[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 205-206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33425]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket FAR 2011-0077, Sequence 7]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-55; 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 DOD, GSA, 
and NASA. 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 the rule 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-55, which amends 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain 
further information regarding this rule by referring to FAC 2005-55, 
which precedes this document. These documents are also available via 
the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: January 3, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-55 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 
501-4755.

                      List of Rules in FAC 2005-55
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Item                Subject            FAR case        Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I...............  Preventing Abuse of         2008-032  Sakalos.
                   Interagency Contracts.
II..............  Transition to the           2011-021  Loeb.
                   System for Award
                   Management (SAM).
III.............  Brand-Name                  2005-037  Clark.
                   Specifications.
IV..............  Time-and-Materials and      2009-043  Sakalos.
                   Labor-Hour Contracts
                   for Commercial Items.
V...............  Public Access to the        2010-016  Loeb.
                   Federal Awardee
                   Performance and
                   Integrity Information
                   System.
VI..............  Updated Financial           2010-005  Chambers.
                   Accounting Standards
                   Board Accounting
                   References.
VII.............  Technical Amendments.    ...........
------------------------------------------------------------------------


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR cases, refer to 
the specific item numbers and subject set forth in the documents 
following these item summaries. FAC 2005-55 amends the FAR as specified 
below:

Item I--Preventing Abuse of Interagency Contracts (FAR Case 2008-032)

    This rule adopts as final, with changes, an interim rule that 
implemented section 865, Preventing Abuse of Interagency Contracts, of 
the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2009 (Pub. L. 110-417). This final rule further amends FAR subpart 17.5 
to make it clear that this rule only applies to interagency 
acquisitions when an agency needing supplies or services obtains them 
using another agency's contract; or when an agency uses another agency 
to provide acquisition assistance, such as awarding and administering a 
contract, a task order, or delivery order. A business case analysis 
must be developed for the establishment and renewal of governmentwide 
acquisition contracts as well as for multi-agency contracts. 
Additionally, FAR 35.017 clarifies determination requirements when 
using a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. This rule 
does not impose any information collection requirements on small 
businesses. There is no significant impact on small businesses because 
this rule is only applicable to internal operating procedures of the 
Government.

Item II--Transition to the System for Award Management (SAM) (FAR Case 
2011-021)

    The Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) systems are being 
transitioned to a new System for Award Management (SAM) architecture. 
This effort will transition the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) 
database, the Excluded Parties Listing System (EPLS), and the Online 
Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) to SAM. The FAR 
change will indicate that these IAE systems and the Disaster Response 
Registry will now be accessed through http://www.acquisition.gov. This 
rule will not significantly affect small business, as the only impact 
on the public will be the Web site address

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that offerors/contractors will need to use.

Item III--Brand-Name Specifications (FAR Case 2005-037)

    This final rule adopts, with changes, the interim rule that amended 
the FAR to fully implement Office of Management and Budget memoranda 
and policies on the use of brand-name specifications. The final rule 
clarifies that when applicable, the documentation or justification and 
posting requirements for brand name items only apply to the portion of 
the acquisition that requires the brand name item. The final rule also 
adds a requirement to screen the brand name documentation or 
justification for contractor proprietary data. Further, the final rule 
requires the contracting officer to post the justifications for an 
order peculiar to one manufacturer under indefinite-delivery contracts. 
The rule will benefit small business entities by providing the 
opportunity for review of brand-name justification and approval 
documents for contracts and orders awarded noncompetitively, thereby 
increasing the opportunity for competition for future awards.

Item IV--Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts for Commercial 
Items (FAR Case 2009-043)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement recommendations from 
the Government Accountability Office to: (1) Ensure that time-and-
materials (T&M) and labor-hour (LH) contracts are used to acquire 
commercial services only when no other contract type is suitable, and 
(2) instill discipline in the determination of contract type with a 
view toward managing the risk to the Government. The requirement for a 
determination and findings when no other contract type is suitable is 
added to FAR 8.404, Use of Federal Supply Schedules. FAR 8.404 has also 
been amended to address increases in the order ceiling price of T&M and 
LH contracts, to more closely conform to the language at FAR 12.207. In 
addition, FAR 16.201 is modified and FAR 16.600 is added to clarify 
that T&M and LH contracts are not types of fixed-price contracts. This 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

Item V--Public Access to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity 
Information System (FAR Case 2010-016)

    This rule adopts as final, with changes, an interim rule. The 
interim rule implemented section 3010 of the Supplemental 
Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-212), enacted July 29, 2010. 
Section 3010 requires that the information in the Federal Awardee 
Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), excluding past 
performance reviews, shall be made publicly available. The interim rule 
notified contractors of this new statutory requirement for public 
access to FAPIIS.
    In response to public comments, the final rule allows a 14-
calendar-day delay before making the data available to the public. 
Contractors have 7 calendar days within those 14 calendar days to 
assert a disclosure exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. In 
addition, the FAPIIS system has been modified to allow more space for 
contractor comments. The rule does not impose any new requirements on 
small businesses.

Item VI--Updated Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting 
References (FAR Case 2010-005)

    This final rule amends the FAR sections 31.205-11, 31.205-36, 
52.204-10, 52.212-5, and 52.213-4 to update references to authoritative 
accounting standards owing to the Financial Accounting Standards 
Board's Accounting Standards Codification of Generally Accepted 
Accounting Principles (``Codification of GAAP''). These revisions have 
no effect other than to simply replace the superseded references with 
updated references.

Item VII--Technical Amendments

    Editorial changes are made at FAR 4.603, 8.402, 8.405-5, 8.703, 
15.402, 15.403-1, 19.102, 19.402, 22.404-1, 22.1304, 22.1306, 23.205, 
23.401, 28.203-3, 42.203, 52.202-1, 52.212-3, 52.219-22, and 52.228-11.

    Dated: December 21, 2011.
Laura Auletta,
Director, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011-33425 Filed 12-30-11; 8:45 am]
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