[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 4874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1961]



[[Page 4873]]

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Part V





Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration





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48 CFR Parts 2, 12, and 52



Federal Acquisition Regulation; Commercially Available Off-the-Shelf 
Items; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 20 / Thursday, January 30, 2003 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 4874]]



DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 2, 12, and 52

[FAR Case 2000-305]
RIN 9000-AJ55


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Commercially Available Off-the-
Shelf Items

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council is soliciting 
comments regarding the implementation of section 4203 of the Federal 
Acquisition Reform Act (the Act) with respect to Commercially Available 
Off-the-Shelf Item Acquisitions. The Act requires the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to list certain provisions of law that are 
inapplicable to contracts for acquisition of commercially available 
off-the-shelf items. The statute excludes section 15 of the Small 
Business Act and bid protest procedures from the list. The list of 
statutes cannot include a provision of law that provides for criminal 
or civil penalties.
    Certain laws have already been determined to be inapplicable to all 
commercial items as a result of the implementation of the Federal 
Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (see FAR 12.503). The additional 
provisions of law that could be determined inapplicable to commercially 
available off-the-shelf items are listed under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION below.

DATES: Comments are due on or before March 31, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should submit written comments to--
General Services Administration, FAR Secretariat (MVA), 1800 F Street, 
NW., Room 4035, Attn: Laurie Duarte, Washington, DC 20405.
    Submit electronic comments via the Internet to--farcase.2000-
[email protected].
    Please submit comments only and cite FAR case 2000-305 in all 
correspondence related to this case.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS 
Building, Washington, DC 20405, at (202) 501-4755 for information 
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of 
content, contact Ms. Victoria Moss, Procurement Analyst, at (202) 501-
4764. Please cite FAR case 2000-305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The provisions of law that could be 
determined inapplicable to commercially available off-the-shelf items 
are: 5 U.S.C. 552a, Privacy Act (see 52.239-1); 29 U.S.C. 793, 
Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers (see 52.222-36); 31 U.S.C. 
529, Restriction on Advance Payments (allow agencies to modify 
paragraph (i) in the clause at 52.212-4 to require payment upon notice 
of shipping); 38 U.S.C. 4212, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled 
Vietnam Era Veterans (see 52.222-35); 38 U.S.C. 4212(d)(1), Employment 
Reports on Special disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era 
(see 52.222-37); 41 U.S.C. 10, Buy American Act--Supplies (see 52.225-1 
and 52.225-3); 41 U.S.C. 253d, Validation of Proprietary Data 
Restrictions (see section 12.211); 41 U.S.C. 253g and 10 U.S.C. 2482, 
Prohibition on Limiting Subcontractor Direct Sales to the United States 
(see 52.203-6); 41 U.S.C. 254d(c) and 10 U.S.C. 2513(c), Examination of 
Records of Contractor (see 52.215-2); 41 U.S.C. 418a, Rights in 
Technical Data (see section 12.211); 41 U.S.C. 442, Cost Accounting 
Standards (see section 12.214 and the FAR Appendix, 48 CFR Chapter 99); 
41 U.S.C. 423(e)(3), Administrative Actions (see 3.104); 46 U.S.C. 
1241(b), Transportation in American Vessels of Government Personnel and 
Certain Cargo (see 52.247-64); and 42 U.S.C. 6962(c)(3)(A)(ii), 
Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for EPA-Designated 
Products (see 52.223-9).
    For purposes of this notice, a ``commercially available off-the-
shelf item''--
    (a) Means any item of supply, other than real property, that--
    (1) Is of a type customarily used by the general public for 
nongovernmental purposes;
    (2) Has been sold in substantial quantities in the commercial 
marketplace; and
    (3) Is offered to the Government, without modification, in the same 
form in which it is sold in the commercial marketplace.
    (b) This does not include bulk cargo, as defined in 46 U.S.C. App. 
1702, such as agricultural and petroleum products.

    Dated: January 23, 2003.
Al Matera,
Director, Acquisition Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 03-1961 Filed 1-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P