[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 9730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02424]



[[Page 9729]]

Vol. 88

Tuesday,

No. 30

February 14, 2023

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. 88 , No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2023 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 9730]]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR-2023-0051, Sequence No. 1]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2023-02; 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) 2023-02. A companion document, the Small 
Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC.

DATES: For effective dates see the separate documents, which follow.

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].

                       Rules Listed in FAC 2023-02
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Item              Subject         FAR case          Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I....................  Accelerated            2020-007  Delgado.
                        Payments
                        Applicable to
                        Contracts with
                        Certain Small
                        Business
                        Concerns.
II...................  Small Business         2019-008  Jones.
                        Program
                        Amendments.
III..................  Technical
                        Amendments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


ADDRESSES: The FAC, including the SECG, is available 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 2023-02 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I--Accelerated Payments Applicable to Contracts With Certain Small 
Business Concerns (FAR Case 2020-007)

    This final rule provides for accelerated payments to contractors 
that are small businesses and to small business subcontractors by 
accelerating payments to their prime contractors. The rule implements 
section 873 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2020 (Pub. L. 116-92), which amends 31 U.S.C. 3903(a). The 
rule also implements section 815 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 
NDAA for FY 2021, which amended 10 U.S.C. 2307(a) (now found at 10 
U.S.C. 3801). This final rule may have a positive impact on small 
entities, but it will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

Item II--Small Business Program Amendments (FAR Case 2019-008)

    This final rule amends the FAR to align with SBA's regulations 
related to several topic areas. This rule clarifies that SBA determines 
size status as of the date of initial offer for a multiple-award 
contract, whether or not the offer includes price, or the price is 
evaluated. Additionally, in accordance with FAR 19.301-2(b)(2), the 
``ostensible subcontractor rule'' (a small business must not be unduly 
reliant on a nonsimilarly situated small business subcontractor or have 
such a subcontractor perform the primary and vital requirements of the 
contract) is implemented in this rule as a new ground for socioeconomic 
status protest. The rule also clarifies that contracting officers will 
not be able to exercise options past the fifth year of long-term 8(a) 
contracts if the 8(a) contractor no longer qualifies for the 8(a) 
program. Lastly, the rule clarifies the size standard for the 
information technology value added resellers under North American 
Industry Classification System code 541519 is 150 employees, not 500 
employees.

Item III--Technical Amendments

    Administrative change is made at FAR 2.101.

William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.

    Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-02 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 2023-02 is 
effective February 14, 2023 except for Items I through III, which are 
effective March 16, 2023.

John M. Tenaglia,
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.
Karla Smith Jackson,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Senior Procurement Executive, 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-02424 Filed 2-13-23; 8:45 am]
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