[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38892-38894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16084]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0185; Docket No. 2014-0055; Sequence 24]


Submission for OMB Review; Commercial and Government Entity Code

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

[[Page 38893]]


ACTION: Notice of request for a new OMB clearance.

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SUMMARY: The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) applies. 
The proposed rule contains information collection requirements. 
Accordingly, the Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB) has submitted a 
request for approval of a new information collection requirement 
concerning Commercial and Government Entity Code (FAR Case 2012-024) to 
the Office of Management and Budget. A request for comments was 
published in the Federal Register at 75 FR 23194, on April 18, 2013. 
One comment was received.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 8, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 9000-
0185, Commercial and Government Entity Code 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 9000-0185. Select the link ``Comment Now'' that 
corresponds with ``Information Collection 9000-0185, Commercial and 
Government Entity Code''. Follow the instructions provided on the 
screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and 
``Information Collection 9000-0185, Commercial and Government Entity 
Code'' on your attached document.
     Fax: 202-501-4067.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20405. 
ATTN: Ms. Flowers/IC 9000-0185, Commercial and Government Entity Code.
     Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite 
Information Collection 9000-0185, Commercial and Government Entity 
Code, 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. Edward Loeb, Procurement Analyst, 
Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, at telephone 202-501-0650 
or via email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

    DoD, GSA, and NASA published a proposed rule at 78 FR 23194 on 
April 18, 2013, soliciting public comments on the proposed rule and 
received one response.
    DoD, GSA, and NASA are revising the FAR to require that offerors 
provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) codes to 
contracting officers and that, if owned by another entity, offerors 
will provide, in a new provision with their representations and 
certifications, the CAGE codes and names of such entity or entities. 
For those offerors located in the United States or its outlying areas 
that register in the System for Award Management (SAM), a CAGE code is 
assigned as part of the registration process. If SAM registration is 
not required, the offeror must request and obtain a CAGE code from the 
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Contractor and Government Entity Branch. 
A CAGE code is not required when a condition described at FAR 
4.605(c)(2) applies and the acquisition is funded by an agency other 
than DoD or NASA. Offerors located outside the United States will 
obtain an NCAGE from their NATO Codification Bureau or, if not a NATO 
member or sponsored nation, from the NATO Support Agency (NSPA).
    The Federal procurement community strives toward greater measures 
of transparency and reliability of data, to facilitate achievement of 
rigorous accountability of procurement dollars, processes, and 
compliance with regulatory and statutory acquisition requirements, 
e.g., the Federal Funding and Accountability and Transparency Act of 
2006 (Pub. L. 109-282, 31 U.S.C. 6101 note). Increased transparency and 
accuracy of procurement data broaden the Government's ability to 
implement fraud detection technologies restricting opportunities for 
mitigating occurrences of fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
    To further the desired increases in traceability and transparency, 
this rule uses the unique identification that a CAGE code provides, 
coupled with vendor representation of ownership and owner CAGE code. 
The CAGE code is a five-character alpha-numeric identifier used 
extensively within the Federal Government and will provide for 
standardization across the Federal Government. This rule will support 
successful implementation of business tools that provide insight into:

--Federal spending patterns across corporations;
--Traceability in tracking performance issues across corporations;
--Contractor personnel outside the United States; and
--Supply chain traceability and integrity efforts.

B. Analysis of Public Comments

    Comment: In response to the notice of proposed rulemaking and the 
request for comment on the burden estimates, one respondent did 
question the burden estimates. The respondent indicated that the rule 
adds additional costs to the process not recognized in the rule. This 
relates to usability issues with SAM. The respondent indicated that, as 
a pilot, industry conducted hierarchy assessment and this took well 
over an hour without the additional revalidations required by SAM. The 
respondent requested that the FAR Council republish the rule for public 
comment after clarifying the issues raised.
    Response: The FAR Council determined that a revision to the 
Paperwork Burden is not warranted. Obtaining a CAGE code is already a 
requirement for an active registration in SAM and for its predecessors 
the Online Representations and Certifications (ORCA) and the Central 
Contractor Registration (CCR) database. This final rule applies no new 
burden in that regard. Burden for registration in SAM was re-assessed 
as part of the rulemaking in the FAR case (FAR Case 2011-021) that 
established that requirement. Additionally, this final rule does not 
require the use of SAM to obtain the CAGE code(s) for the immediate 
owner or highest-level owner; although registration in SAM could be 
accomplished to do so for U.S. registrants (as U.S. registrants are 
assigned a CAGE code upon registration). It is true that it may take 
some time in larger organizations to update all of the contractor's SAM 
registrations to include the immediate and highest-level owner CAGE 
information (if the contractor has hundreds of SAM records and it is 
updating them centrally and at the same time). However, including the 
data on an individual registration or renewal basis should not result 
in any significant additional time.

Annual Reporting Burden

    The annual reporting burden to obtain CAGE codes is estimated as 
follows:

Respondents required to obtain a CAGE code.................     1,134.
Number of responses per respondent.........................         1.
Total annual responses.....................................     1,134.
Preparation hours per response.............................          .25
Subtotal response hours....................................       284
Respondents required to obtain an NCAGE code...............     1,020.
Number of responses per respondent.........................         1.
Total annual responses.....................................     1,020.

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Preparation hours per response.............................          .5
Subtotal response hours....................................       510.
Total CAGE response burden hours...........................       794
 

    The annual reporting burden is estimated as follows to respond to 
ownership provision 52.204-YY requirements:

Respondents................................................   413,808
Average responses per respondent...........................         1
Total annual responses.....................................   413,808
Preparation hours per response.............................          .5
    Total response burden hours............................   206,904
 

    The combined total of the CAGE hours and the ownership provision 
hours are 207,698 response burden hours.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the 
information collection documents from the General Services 
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20405, telephone 202-501-4755. Please cite OMB 
Control No. 9000-0185, Commercial and Government Entity Code in all 
correspondence.

    Dated: July 2, 2014.
Karlos Morgan,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of 
Government-Wide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, 
Office of Government-Wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-16084 Filed 7-8-14; 8:45 am]
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