[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 25478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08200]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Chapter 1

[Docket No. FAR-2023-0051, Sequence No. 2]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 
2023-03; 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 (SECG).

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

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) 2023-03, which amends 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain 
further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2023-03, 
which precedes this document.

DATES:  April 26, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The FAC, including the SECG, is available at https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC 
2023-03 and the FAR Case number. For information pertaining to status 
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division 
at 202-501-4755 or [email protected]. An asterisk (*) next to a rule 
indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared.

                       Rules Listed in FAC 2023-03
------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Item              Subject          FAR case          Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I................  Removal of FAR           2022-007  Jackson.
                     Subpart 8.5,
                     Acquisition of
                     Helium.
*II...............  Exemption of             2022-002  Ryba.
                     Certain
                     Contracts from
                     the Periodic
                     Inflation
                     Adjustments to
                     the Acquisition-
                     Related
                     Thresholds.
III...............  Technical
                     Amendments..
------------------------------------------------------------------------


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 2023-03 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I--Removal of FAR Subpart 8.5, Acquisition of Helium (FAR Case 
2022-007)

    This final rule amends the FAR to implement the statutory 
expiration of the Federal Helium System in accordance with the Helium 
Stewardship Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-40). The Helium Stewardship Act 
required the disposal of the Federal Helium System by September 30, 
2021. The Federal In-Kind Program ended a year later, on September 30, 
2022. Agencies now procure helium on the open market as they do for 
other requirements.
    The final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities because it removes all of the 
procedures and reporting requirements associated with helium 
procurements currently in the FAR. Procurements for helium shall be 
conducted using the most appropriate methods in the FAR.

Item II--Exemption of Certain Contracts From the Periodic Inflation 
Adjustments to the Acquisition-Related Thresholds (FAR Case 2022-002)

    This final rule amends the FAR to add a new statutory exception for 
certain performance and payment bonds requirements for construction 
contracts to the already established list of acquisition-related 
thresholds not subject to escalation. These updates ensure that the 
current dollar thresholds are retained for performance and payment 
bonds as well as the threshold for alternatives to such bonds. This 
rule is not expected to have a significant impact on the Government or 
industry, to include small entities, because the rule maintains 
acquisition-related thresholds that have been in the FAR for several 
years.

Item III--Technical Amendments

    Administrative change is made at FAR 7.403.

William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-08200 Filed 4-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P