures to resolve issues in controversy. Agencies may also elect to proceed under the authority and requirements of the ADRA.
(a) Requests for relief under Public Law85-804 (50 U.S.C.1431-1435) are not claims within the Disputes statute or the Disputes clause at 52.233-1, Disputes, and shall be processed under subpart 50.1, Extraordinary Contractual Actions. However, relief formerly available only under Public Law85-804; i.e., legal entitlement to rescission or reformation for mutual mistake, is now available within the authority of the contracting officer under the Contract Disputes statute and the Disputes clause. In case of a question whether the contracting officer has authority to settle or decide specific types of claims, the contracting officer should seek legal advice.
(b) A contractor’s allegation that it is entitled to rescission or reformation of its contract in order to correct or mitigate the effect of a mistake shall be treated as a claim under the Disputes statute. A contract may be reformed or rescinded by the contracting officer if the contractor would be entitled to such remedy or relief under the law of Federal contracts. Due to the complex legal issues likely to be associated with allegations of legal entitlement, contracting officers shall make written decisions, prepared with the advice and assistance of legal counsel, either granting or denying relief in whole or in part.
(c) A claim that is either denied or not approved in its entirety under paragraph (b) of this section may be cognizable as a request for relief under Public Law85-804 as implemented by subpart 50.1. However, the claim must first be submitted to the contracting officer for consideration under the Disputes statute because the claim is not cognizable under Public Law85-804, as implemented by subpart 50.1, unless other legal authority in the agency concerned is determined to be lacking or inadequate.
(a) Contractor claims shall be submitted, in writing, to the contracting officer for a decision within 6 years after accrual of a claim, unless the contracting parties agreed to a shorter time period. This 6-year time period does not apply to contracts awarded prior to October 1,1995. The contracting officer shall document the contract file with evidence of the date of receipt of any submission from the contractor deemed to be a claim by the contracting officer.
(b) The contracting officer shall issue a written decision on any Government claim initiated against a contractor within 6 years after accrual of the claim, unless the contracting parties agreed to a shorter time period. The 6-year period shall not apply to contracts awarded prior to October 1,1995, or to a Government claim based on a contractor claim involving fraud.
(d) The aggregate amount of both increased and decreased costs shall be used in determining when the dollar thresholds requiring certification are met (see example in 15.403-4(a)(1)(iii) regarding certified cost or pricing data).
(e) The certification may be executed by any person authorized to bind the contractor with respect to the claim.
(a) The Government shall pay interest on a contractor’s claim on the amount found due and unpaid from the date that-
(b) Simple interest on claims shall be paid at the rate, fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury as provided in the Disputes statute, which is applicable to the period during which the contracting officer receives the claim and then at the rate applicable for each 6-month period as fixed by the Treasury Secretary during the pendency of the claim. (See the clause at 52.232-17 for the right of the Government to collect interest on its claims against a contractor.)
(c) With regard to claims having defective certifications, interest shall be paid from either the date that the contracting officer initially receives the claim or October 29,1992, whichever is later. However, if a contractor has provided a proper certificate prior to October 29,1992, after submission of a defective certificate, interest shall be paid from the date of receipt by the Government of a proper certificate.
Except as provided in this section, contracting officers are authorized, within any specific limitations of their warrants, to decide or resolve all claims arising under or relating to a contract subject to the Disputes statute. In accordance with agency policies and 33.214 , contracting officers are authorized to use ADR procedures to resolve claims. The authority to decide or resolve claims does not extend to-
(a) In general, before passage of the Disputes statute, the obligation to continue performance applied only to claims arising under a contract. However, the Disputes statute, at 41 U.S.C.7103(g), authorizes agencies to require a contractor to continue contract performance in accordance with the contracting officer’s decision pending a final resolution of any claim arising under, or relating to, the contract. (A claim arising under a contract is a claim that can be resolved under a contract clause, other than the clause at 52.233-1, Disputes, that provides for the relief sought by the claimant; however, relief for such claim can also be sought under the clause at 52.233-1. A claim relating to a contract is a claim that cannot be resolved under a contract clause other than the clause at 52.233-1.) This distinction is recognized by the clause with its AlternateI (see 33.215).
(b) In all contracts that include the clause at 52.233-1, Disputes, with its AlternateI, in the event of a dispute not arising under, but relating to, the contract, the contracting officer shall consider providing, through appropriate agency procedures, financing of the continued performance; provided, that the Government’s interest is properly secured.
(a) The objective of using ADR procedures is to increase the opportunity for relatively inexpensive and expeditious resolution of issues in controversy. Essential elements of ADR include-
(b) If the contracting officer rejects a contractor’s request for ADR proceedings, the contracting officer shall provide the contractor a written explanation citing one or more of the conditions in 5 U.S.C.572(b) or such other specific reasons that ADR procedures are inappropriate for the resolution of the dispute. In any case where a contractor rejects a request of an agency for ADR proceedings, the contractor shall inform the agency in writing of the contractor’s specific reasons for rejecting the request.
(e) The confidentiality of ADR proceedings shall be protected consistent with 5 U.S.C.574.
(1) A solicitation shall not require arbitration as a condition of award, unless arbitration is otherwise required by law. Contracting officers should have flexibility to select the appropriate ADR procedure to resolve the issues in controversy as they arise.
(a) Insert the clause at 52.233-1, Disputes, in solicitations and contracts, unless the conditions in 33.203(b) apply. If it is determined under agency procedures that continued performance is necessary pending resolution of any claim arising under or relating to the contract, the contracting officer shall use the clause with its AlternateI.