[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47868-47869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19364]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR-2019-0001, Sequence No. 5]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2019-06; 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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) 2019-06, 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 2019-06, which precedes this document. 
These documents are also available via the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: September 10, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2019-06 and the FAR Case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division 
at 202-501-4755.

                                           Rules Listed in FAC 2019-06
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Item                               Subject                FAR case              Analyst
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I....................................  Use of Products and Services          2018-010  Francis.
                                         of Kaspersky Lab.
II....................................  Update of ``Affiliates'' and          2019-006  Chambers.
                                         Section 8(a) Clauses.
III...................................  Update to Contractor                  2019-005  Glover.
                                         Performance Assessment
                                         Reporting System (CPARS).
IV....................................  New World Trade Organization          2019-011  Davis.
                                         Government Procurement
                                         Agreement Country--Australia.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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 2019-06 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I--Use of Products and Services of Kaspersky Lab (FAR Case 2018-
010

    This final rule adopts an interim rule published on June 15, 2018, 
without changes. The interim rule implemented section 1634 of Division 
A of the

[[Page 47869]]

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Pub. L. 115-
91), which prohibited the use of hardware, software, and services 
developed or provided, in whole or in part, by Kaspersky Lab or related 
entities by the Federal Government, on or after October 1, 2018. The 
interim rule also required contractors to report any such hardware, 
software, or services discovered during contract performance. This rule 
is being implemented as a national security measure to protect 
Government information and information systems.

Item II--Update of ``Affiliates'' and Section 8(a) Clauses (FAR Case 
2019-006)

    This final rule amends the FAR to revise the definition of 
``affiliates'' at FAR 19.101 and 2.101. This rule amends the clauses at 
FAR 52.219-12, Special 8(a) Subcontract Conditions, and 52.219-17, 
Section 8(a) Award, to remove an obsolete requirement for 8(a) 
contractors to obtain written approval from the Small Business 
Administration and the contracting officer before subcontracting the 
performance of any contract requirements. This final rule is expected 
to result in savings for Federal contractors who are participants in 
the 8(a) Program.

Item III--Update to Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System 
(CPARS) (FAR Case 2019-005)

    This final rule amends the FAR at FAR 42.1501 and 42.1503 to 
establish the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System 
(CPARS) as the official system for past performance information. The 
rule makes conforming changes in FAR parts 9, 13, 15, and 25 to remove 
all references to Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) 
and adds CPARS for past performance information. The final rule is not 
expected to have a significant economic impact on small entities, 
because the rule merely designates an existing system, CPARS, as the 
single official repository for recording and maintaining contractor 
performance information.

Item IV--New World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement 
Country--Australia (FAR Case 2019-011)

    DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the FAR to add 
Australia as a new World Trade Organization Government Procurement 
Agreement (WTO GPA) country. Australia is already a designated country, 
because it is a Free Trade Agreement country.
    This final rule has no significant impact on the Government and 
contractors, including small business entities.

William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy,Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-19364 Filed 9-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P