[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 61743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24242]



[[Page 61743]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR 2014-0052, Sequence No. 5]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2005-77; 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 rules 
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-77, 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 2005-77, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: October 14, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2005-77 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 2005-77
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Item                Subject          FAR case        Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* I.................  Federal Contracting     2009-016   Uddowla.
                       Programs for
                       Minority-Owned and
                       Other Small
                       Businesses.
* II................  Irrevocable Letters     2011-023  Davis.
                       of Credit.
* III...............  Uniform Procurement     2012-023  Loeb.
                       Identification.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the 
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these rules, refer to the 
specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents following 
these item summaries. FAC 2005-77 amends the FAR as specified below:

Item I--Federal Contracting Programs for Minority-Owned and Other Small 
Businesses (FAR Case 2009-016)

    This final rule amends the FAR to remove certain coverage involving 
procurements with small disadvantaged business concerns and certain 
institutions of higher education that is based on authority which has 
expired and been found to be unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals 
for the Federal Circuit. These changes harmonize the FAR with current 
statutory authorities. The impact of this rule on small businesses 
should be minimal, given that the coverage applied only to prime 
contracting opportunities in specific North American Industry 
Classification System codes, and was applicable to only three 
Government agencies, (DoD, NASA and U.S. Coast Guard). The obligation 
of Federal Agencies to meet or exceed the statutory five percent small 
disadvantaged business goals at the prime and subcontracting levels are 
not affected by this rule.

Item II--Irrevocable Letters of Credit (FAR Case 2011-023)

    This final rule amends the FAR to remove all references to Office 
of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Pamphlet No. 7, Use of Irrevocable 
Letters of Credit (ILC). This change is necessary to update the sources 
of data required to verify the credit worthiness of a financial entity 
issuing or confirming an ILC.
    This final rule has no significant impact on the Government and 
contractors including small business entities and imposes no new 
requirements. Contracting Officers are currently required to verify the 
credit worthiness of a financial entity issuing or confirming an ILC 
and will benefit from this updated information to conduct an accurate 
analysis.

Item III--Uniform Procurement Identification (FAR Case 2012-023)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement a uniform Procurement 
Instrument Identification (PIID) numbering system, which will require 
the use of Activity Address Codes (AACs) as the unique identifier for 
contracting offices and other offices, in order to standardize 
procurement transactions across the Federal Government. Agencies shall 
comply with the new PIID procedures in FAR subpart 4.16 by October 1, 
2017, for new solicitations and contract awards.

    Dated: September 30, 2014.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Government-Wide Acquisition Policy, Office 
of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-Wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-24242 Filed 10-10-14; 8:45 am]
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