[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 128 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40060-40061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12761]
[[Page 40059]]
Vol. 85
Thursday,
No. 128
July 2, 2020
Part IV
Department of Defense
General Services Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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48 CFR Chapter 1
Federal Acquisition Regulations; Final Rules
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 128 / Thursday, July 2, 2020 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 40060]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[Docket No. FAR-2020-0051, Sequence No. 3]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2020-07; Introduction
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Summary presentation of final rules.
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SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and
the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal
Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-07. A companion document, the Small
Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC.
DATES: For effective dates see the separate documents published in the
RULES section of this issue of the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The analyst whose name appears in the
table below in relation to the FAR case. For information pertaining to
status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat
Division at 202-501-4755 or [email protected].
Rule Listed in FAC 2020-07
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Item Subject FAR case Analyst
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I............................. Requirements for DD Form 254, 2015-002 Glover.
Contract Security
Classification Specification.
II............................ Increased Micro-Purchase and 2018-004 Jackson.
Simplified Acquisition
Thresholds.
III........................... Evaluation Factors for 2017-010 Jackson.
Multiple-Award Contracts.
IV............................ Modifications to Cost or 2018-005 Delgado.
Pricing Data Requirements.
V............................. Orders Issued Via Fax or 2018-022 Glover.
Electronic Commerce.
VI............................ Technical Amendments.........
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ADDRESSES: The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the internet
at https://www.regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR rules, refer to
the specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents
following these item summaries. FAC 2020-07 amends the FAR as follows:
Item I--Requirements for DD Form 254, Contract Security Classification
Specification (FAR Case 2015-002)
This final rule amends the FAR to provide procedures for use of the
DD Form 254, Contract Security Classification Specification, and the
use of the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) for
electronic submission to streamline the submission process. It requires
use of the DD Form 254 by DoD components, and by nondefense agencies
that have industrial security services agreements with DoD, and
requires the use of the National Industrial Security Program Contracts
Classification System module of the PIEE, unless the nondefense agency
has an existing DD Form 254 information system.
Item II--Increased Micro-Purchase and Simplified Acquisition Thresholds
(FAR Case 2018-004)
This final rule increases the micro-purchase threshold (MPT) from
$3,500 to $10,000, increases the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT)
from $150,000 to $250,000, and increases the special emergency
procurement authority in paragraph (2) from $300,000 to $500,000. The
rule also clarifies certain procurement terms, as well as aligns some
non-statutory thresholds with the MPT and SAT. It implements section
217(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2017 and sections 805, 806, and 1702(a) of the NDAA for FY 2018.
This final rule will likely have a positive significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Item III--Evaluation Factors for Multiple-Award Contracts (FAR Case
2017-010)
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the FAR to
implement section 825 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114-328). The final rule modifies the
requirement to consider price or cost as an evaluation factor for the
award of certain multiple-award task order contracts issued by DoD,
NASA, and the Coast Guard. Specifically, the rule provides that, at the
Government's discretion, solicitations for multiple-award contracts for
the same or similar services that state the Government intends to award
a contract to each qualifying offeror do not require price or cost as
an evaluation factor for contract award. This exception does not apply
to solicitations for multiple-award contracts that provide for sole
source orders pursuant to 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
637(a)). When price or cost is not evaluated during contract award, the
contracting officer shall consider price or cost as a factor for the
award of each order under the contract. Section 825 also amends 10
U.S.C. 2304c(b) to add exemptions for the use of competitive procedures
when placing an order under a multiple-award contract.
Item IV--Modifications to Cost or Pricing Data Requirements (FAR Case
2018-005)
This final rule increases the threshold for requesting certified
cost or pricing data from $750,000 to $2 million for contracts entered
into after June 30, 2018. For earlier contracts, contractors may
request a modification to use the new clause Alternates, with the new
$2 million threshold for subcontracts awarded on or after July 1, 2018.
The rule implements section 811 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2018, Public Law 115-91.
This final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
[[Page 40061]]
Item V--Orders Issued Via Fax or Electronic Commerce (FAR Case 2018-
022)
This final rule amends a FAR clause to permit the issuance of task
or delivery orders via facsimile or electronic commerce and clarify
when an order is considered ``issued'' when using these methods. As a
result, contracting officers will no longer need to include
supplemental ordering language in the contract when anticipating the
use of fax or electronic commerce to issue task or delivery orders. The
authority to issue orders orally must still be separately authorized in
the contract. A common understanding of when a task or delivery order
is considered issued, in such situations, will be applied
Governmentwide.
Item VI--Technical Amendments
Editorial changes are made at FAR 5.205, 9.109-4, 27.405-3, 52.209-
13, and 52.212-5.
William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-07 is issued under the
authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General
Services, and the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2020-07 is
effective July 2, 2020 except for Items I, III, IV and V, which are
effective August 3, 2020, and item II, which is effective August 31,
2020.
Kim Herrington,
Acting Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting,
Department of Defense.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition
Policy, U.S. General Services Administration.
William G. Roets, II,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Procurement, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-12761 Filed 7-1-20; 8:45 am]
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