[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 41 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11659-11660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4699]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

OMB Clearance Request for Simplified Acquisition Procedures/
FACNET
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of new request for OMB clearance.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 
(44 U.S.C. 3501), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat 
has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to 
review and approve a new information collection requirement concerning 
Simplified Acquisition Procedures/FACNET.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before May 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Mr. Peter Weiss, FAR Desk Officer, OMB, 
Room 10236, NEOB, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Beverly Fayson, Office of Federal Acquisition Policy, GSA (202) 501-
4755. [[Page 11660]] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Purpose

    Title IX of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (the 
Act) amended the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 
401, et seq.) by adding new sections regarding the establishment of a 
program for the development and implementation of a Federal Acquisition 
Computer Network (hereinafter referred to as FACNET). FACNET is to be 
Governmentwide and will allow the electronic interchange of procurement 
information between the private sector and the Federal Government and 
among Federal agencies. Specific functions of FACNET are set forth 
under Section 30 of the Act.
    Regulatory coverage on FACNET is included under FAR Subpart 4.5 in 
the draft proposed rule (FAR case 94-770). FAR section 4.503 will 
require contractors to register on a one-time basis with the Federal 
Contractor Registration System operated by the Defense Information 
Megacenter, Columbus, Ohio, in order to conduct business through 
electronic commerce (EC) with the Federal Government. Contractor 
registration information will be collected electronically as a 
prerequisite for conducting EC with the Federal Government. The process 
for collection of contractor information will use the Federal 
Implementation Conventions ANSI X12.838, Trading Partner Profile in 
accordance with the Federal Information Processing Standards 161(FIPS). 
These standards are published by the National Institute for Standards 
and Technology (NIST). The information required to be submitted as part 
of contractor registration is the same as that currently provided by 
the SF 129, Solicitation Mailing List Application; the SF 3881, ACH 
vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form for paper transactions. In 
addition, information pertaining to a contractor assignment of 
commercial and Government entity (CAGE) code (where applicable); 
electronic data interchange (EDI) capabilities, including ANSI X12 
transaction set and version number status for production, testing, 
sending and receiving; and the registrant's value added network (VAN) 
or value added service (VAS) electronic communications number will also 
need to be provided as part of the registration process. Requiring 
information consistent with the existing forms that Government 
contractors are familiar with simplifies the process of gathering 
current, factual data to input into the Registration System. The 
additional information is information contractors should have readily 
available when they have established EC/EDI capability.
    The information submitted by contractors will permit the Megacenter 
to establish a central repository for all vendors doing business with 
the Federal Government, information that will be accessible by all 
Government contracting activities. This will eliminate the need for 
contractors to submit the information to each individual contracting 
activity they are doing business with, which is the current practice.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

    Public reporting burden for this collection of information is 
estimated to average 15 minutes per response, including the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate 
or any other aspect of this collection of information, including 
suggestions for reducing this burden, to General Services 
Administration, FAR Secretariat, 18th & F Streets, NW, Room 4037, 
Washington, DC 20405, and to the FAR Desk Officer, Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Washington, DC 20503.
    The annual reporting burden is estimated as follows: Respondents, 
100,000; responses per respondent; 1; total annual responses, 100,000; 
preparation hours per response, 25; and total response burden hours, 
25,000.

C. Annual Recordkeeping Burden

    The annual recordkeeping burden is estimated as follows: 
Recordkeepers, 100,000; hours per recordkeeper, .25; and total 
recordkeeping burden hours, 25,000.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requester may obtain copies of OMB 
applications or justifications from the General Services 
Administration, FAR Secretariat (VRS), Room 4037, Washington, DC 20405, 
telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB clearance request regarding 
Simplified Acquisition Procedures/FACNET, FAR case 94-770, in all 
correspondence.

    Dated: February 21, 1995.
Beverly Fayson,
FAR Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 95-4699 Filed 3-1-95; 8:45 am]
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