[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21772-21773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8402]



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Part III





Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration





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48 CFR Chapter 1; and Parts 1, 2, 4, 12, 52 et al.



 Federal Acquisition Regulations; Final Rule and Small Entity 
Compliance Guide

  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 78 / Tuesday, April 22, 2008 / Rules 
and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket FAR-2008-0003, Sequence 1]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-25; Introduction

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

ACTION: Summary presentation of final rules.

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SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and 
the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition 
Circular (FAC) 2005-25. A companion document, the Small Entity 
Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, 
is available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The analyst whose name appears in the 
table below in relation to each FAR case. Please cite FAC 2005-25 and 
the specific FAR case number(s). For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the FAR Secretariat at (202) 501-
4755.

                                          List of Rules in FAC 2005-25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Item                          Subject                             FAR case                 Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I..............  Federal Procurement Data System Reporting      2004-038                 Woodson.
                  (Interim).
II.............  Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System     2005-040                 Cundiff.
                  (eSRS) (Interim).
III............  Revisions to the Defense Priorities and        2006-033                 Davis.
                  Allocations System (DPAS).
IV.............  Use of Products Containing Recovered           2005-039                 Clark.
                  Materials in Service and Construction
                  Contracts.
V..............  Representations and Certifications - Tax       2006-011                 Murphy.
                  Delinquencies.
VI.............  Enhanced Access for Small Business...........  2006-031                 Murphy.
VII............  Techical Amendment...........................  .......................  .......................
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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 2005-25 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--Federal Procurement Data System Reporting(FAR Case 2004-038) 
(Interim)

    This interim rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 
Subpart 4.6 to revise the process for reporting contract actions to the 
Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). FPDS will allow agencies to 
obtain Federal procurement reports as well as several workload reports 
designed specifically for first-line supervisors. The use of the 
Federal reports will alleviate the need for individual agencies to 
collect, verify, and distribute statistics for a host of requirements 
such as the Small Business Goaling Report (SBGR), the Performance-Based 
Acquisition (PBA) report, the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), 
and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) report. The rule 
provides questions and answers to facilitate the public's understanding 
of the changes proposed in the interim for reporting contract actions 
under FAR Subpart 4.6.

Item II--Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) (FAR Case 
2005-040) (Interim)

    This interim rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation to 
require that small business subcontract reports be submitted using the 
Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), rather than Standard 
Form 294 - Subcontract Report for Individual Contracts and Standard 
Form 295 - Summary Subcontract Report. The eSRS is a web-based system 
managed by the Integrated Acquisition Environment. The eSRS is intended 
to streamline the small business subcontracting program reporting 
process and provide the data to agencies in a manner that will enable 
them to more effectively manage the program.

Item III--Revisions to the Defense Priorities and Allocations System 
(DPAS) (FAR Case 2006-033)

    This final rule amends the language in the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation (FAR) to reflect the President's delegation of the Defense 
Production Act's priorities and allocations authorities in Executive 
Order 12919, and the current provisions of the Defense Priorities and 
Allocations System (DPAS) regulations of the Department of Commerce in 
15 CFR Part 700.
    FAR changes incorporated in parts 2, 11, 18, 52, and 53 benefit 
both the Government and industry in the receiving of timely and proper 
delivery of industrial resources. Contracting officers should take 
notice of the changes in the FAR especially the changes to the Standard 
Form (SF) 26, Award/Contract and SF 1447, Solicitation/Contract, and 
use the revised SF 26 and SF 1447 that reflects the 15 CFR 700 citation 
and 2008 edition date change.

Item IV--Use of Products Containing Recovered Materials in Service and 
Construction Contracts (FAR Case 2005-039)

    This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 
clarify language within the FAR regarding the use of products 
containing recovered materials, pursuant to the Resource Conservation 
and Recovery Act of 1976, and Executive Order 13101 ``Greening the 
Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal 
Acquisition.'' The rule also prescribes a new clause for use in service 
or construction contracts, to ensure that contractors deliver and make 
maximum use of products containing recovered material.

Item V--Representations and Certifications - Tax Delinquencies (FAR 
Case 2006-011)

    This final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 
add conditions regarding refusal to pay delinquent Federal taxes to 
standards of

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contractor responsibility, causes for suspension and debarment, and the 
certifications regarding debarment, suspension, and proposed debarment. 
The changes are intended to add clarity regarding the specific 
circumstances under which tax delinquencies are so serious that 
suspension or debarment should be considered. The changes originated in 
response to a request from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on 
Investigations.

Item VI--Enhanced Access for Small Business (FAR Case 2006-031)

    This final rule creates a different, higher dollar ceiling enabling 
small businesses to use the small claims procedure for appealing a 
contracting officer's final decision. Section 857 of the John Warner 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Pub. L. 109-
364) changed the ceiling under the Contract Disputes Act from $50,000 
or less to $150,000 or less for small businesses. The ceiling remains 
at $50,000 or less for other types of businesses. The change to 41 
U.S.C. 608 is a ceiling change only.

Item VII--Technical Amendment

    An editorial change is made at FAR 1.603-1.

    Dated: April 4, 2008.
Al Matera,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy.

Federal Acquisition Circular

    Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-25 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 2005-25 is 
effective April 22, 2008, except for Items IV, V, and VI which are 
effective May 22, 2008.

    Dated: April 10, 2008.
Shay D. Assad,
Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, and Strategic 
Sourcing.

    Dated: April 7, 2008.
David A. Drabkin,
Acting Chief Acquisition Officer & Senior Procurement Executive, Office 
of the Chief Acquisition Officer, U.S. General Services Administration.

    Dated: April 3, 2008.
William P. McNally,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-8402 Filed 4-21-08; 8:45 am]
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