[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 80381-80382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31152]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[Docket No. FAR 2013-0078, Sequence No. 8]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2005-72; Small Entity Compliance Guide
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.
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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of DOD, GSA,
and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in
accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rules
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-72, which amends
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to a
rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been
prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding
these rules by referring to FAC 2005-72, which precedes this document.
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
DATES: December 31, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC
2005-72 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-
501-4755.
Rules Listed in FAC 2005-72
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Item Subject FAR Case Analyst
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*I................. Service 2010-010 Loeb.
Contracts
Reporting
Requirements.
*II................ Prioritizing 2009-024 Morgan.
Sources of
Supplies and
Services for
Use by
Government.
*III............... Terms of 2013-005 Petrusek.
Service and
Open-Ended
Indemnificatio
n, and
Unenforceabili
ty of
Unauthorized
Obligations.
IV................. Trade 2013-021 Davis.
Agreements
Thresholds.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR cases, refer to
the specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents
following these item summaries. FAC 2005-72 amends the FAR as specified
below:
Item I--Service Contracts Reporting Requirements (FAR Case 2010-010)
This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 743 of Division
C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
[[Page 80382]]
2010. Section 743 calls for certain agencies, not including the
Department of Defense, to submit annual inventories of service
contracts. FAR subpart 4.17, Service Contracts Inventory, provides
annual reporting requirements for agencies and contractors. Guidance
for agencies is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement-service-contract-inventories. FAR clauses 52.204-14 and
52.204-15 provide contractors' annual reporting requirements. Prime and
first-tier contractors will submit the information by October 31 at
www.sam.gov, including total dollar amount invoiced for services
performed in the prior Government fiscal year and total amount of labor
hours for the previous Government fiscal year.
To lessen the burden on small and large business prime contractors,
information is reported annually, reporting is phased in over three
fiscal years, and only first-tier subcontracts are covered, not all
tiers.
Contracting officers will verify that the clause is included in the
contract or order. Agencies are responsible for reviewing contractor
reported information to ensure it appears reasonable and consistent
with available contract information. The agency is not required to
address data for which the agency would not normally have supporting
information. In the event the agency believes that revisions to the
contractor reported information are warranted, the contractor is to be
notified no later than November 15. By November 30, the contractor
shall revise the report, or document its rationale for the agency for
maintaining the information without change.
Item II--Prioritizing Sources of Supplies and Services for Use by
Government (FAR Case 2009-024)
This final rule amends the FAR to update and clarify the priority
of sources of supplies and services for use by the Government at FAR
subpart 8.0. The final rule also includes a list of other existing
Federal contract vehicles to consider for agency use, such as
Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), Multi-Agency Contracts
(MACs), and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple
agencies, including blanket purchase agreements under Federal Supply
Service contracts. The policy at FAR 7.102(a) is also revised to
conform with the amendments to FAR subpart 8.0.
Item III--Terms of Service and Open-Ended Indemnification, and
Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (FAR Case 2013-005)
This final rule adopts, without change, an interim rule which was
published in the Federal Register at 78 FR 37686 on June 21, 2013. The
interim rule amended the FAR to address concerns raised in an opinion
from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel that
determined the Anti-Deficiency Act is violated when a Government
contracting officer or other employee with the authority to bind the
Government agrees, without statutory authorization or other exception,
to an open-ended, unrestricted indemnification clause. This rule
clarified for the public that an End User License Agreement, Term of
Service, or similar agreement containing an indemnification provision,
is unenforceable and nonbinding against the Government and Government-
authorized end-users. The rule contained a new clause that applies to
all solicitations and contracts and automatically applies to micro-
purchases, including those made with the Governmentwide commercial
purchase card.
Item IV--Trade Agreements Thresholds (FAR Case 2013-021)
This final rule amends the FAR to adjust the thresholds for
application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement
Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements as determined by the United
States Trade Representative, according to a pre-determined formula
under the agreements.
Dated: December 19, 2013.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office
of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-31152 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
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