(a) General. From time to time, disagreements may arise between suppliers, potential suppliers, and the Postal Service regarding awards of contracts and related matters that are not resolved as set forth in § 601.107 above. If a disagreement under § 601.107 is not resolved within ten days after it was lodged with the contracting officer, if the use of ADR fails to resolve it at any time, or if the supplier is not satisfied with the contracting officer's resolution of the disagreement, or if the decision not to accept or consider proposals under § 601.105 is contested, the SDR Official is available to provide final resolution of the matter. The Postal Service desires to resolve all such disagreements quickly and inexpensively in keeping with the regulations in this part. In resolving disagreements, non-Postal Service procurement rules or regulations will not govern.

(b) Scope and applicability. In order to resolve expeditiously disagreements that are not resolved at the responsible contracting officer level, to reduce litigation expenses, inconvenience, and other costs for all parties, and to facilitate successful business relationships with Postal Service suppliers, the supplier community, and other persons, the following procedure is established as the sole and exclusive means to resolve disagreements. All disagreements will be lodged with and resolved, with finality, by the SDR Official under and in accordance with the sole and exclusive procedure established in this section.

(c) Lodging a disagreement. The disagreement must be lodged in writing and must state the factual circumstances relating to it, the scope and outcome of the initial disagreement resolution attempt with the contracting officer, and the remedy sought. The address of the SDR Official is: Room 4130 (Attn: SDR Official), United States Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20260-4130. E-mail Address: SDROfficial@usps.gov. Fax Number: (202) 268-6234.

(d) Lodging timeframes. If a supplier wishes the SDR Official to consider any of the matters identified in § 601.108(a) disagreements must be lodged with that official within the following timeframes:

(1) Disagreements under § 601.107 not resolved with the contracting officer must be lodged with the SDR Official within twenty days after they were lodged with the contracting officer (unless ADR had been used to attempt to resolve them);

(2) Disagreements under § 601.107 for which ADR had been agreed to be used must be lodged with the SDR Official within ten days after the supplier knew or was informed by the contracting officer or otherwise that the matter was not resolved;

(3) Disagreements under § 601.107 resolved by the contracting officer as to which the supplier is unhappy with the resolution must be lodged with the SDR Official within ten days after the supplier first receives notification of the contracting officer's resolution; and

(4) Contests of decisions under § 601.105 to decline to accept or consider proposals must be lodged with the SDR Official within ten days of the supplier's receipt of the written notice explaining the decision.

(5) The SDR Official may grant an extension of time to lodge a disagreement or to provide supporting information when warranted. Any request for an extension must set forth the reasons for the request, be made in writing, and be delivered to the SDR Official on or before the time to lodge a disagreement lapses.

(e) Decision process. The SDR Official will promptly provide a copy of a disagreement to the contracting officer, who will promptly notify other interested parties. The SDR Official will consider a disagreement and any response by other interested parties and appropriate Postal Service officials within a time frame established by the SDR Official. The SDR Official may also meet individually or jointly with the person or organization lodging the disagreement, other interested parties, and/or Postal Service officials, and may undertake other activities in order to obtain materials, information, or advice that may help to resolve the disagreement. The person or organization lodging the disagreement, other interested parties, or Postal Service officials must promptly provide all relevant, nonprivileged materials and other information requested by the SDR Official. If a submission contains trade secrets or other confidential information, it should be accompanied by a copy of the submission from which the confidential matter has been redacted. The SDR Official will determine whether any redactions are appropriate and will be solely responsible for determining the treatment of any redacted materials. After obtaining such information, materials, and advice as may be needed, the SDR Official will promptly issue a written decision resolving the disagreement and will deliver the decision to the person or organization lodging the disagreement, other interested parties, and appropriate Postal Service officials.

(f) Guidance. In considering and in resolving a disagreement, the SDR Official will be guided by the regulations contained in this part and all applicable public laws enacted by Congress. Non-Postal Service procurement rules or regulations and revoked Postal Service regulations will not apply or be taken into account in resolving disagreements. Failure of any party to provide requested information may be taken into account by the SDR Official in the decision.

(g) Binding decision. A decision of the SDR Official will be final and binding on the person or organization lodging the disagreement, other interested parties, and the Postal Service. However, the person or organization that lodged the disagreement or another interested person may appeal the decision of the SDR Official to a federal court with jurisdiction over such claims, but only on the grounds that the decision was procured by fraud or other criminal misconduct, or was obtained in violation of the regulations contained in this part or an applicable public law enacted by Congress.

(h) Resolution timeframe. It is intended that this procedure generally will resolve disagreements within approximately thirty days after the receipt of the disagreement by the SDR Official. The time may be shortened or lengthened depending on the complexity of the issues and other relevant considerations.