[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43586-43587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14672]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCIES: 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 the 
Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the 
Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
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 rules appearing in Federal 
Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-05 which amend the 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 2005-05 which precedes this 
document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.acqnet.gov/far.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Laurieann Duarte, FAR Secretariat, 
(202) 501-4755. For clarification of content, contact the analyst whose 
name appears in the table below.

                                          List of Rules in FAC 2005-05
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Item                          Subject                             FAR case                 Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I..............  Definition of Information Technology           2004-030                 Davis.
                  (Interim).
II.............  Documentation Requirement for Limited Sources  2005-004                 Nelson.
                  under Federal Supply Schedules.
III............  Payment Withholding..........................  2004-003                 Olson.
*IV............  Confirmation of HUBZone Certification          2005-009                 Cundiff.
                  (Interim).
V..............  Government Property Rental and Special         2002-015                 Parnell.
                  Tooling.
VI.............  Technical Amendment..........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
    FAC 2005-05 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--Definition of Information Technology(FAR Case 2004-030)

    This interim rule amends FAR 2.101(b) to revise the definition of 
``information technology'' to reflect the recent changes to the 
definition resulting from the enactment of Public Law 108-199.
    The new language at Section 535(b) of Division F of Public law 108-
199 permanently revises the term ``information technology,'' which is 
defined at 40 U.S.C. 11101, to add ``analysis'' and ``evaluation'' and 
to clarify the term ``ancillary equipment.'' This permanent change to 
the terminology necessitated this interim rule to amend the FAR.

[[Page 43587]]

Item II--Documentation Requirement for Limited Sources under Federal 
Supply Schedules (FAR Case 2005-004)

    On June 18, 2004, DoD, GSA, and NASA published FAR case 1999-603 
(69 FR 34231) amending the FAR to incorporate ordering procedures for 
orders against Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), including the 
documentation requirements for justifying sole source orders. The rule 
inadvertently established these justification and approval requirements 
for sole source orders instead of when an ordering activity restricts 
consideration of schedule contractors to less than the required number. 
This rule corrects that oversight. The final rule also based the 
content of the documentation requirements on that in FAR 6.303-2. By 
doing so, the rule established some unintentional and inapplicable 
content requirements, especially for orders under the simplified 
acquisition threshold (SAT). This rule corrects those unintended 
changes by establishing the standard for justifying restricted orders 
under the SAT and accurately specifying the justification content for 
restricted orders above the SAT. The rule will clarify the procedures 
for ordering activities.

Item III--Payment Withholding (FAR Case 2004-003)

    Contracting officers and contracting officer's representatives who 
award or administer Time-and-Materials or Labor-Hour contracts or 
orders should be familiar with this amendment. Also, contractor 
personnel who are responsible for managing invoicing for those types of 
contracts should be aware of this new requirement. The amendment 
removes the mandatory requirement that a contracting officer withhold 5 
percent of the payments due under a time-and-materials contract, unless 
it is necessary to withhold payment to protect the Government's 
interest or otherwise prescribed in the contract Schedule. It requires 
the use of a contract modification in order to make payment withholding 
and, in the event withholding is required, the contractor is 
responsible to withhold the amounts from its billings.

Item IV--Confirmation of HUBZone Certification(FAR Case 2005-009)

    This interim rule amends FAR 19.703 and the clause at 52.219-9 to 
clarify that prime contractors must confirm that a subcontractor 
representing itself as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone 
(HUBZone) small business concern is certified, consistent with the 
requirements of 15 U.S.C. 632 et seq., as amended. This change is 
expected to increase subcontracting opportunities for certified HUBZone 
small business concerns and ensure accurate reporting of awards to 
HUBZone small business concerns under Government contracts.

Item V--Government Property Rental and Special Tooling(FAR Case 2002-
015)

    This final rule amends FAR Parts 45 and 52 to clarify the basis for 
determining rental charges for the use of Government property. The 
change, which is intended to promote the dual use of such property, 
will impact contracting officers and property administrators 
responsible for the management of Government property and contractors 
that desire to use Government property for commercial purposes.

Item VI--Technical Amendment

    An editorial change is made at FAR 4.1102 in order to update a 
reference.

    Dated: July 20, 2005.
Julia B. Wise,
Director, Contract Policy Division.
[FR Doc. 05-14672 Filed 7-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-S