[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9354-9355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03566]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0149; Docket No. 2021-0053; Sequence No. 15]


Submission for OMB Review; Subcontract Consent and Contractors' 
Purchasing System Review

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an 
extension of a previously approved information collection requirement 
regarding subcontract consent and Contractors' Purchasing System 
Review.

DATES: Submit comments on or before March 21, 2022

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for this information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for Public 
Comments'' or by using the search function.
    Additionally, submit a copy to GSA through https://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions on the site. This 
website provides the ability to type short comments directly into the 
comment field or attach a file for lengthier comments.
    Instructions: All items submitted must cite OMB Control No. 9000-
0149, Subcontract Consent and Contractors' Purchasing System Review. 
Comments received generally will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business 
confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your 
comment(s), please check www.regulations.gov, approximately two-to-
three days after submission to verify posting. If there are 
difficulties submitting comments, contact the GSA Regulatory 
Secretariat Division at 202-501-4755 or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zenaida Delgado, Procurement Analyst, 
at telephone 202-969-7207, or [email protected].

[[Page 9355]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. OMB control number, Title, and any Associated Form(s)

    9000-0149, Subcontract Consent and Contractors' Purchasing System 
Review.

B. Need and Uses

    This clearance covers the information that a contractor must submit 
to comply with the requirements in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 
52.244-2, Subcontracts, regarding consent to subcontract, advance 
notification, and Contractors' purchasing system review as follows:
    1. Consent to subcontract. This is the contracting officer's 
written consent for the prime contractor to enter into a particular 
subcontract. In order for the contracting officer responsible for 
consent to make an informed decision, the prime contractor must submit 
adequate information to ensure that the proposed subcontract is 
appropriate for the risks involved and consistent with current policy 
and sound business judgment. The review allows the Government to 
determine whether the contractor's purchasing policies and practices 
are efficient and adequately protect the Government's interests.
    If the contractor has an approved purchasing system, consent is 
required for subcontracts specifically identified by the contracting 
officer in the subcontracts clause of the contract. The contracting 
officer may require consent to subcontract if the contracting officer 
has determined that an individual consent action is required to protect 
the Government adequately because of the subcontract type, complexity, 
or value, or because the subcontract needs special surveillance. These 
can be subcontracts for critical systems, subsystems, components, or 
services. If the contractor does not have an approved purchasing 
system, consent to subcontract is required for cost-reimbursement, 
time-and-materials, labor-hour, or letter contracts, and also for 
unpriced actions under fixed-price contracts that exceed the simplified 
acquisition threshold.
    2. Advance notification. Prime contractors must provide contracting 
officers notification before the award of any cost-plus-fixed-fee 
subcontract, or certain fixed-price subcontracts that are identified in 
paragraph (b), (c) and (d) of FAR clause 52.244-2. This requirement for 
advance notification is driven by statutory requirements in 10 U.S.C. 
2306 and 41 U.S.C. 3905.
    3. Contractors' Purchasing System Review. The objective of a 
contractor purchasing system review (CPSR), is to evaluate the 
efficiency and effectiveness with which a contractor spends Government 
funds and complies with Government policy when subcontracting.
    Paragraph (i) of FAR clause 52.244-2 specifies that the Government 
reserves the right to review the contractor's purchasing system as set 
forth in FAR subpart 44.3. This clause is the mechanism through which 
the requirements of FAR subpart 44.3 are applied to contractors.
    FAR 44.302 requires the administrative contracting officer (ACO) to 
determine the need for a CPSR based on, but not limited to, the past 
performance of the contractor, and the volume, complexity and dollar 
value of subcontracts. If a contractor's sales to the Government 
(excluding competitively awarded firm-fixed-price and competitively 
awarded fixed-price with economic price adjustment contracts and sales 
of commercial items pursuant to Part 12) are expected to exceed $25 
million during the next 12 months, the ACO will perform a review to 
determine if a CPSR is needed. Sales include those represented by prime 
contracts, subcontracts under Government prime contracts, and 
modifications. Generally, a CPSR is not performed for a specific 
contract. The head of the agency responsible for contract 
administration may raise or lower the $25 million review level if it is 
considered to be in the Government's best interest. Once an initial 
determination has been made to conduct a review, at least every three 
years the ACO shall determine whether a purchasing system review is 
necessary. If necessary, the cognizant contract administration office 
will conduct a purchasing system review.
    A CPSR is a thorough review of a contractor's existing procurement 
policies, procedures, management control systems (including internal 
audit procedures), and documentation. The review provides the ACO a 
basis for granting, withholding, or withdrawing approval of a 
contractor's purchasing system. An approved purchasing system allows 
the contractor more autonomy in subcontracting actions. Without an 
approved purchasing system more Government oversight is necessary, and 
Government consent to subcontract is required. Generally, a CPSR is not 
performed for a specific contract. Rather, CPSRs are conducted on 
contractors based on the factors identified above. For example, the 
Defense Contract Management Agency Contractor Purchasing System Review 
Group is a group dedicated to conducting CPSRs for the Department of 
Defense.
    The cognizant ACO is responsible for granting, withholding, or 
withdrawing approval of a contractor's purchasing system and for 
promptly notifying the contractor of same (FAR 44.305-1).
    Related administrative requirements are as follows:
    FAR 44.305-2(c) requires that when recommendations are made for 
improvement of an approved system, the contractor shall be requested to 
reply within 15 days with a position regarding the recommendations. FAR 
44.305-3(b) requires when approval of the contractor's purchasing 
system is withheld or withdrawn, the ACO shall within 10 days after 
completing the in-plant review (1) inform the contractor in writing, 
(2) specify the deficiencies that must be corrected to qualify the 
system for approval, and (3) request the contractor to furnish within 
15 days a plan for accomplishing the necessary actions. If the plan is 
accepted, the ACO shall make a follow-up review as soon as the 
contractor notifies the ACO that the deficiencies have been corrected.

C. Annual Burden

    Respondents: 3,270.
    Total Annual Responses: 9,330.
    Total Burden Hours: 53,394.

D. Public Comment

    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register at 86 FR 
71499, on December 16, 2021. No comments were received.
    Obtaining Copies: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information 
collection documents from the GSA Regulatory Secretariat Division, by 
calling 202-501-4755 or emailing [email protected]. Please cite OMB 
Control No. 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent and Contractors' Purchasing 
System Review.

Janet Fry,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of Governmentwide 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2022-03566 Filed 2-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P