[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21801-21802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8419]



[[Page 21801]]

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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; 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 of 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) 2005-25 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 2005-25 which precedes this 
document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diedra Wingate, FAR Secretariat, (202) 
208-4052. For clarification of content, contact the analyst whose name 
appears in the table below.

                                          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...........................  .......................  .......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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.
[FR Doc. E8-8419 Filed 4-21-08; 8:45 am]
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