[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70264-70265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33512]



[[Page 70263]]

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Part VI

Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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48 CFR Chapter 1 et al.



Federal Acquisition Regulations; Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 243 / Friday, December 18, 1998 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1


Federal Acquisition Circular 97-10; Introduction

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Summary presentation of final and interim rules, and technical 
amendments and corrections.

SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) rules issued by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the 
Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition 
Circular (FAC) 97-10. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance 
Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, may be 
located on the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far.

DATES: For effective dates and comment dates, see separate documents 
which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS 
Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 501-4755, for information 
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of 
content, contact the analyst whose name appears in the table below in 
relation to each FAR case or subject area. Please cite FAC 97-10 and 
specific FAR case number(s). Interested parties may also visit our 
website at http://www.arnet.gov/far.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Item                                   Subject                     FAR case         Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I................................  Historically Underutilized Business Zone         97-307  Moss.
                                    (HUBZone) Empowerment Contracting Program
                                    (Interim).
II...............................  Limits for Indefinite-Quantity Contracts....     98-016  DeStefano.
III..............................  Office of Federal Contract Compliance            98-607  O'Neill.
                                    Programs National Pre-Award Registry.
IV...............................  Limitation on Allowability of Compensation       97-303  Nelson.
                                    for Certain Contractor Personnel.
V................................  Contractor Purchasing System Review              97-016  Klein.
                                    Exclusions.
VI...............................  Contract Quality Requirements...............     96-009  Klein.
VII..............................  Mandatory Government Source Inspection......     97-027  Klein.
VIII.............................  No-Cost Value Engineering Change Proposals..     96-011  Klein.
IX...............................  Evidence of Shipment in Electronic Data          97-011  Nelson.
                                    Interchange Transactions.
X................................  Technical Amendments........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the actual revisions and/or 
amendments to these FAR cases, refer to the specific item number and 
subject set forth in the documents following these item summaries.
    Federal Acquisition Circular 97-10 amends the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation (FAR) as specified below:

Item I--Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) 
Empowerment Contracting Program

[FAR Case 97-307]

    This interim rule amends FAR Parts 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 
26, 52, and 53 to implement the Small Business Administration 
Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Empowerment 
Contracting Program. The purpose of the program is to provide Federal 
contracting assistance for qualified small business concerns located in 
historically underutilized business zones in an effort to increase 
employment opportunities, investment, and economic development in these 
areas. The program provides for set-asides, sole source awards, and 
price evaluation preferences for HUBZone small business concerns and 
establishes goals for awards to such concerns.

Item II--Limits for Indefinite-Quantity Contracts

[FAR Case 98-016]

    This final rule amends FAR 16.504(a) to clarify that maximum and 
minimum limits for indefinite-quantity contracts may be expressed as a 
number of units or dollar value.

Item III--Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs National 
Pre-Award Registry

[FAR Case 98-607]

    This final rule amends FAR part 22 and related clauses at part 52 
to (1) inform the procurement community of the availability of the 
Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs 
(OFCCP) National Pre-Award Registry (Registry), accessible through the 
Internet, that contains contractor establishments who have received a 
preaward clearance within the preceding 24 months, and the option to 
use the information in the Registry in lieu of submitting a written 
request for a preaward clearance; and (2) implement revised Department 
of Labor (DoL) regulations pertaining to equal employment opportunity 
and affirmative action requirements for Federal contractors and 
subcontractors.

Item IV--Limitation on Allowability of Compensation for Certain 
Contractor Personnel

[FAR Case 97-303]

    The interim rule published as Item XIII of FAC 97-04 is converted 
to a final rule with minor clarifying amendments at FAR 31.205-6(p)(2). 
The rule implements Section 808 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Pub. L. 105-85). Section 808 limits allowable 
compensation costs for senior executives of contractors to the 
benchmark year by the Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy (OFPP). The benchmark compensation amount is $340,650 for 
contractor fiscal year 1998, and subsequent contractor fiscal years, 
unless and until revised by OFPP.

Item V--Contractor Purchasing System Review Exclusions

[FAR Case 97-016]

    This final rule amends FAR 44.302 and 44.303 to exclude 
competitively awarded firm-fixed-price and competitively awarded fixed-
price contracts with economic price adjustment, and sales of commercial 
items pursuant to FAR part 12, from the dollar amount used to determine 
if a contractor's level of sales to the Government warrants the conduct 
of a CPSR; and to exclude subcontracts awarded by a contractor 
exclusively in

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support of Government contracts that are competitively awarded firm-
fixed-price, competitively awarded fixed-price with economic price 
adjustment, or awarded for commercial items pursuant to FAR part 12, 
from evaluation during a CPSR.

Item VI--Contract Quality Requirements

[FAR Case 96-009]

    This final rule amends FAR 46.202-4, 46.311, and 52.246-11 to 
replace references to Government specifications with references to 
commercial quality standards as examples of higher-level contract 
quality requirements; to require the contracting officer to indicate in 
the solicitation which higher-level quality standards will satisfy the 
Government's requirement; and, if more than one standard is listed in 
the solicitation, to require the offeror to indicate its selection by 
checking a block.

Item VII--Mandatory Government Source Inspection

[FAR Case 97-027]

    This final rule amends FAR 46.402 to facilitate the elimination of 
unnecessary requirements for Government contract quality assurance at 
source. This rule deletes the mandatory requirements for Government 
contract quality assurance at source on all contracts that include a 
higher-level contract quality requirement, and for supplies requiring 
inspection that are destined for overseas shipment.

Item VIII--No-Cost Value Engineering Change Proposals

[FAR Case 96-011]

    The interim rule published as Item X of FAC 97-05 is converted to a 
final rule without change. The rule revises FAR 48.104-3 to clarify 
that no-cost value engineering change proposals (VECPs) may be used 
when, in the contracting officer's judgment, reliance on other VECP 
approaches likely would not be more cost-effective, and the no-cost 
settlement would provide adequate consideration to the Government.

Item IX--Evidence of Shipment in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 
Transactions

[FAR Case 97-011]

    This final rule revises the clause at FAR 52.247-48 to facilitate 
the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions and to 
streamline the payment process when supplies are purchased on a free on 
board (f.o.b.) destination basis with inspection and acceptance at 
origin.

Item X--Technical Amendments

    Amendments are being made at FAR 1.106, 19.102, 19.502-5, 32.908, 
37.602-3, 42.203, 52.212-5, 52.219-9, 52.222-37, 53.228 and 53.301 in 
order to update references and make editorial changes.

    Dated: December 14, 1998.
Ralph DeStafano,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division.

Federal Acquisition Circular

FAC 97-10

    Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 97-10 is issued under the 
authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General 
Services, and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration.
    Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 97-10 are 
effective February 16, 1999, except for Item VIII which is effective 
December 18, 1998, and Items I and X which are effective January 4, 
1999.

    Dated: December 14, 1998.
Eleanor R. Spector,
Director, Defense Procurement.
    Dated: December 11, 1998.
Ida M. Ustad,
Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Acquisition Policy, General 
Services Administration.
Tom Luedtke,
Acting Associate Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration.
    Dated: December 11, 1998.
[FR Doc. 98-33512 Filed 12-16-98; 8:45 am]
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