[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12318-12319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04111]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0068; Docket 2012-0076; Sequence 55]


 Federal Acquisition Regulation; Submission for OMB Review; 
Economic Price Adjustment

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

ACTION: Notice of request for an extension to an existing OMB 
clearance.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a 
previously approved information collection requirement concerning 
economic price adjustment. A notice was published in the Federal 
Register at 77 FR 69442, on November 19, 2012. One respondent submitted 
comments.

DATES: Submit comments on or before March 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 9000-
0068, Economic Price Adjustment by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching the OMB 
control number. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that corresponds 
with ``Information Collection 9000-0068, Economic Price Adjustment''. 
Follow the instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. 
Please include your name, company name (if any), and ``Information 
Collection 9000-0068, Economic Price Adjustment'' on your attached 
document.
     Fax: 202-501-4067.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN: 
Hada Flowers/IC 9000-0068, Economic Price Adjustment.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 9000-0068, Economic Price Adjustment, in all correspondence 
related to this collection. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael O. Jackson, Procurement 
Analyst, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, GSA (202) 208-
4949 or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Purpose

    FAR 16.203, Fixed-price contracts with economic price adjustment, 
and associated clauses at 52.216-2, 52.216-3, and 52.216-4 provide for 
upward and downward revision of the stated contract price upon 
occurrence of specified contingencies. In order for the contracting 
officer to be aware of price changes, the firm must provide pertinent 
information to the Government. The information is used to determine the 
proper amount of price adjustments required under the contract.

B. Discussion and Analysis

    One respondent submitted public comments on the extension of the 
previously approved information collection. The analysis of the public 
comments is summarized as follows:
    Comment: The respondent commented that the extension of the 
information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act because of the burden it puts on the entity 
submitting the information and the agency collecting the information. 
The respondent opposes granting the extension of the information 
collection requirement.
    Response: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 
agencies can request an OMB approval of an existing information 
collection. The PRA requires that agencies use the Federal Register 
notice and comment process, to extend the OMB's approval, at least 
every three years. This extension, to a previously approved information 
collection, pertains to FAR 16.203, Fixed-price contracts with economic 
price adjustment, and associated clauses at 52.216-2, 52.216-3, and 
52.216-4 which provide for upward and downward revision of the stated 
contract price upon occurrence of specified contingencies. In order for 
the contracting officer to be aware of price changes, the firm must 
provide pertinent information to the Government. The information is 
used to determine the proper amount of price adjustments required under 
the contract. Not granting this extension would consequently eliminate 
FAR clauses that provide a benefit to the public and the agency 
collecting the information.
    Comment: The respondent commented that the agency did not

[[Page 12319]]

accurately estimate the public burden challenging that the agency's 
methodology for calculating it is insufficient and inadequate and does 
not reflect the total burden. The respondent indicated that .25 hours 
or 15 minutes per response for the level of effort involved under the 
relevant clauses is unrealistically low. For this reason, the 
respondent provided that the agency should reassess the estimated total 
burden hours and revise the estimate upwards to be more accurate, as 
was done in FAR Case 2007-006. The same respondent also provided that 
the burden of compliance with the information collection requirement 
greatly exceeds the agency's estimate and outweighs any potential 
utility of the extension.
    Response: Serious consideration is given, during the open comment 
period, to all comments received and adjustments are made to the 
paperwork burden estimate based on reasonable considerations provided 
by the public. This is evidenced, as the respondent notes, in FAR Case 
2007-006 where an adjustment was made from the total preparation hours 
from three to 60. This change was made considering particularly the 
hours that would be required for review within the company, prior to 
release to the Government.
    The burden is prepared taking into consideration the necessary 
criteria in OMB guidance for estimating the paperwork burden put on the 
entity submitting the information. For example, consideration is given 
to an entity reviewing instructions; using technology to collect, 
process, and disclose information; adjusting existing practices to 
comply with requirements; searching data sources; completing and 
reviewing the response; and transmitting or disclosing information. The 
estimated burden hours for a collection are based on an average between 
the hours that a simple disclosure by a very small business might 
require and the much higher numbers that might be required for a very 
complex disclosure by a major corporation. Also, the estimated burden 
hours should only include projected hours for those actions which a 
company would not undertake in the normal course of business. Careful 
consideration went into assessing the burden for this collection, and 
although the respondent did not provide a specific recommendation for 
an increase of time per response, an adjustment is made to the 
estimated total burden. At any point, members of the public may submit 
comments for further consideration, and are encouraged to provide data 
to support their request for an adjustment.

C. Annual Reporting Burden

    The estimated annual reporting burden is being adjusted upward 
since published in the Federal Register at 74 FR 64085, on December 7, 
2009. The upward adjustment is based on a revised number of respondents 
obtained from the Federal Procurement Data System--Next Generation 
(FPDS-NG) data for fixed-price contracts with economic price 
adjustments, and consideration of the public comment.
    Respondents: 11,945.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 11,945.
    Hours per Response: 1.5.
    Total Burden Hours: 17,918.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the 
information collection documents from the General Services 
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB Control 
No. 9000-0068, Economic Price Adjustment, in all correspondence.

    Dated: February 19, 2013.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of 
Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office 
of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-04111 Filed 2-21-13; 8:45 am]
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