[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 58 (Monday, March 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20655-20656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06222]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0018; Docket No. 2024-0053; Sequence No. 2]


Submission for OMB Review; Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 3: 
Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest

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 Federal Acquisition Regulation part 3, Improper Business 
Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest.

DATES: Submit comments on or before April 24, 2024.

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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

    9000-0018, Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 3: Improper Business 
Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest.

B. Need and Uses

    This clearance covers the information that offerors and contractors 
must submit to comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) part 3 requirements:
     FAR 52.203-2, Certificate of Independent Price 
Determination. This provision requires offerors to include with their 
offer a certification that their prices have been arrived at 
independently, have not been or will not be knowingly disclosed, and 
have not been submitted for the purpose of restricting competition. 
Prior to making an award, a contracting officer will ensure the offeror 
has provided the certification. An offer will not be considered for 
award where the certificate has been deleted or modified. Federal 
agencies will report to the Attorney General for investigation any 
deletions or modifications of the certificate and suspected false 
certificates.
     FAR 52.203-7, Anti-Kickback Procedures. This clause 
requires contractors to report in writing to the inspector general of 
the contracting agency, the head of the contracting agency if the 
agency does not have an inspector general, or the Attorney General 
possible violations of 41 U.S.C. chapter 87, Kickbacks. The clause also 
requires the contractor to notify the contracting officer when monies 
are withheld from sums owed a subcontractor under the prime contract, 
when the contracting officer has directed the prime contractor to do so 
to offset the amount of a kickback. The Federal agency will use the 
information reported by contractors to investigate suspected 
violations. The notification to the contracting officer of a 
withholding of payment to a subcontractor is used to help the 
contracting officer ensure the amount of a kickback is appropriately 
offset.
     FAR 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and 
Conduct. This clause requires contractors and subcontractors to report 
to the agency Office of the Inspector General when the contractor has 
credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, or subcontractor 
has committed a violation of Federal criminal law involving fraud, 
conflict of interest, bribery, or gratuity violations found in Title 18 
U.S.C., or a violation of the Civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729-
3733). The Federal agency will use the information reported by 
contractors to investigate suspected violations.
     FAR 52.203-16, Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest. 
This clause requires contractors and subcontractors to obtain and 
maintain from each employee a disclosure of interests that might be 
affected by the task to which the employee has been assigned under the 
contract. Contractors and subcontractors must report to the contracting 
officer any personal conflict of interest violation by an employee and 
the proposed corrective/follow-up actions to be taken. In exceptional 
circumstances, the contractor may request the head of the contracting 
activity approve a plan to mitigate a

[[Page 20656]]

personal conflict of interest or waive the requirement to prevent 
personal conflicts of interest. The information is used by the 
contractor and the contracting officer to identify and mitigate 
personal conflicts of interest.

C. Annual Burden

    Respondents: 9,642.
    Recordkeepers: 9,147.
    Total Annual Responses: 352,296.
    Total Burden Hours: 677,460. (128,640 reporting hours + 548,820 
recordkeeping hours).

D. Public Comment

    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register at 89 FR 
2952, on January 17, 2024. 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. 9000-0018, Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 3: Improper 
Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest.

Janet Fry,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of Governmentwide 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-06222 Filed 3-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P