[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 199 (Monday, October 15, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62496-62498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25294]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[OMB Control No. 9000-0067; Docket 2012-0076; Sequence 10]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Submission for OMB Review;
Incentive Contracts
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of request for public comments regarding an extension to
an existing OMB clearance.
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[[Page 62497]]
SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the
Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a
previously approved information collection requirement concerning
incentive contracts. A notice was published in the Federal Register at
77 FR 18819, on March 28, 2012. One respondent submitted comments.
Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
functions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and whether it
will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden
of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid
assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
DATES: Submit comments on or before November 14, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 9000-
0067, Incentive Contracts, by any of the following methods:
Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching the OMB
control number. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that corresponds
with ``Information Collection 9000-0067, Incentive Contracts''. Follow
the instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. Please
include your name, company name (if any), and ``Information Collection
9000-0067, Incentive Contracts'' on your attached document.
Fax: 202-501-4067.
Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN:
Hada Flowers/IC 9000-0067, Incentive Contracts.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information
Collection 9000-0067, Incentive Contracts, in all correspondence
related to this collection. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
and/or business confidential information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael O. Jackson, Procurement
Analyst, Office of Acquisition Policy, GSA (202) 208-4949 or via email
michaelo.jackson@gsa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
In accordance with FAR 16.4, incentive contracts are normally used
when a firm fixed-price contract is not appropriate and the required
supplies or services can be acquired at lower costs, and sometimes with
improved delivery or technical performance, by relating the amount of
profit or fee payable under the contract to the contractor's
performance.
The information required periodically from the contractor, such as
cost of work already performed, estimated costs of further performance
necessary to complete all work, total contract price for supplies or
services accepted by the Government for which final prices have been
established, and estimated costs allocable to supplies or services
accepted by the Government and for which final prices have not been
established, is needed to negotiate the final prices of incentive-
related items and services. Contractors are required to submit the
information in accordance with several incentive fee FAR clauses: FAR
52.216-16, Incentive Price Revision--Firm Target; FAR 52.216-17,
Incentive Price Revision--Successive Targets; and FAR 52.216-10,
Incentive Fee.
The contracting officer evaluates the information received to
determine the contractor's performance in meeting the incentive target
and the appropriate price revision, if any, for the items or services.
B. Discussion and Analysis
One respondent submitted public comments on the extension of the
previously approved information collection. The analysis of the public
comments is summarized as follows:
Comment: The respondent commented that the extension of the
information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the
Paperwork Reduction Act because of the burden it puts on the entity
submitting the information and the agency collecting the information.
The respondent opposes granting the extension of the information
collection requirement.
Response: In accordance with the Paperwork Required Act (PRA),
agencies can request an OMB approval of an existing information
collection. The PRA requires that agencies use the Federal Register
notice and comment process, to extend the OMB's approval, at least
every three years. This extension, to a previously approved information
collection, pertains to several incentive fee FAR clauses: FAR 52.216-
16, Incentive Price Revision--Firm Target; FAR 52.216-17, Incentive
Price Revision--Successive Targets; and FAR 52.216-10, Incentive Fee.
Incentive contracts are used when other types of fixed-price or cost
reimbursement contracts are inappropriate because the assumption of
risk on one of the contracting parties is unfavorable. Thus, incentive
contracts provide an alternative that the contracting parties can agree
impose some risk but not as much as the other types of fixed-price or
cost reimbursement contracts. The information collected, which should
be information collected in the normal course of doing business, allows
a contractor to justify and the contracting officer to evaluate the
contractor's performance in meeting the incentive target and the
appropriate price revision, if any, for the items or services received.
Not granting this extension would consequently eliminate FAR clauses
that provide a benefit to the public and the agency collecting the
information.
Comment: The respondent commented that the agency did not
accurately estimate the public burden challenging that the agency's
methodology for calculating it is insufficient and inadequate and does
not reflect the total burden. For this reason, the respondent provided
that the agency should reassess the estimated total burden hours and
revise the estimate upwards to be more accurate, as was done in FAR
Case 2007-006. The same respondent also provided that the burden of
compliance with the information collection requirement greatly exceeds
the agency's estimate and outweighs any potential utility of the
extension.
Response: Serious consideration is given, during the open comment
period, to all comments received and adjustments are made to the
paperwork burden estimate based on reasonable considerations provided
by the public. This is evidenced, as the respondent notes, in FAR Case
2007-006 where an adjustment was made from the total preparation hours
from three to 60. This change was made considering particularly the
hours that would be required for review within the company, prior to
release to the Government.
The burden is prepared taking into consideration the necessary
criteria in OMB guidance for estimating the paperwork burden put on the
entity submitting the information. For example, consideration is given
to an entity reviewing instructions; using
[[Page 62498]]
technology to collect, process, and disclose information; adjusting
existing practices to comply with requirements; searching data sources;
completing and reviewing the response; and transmitting or disclosing
information. The estimated burden hours for a collection are based on
an average between the hours that a simple disclosure by a very small
business might require and the much higher numbers that might be
required for a very complex disclosure by a major corporation. Also,
the estimated burden hours should only include projected hours for
those actions which a company would not undertake in the normal course
of business. Careful consideration went into assessing the burden for
this collection, and although adjustments were made, the estimated
annual burden remains unchanged. However, at any point, members of the
public may submit comments for further consideration, and are
encouraged to provide data to support their request for an adjustment.
C. Annual Reporting Burden
The estimated annual burden remains the same from the notice
published at 77 FR 18819 on March 28, 2012. Adjustments were made to
the estimated number of respondents, and the estimated annual responses
using fiscal year 2011 data from the Federal Procurement Data System as
a baseline. In addition, the estimated hours per response increased,
but the total estimated burden hours remain unchanged.
Respondents: 1,000.
Responses Per Respondent: 2.
Annual Responses: 2,000.
Hours Per Response: 1.5.
Total Burden Hours: 3,000.
Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the
information collection documents from the General Services
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB Control
No. 9000-0067, Incentive Contracts, in all correspondence.
Dated: October 5, 2012.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of
Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office
of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2012-25294 Filed 10-12-12; 8:45 am]
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