[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 80381-80382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31152]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR 2013-0078, Sequence No. 8]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-72; Small Entity Compliance Guide

AGENCY: 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 rules 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-72, which amends 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (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 2005-72, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: December 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-72 and the FAR case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-
501-4755.

                       Rules Listed in FAC 2005-72
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Item             Subject         FAR Case           Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I.................  Service                2010-010  Loeb.
                      Contracts
                      Reporting
                      Requirements.
*II................  Prioritizing           2009-024  Morgan.
                      Sources of
                      Supplies and
                      Services for
                      Use by
                      Government.
*III...............  Terms of               2013-005  Petrusek.
                      Service and
                      Open-Ended
                      Indemnificatio
                      n, and
                      Unenforceabili
                      ty of
                      Unauthorized
                      Obligations.
IV.................  Trade                  2013-021  Davis.
                      Agreements
                      Thresholds.
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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 subjects set forth in the documents 
following these item summaries. FAC 2005-72 amends the FAR as specified 
below:

Item I--Service Contracts Reporting Requirements (FAR Case 2010-010)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 743 of Division 
C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,

[[Page 80382]]

2010. Section 743 calls for certain agencies, not including the 
Department of Defense, to submit annual inventories of service 
contracts. FAR subpart 4.17, Service Contracts Inventory, provides 
annual reporting requirements for agencies and contractors. Guidance 
for agencies is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement-service-contract-inventories. FAR clauses 52.204-14 and 
52.204-15 provide contractors' annual reporting requirements. Prime and 
first-tier contractors will submit the information by October 31 at 
www.sam.gov, including total dollar amount invoiced for services 
performed in the prior Government fiscal year and total amount of labor 
hours for the previous Government fiscal year.
    To lessen the burden on small and large business prime contractors, 
information is reported annually, reporting is phased in over three 
fiscal years, and only first-tier subcontracts are covered, not all 
tiers.
    Contracting officers will verify that the clause is included in the 
contract or order. Agencies are responsible for reviewing contractor 
reported information to ensure it appears reasonable and consistent 
with available contract information. The agency is not required to 
address data for which the agency would not normally have supporting 
information. In the event the agency believes that revisions to the 
contractor reported information are warranted, the contractor is to be 
notified no later than November 15. By November 30, the contractor 
shall revise the report, or document its rationale for the agency for 
maintaining the information without change.

Item II--Prioritizing Sources of Supplies and Services for Use by 
Government (FAR Case 2009-024)

    This final rule amends the FAR to update and clarify the priority 
of sources of supplies and services for use by the Government at FAR 
subpart 8.0. The final rule also includes a list of other existing 
Federal contract vehicles to consider for agency use, such as 
Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), Multi-Agency Contracts 
(MACs), and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple 
agencies, including blanket purchase agreements under Federal Supply 
Service contracts. The policy at FAR 7.102(a) is also revised to 
conform with the amendments to FAR subpart 8.0.

Item III--Terms of Service and Open-Ended Indemnification, and 
Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (FAR Case 2013-005)

    This final rule adopts, without change, an interim rule which was 
published in the Federal Register at 78 FR 37686 on June 21, 2013. The 
interim rule amended the FAR to address concerns raised in an opinion 
from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel that 
determined the Anti-Deficiency Act is violated when a Government 
contracting officer or other employee with the authority to bind the 
Government agrees, without statutory authorization or other exception, 
to an open-ended, unrestricted indemnification clause. This rule 
clarified for the public that an End User License Agreement, Term of 
Service, or similar agreement containing an indemnification provision, 
is unenforceable and nonbinding against the Government and Government-
authorized end-users. The rule contained a new clause that applies to 
all solicitations and contracts and automatically applies to micro-
purchases, including those made with the Governmentwide commercial 
purchase card.

Item IV--Trade Agreements Thresholds (FAR Case 2013-021)

    This final rule amends the FAR to adjust the thresholds for 
application of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement 
Agreement and the Free Trade Agreements as determined by the United 
States Trade Representative, according to a pre-determined formula 
under the agreements.

    Dated: December 19, 2013.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office 
of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-31152 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
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