My understanding is that the GSA Advantage web site provides accurate information and I would be within policy and procedures to issue an order that incorporates the terms and conditions of the GSA schedule contract and the contractor must accept it as long as it (the order) does not exceed the maximum order value for that SIN.
If I am correct in this assumption, is there anything that precludes me from doing just that even though I have in hand a quote that is higher than the GSA schedule price?
I do not have that much experience with the GSA schedule, but would like to know if this type of issue comes up very often, that is a contractor quoting (in response to a RFQ/RFP) a higher price than the one found in the GSA schedule
Acquisition Career Management Information System is a Governmentwide database that collects educational and training information on the Federal acquisition workforce, managed by the Federal Acquisition Institute.
For COR Certificates you may visit the website at FAI online. Guidance regarding GSA's Contracting Officer Representative may also be found in the General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) at 501.603-2(c)(5).
If you need additional information or have further questions regarding GSA's COR Certificates or Acquisition Workforce policy/training, please do not hesitate to contact Pat Miller at (202) 501-2518 or email at patricia.miller@gsa.gov.
No. A BPA that is established against a Federal Supply Schedule is an agreement with a GSA Schedule contractor to fill repetitive needs for supplies or services. A BPA generally should not exceed five years in length, but may do so to meet program requirements. Schedule Contractors may be awarded BPAs that extend beyond the current term of their GSA schedule contract, so long as there are option periods in their GSA Schedule contract that, if exercised, will cover the BPA’s period of performance. No funding is required to establish a BPA. Obligations occur only when task or delivery orders are placed and are chargeable to the fiscal year in which the order is placed.
Multiyear contracts on the other hand are contracts not an agreement for the purchase of supplies or services for more than 1, but not more than 5, program years and are contingent upon funding. A multiyear contract must have funds available for the first fiscal year in which the contract is in effect, and for the estimated costs associated with any necessary termination of such contact.(41 USC § 254c).
After establishing a single BPA using the procedures outlined in 8.405-2, an ordering activity may place an order that includes the statement of work (that is within the scope of the BPA) with the schedule contractor with whom the BPA is established. The price for the task shall be specified in the order.
If a single BPA is established using the procedures outlined in 8.405-2, the ordering activity places the order directly with the schedule contractor with whom the BPA was established. The procedures in 8.405-2 are also used to establish multiple BPAs. However, for orders placed under multiple BPAs, the ordering activity is responsible for specifying the procedures for placing orders under the multiple BPAs (see 8.405-3 (a)(3)).
To become a GSA Schedule contractor, a vendor must first submit an offer in response to the applicable GSA Schedule solicitation. GSA awards contracts to responsible companies that offer commercial items falling within the generic descriptions in the GSA Schedule solicitations. For more information visit the Getting on Schedule page.
Properly authorized cost-reimbursable contractors (and sub-contractors) may purchase directly off GSA Schedules as outlined FAR 51. The contracting officer awarding the cost type must include in the contract the appropriate clause at FAR 52.208-9, Contractor Use of Mandatory Sources of Supply or services. Once included in the contract the contractor can order directly through the GSA Schedule program.
Acquisition Letter V-05-12 provides guidance to ordering activities on limiting consideration to small businesses on orders placed under the Federal Supply Schedule Program. The Acquisition Letter is available for download at www.gsa.gov. The term "set aside" does not apply to the GSA Schedules program. You may limit competition to small businesses in selecting the contractors to send a RFQ to. Under the current rules however, any schedule holder may submit a proposal and you must consider it. You may choose as one of your source selection factors achievement of agency socio-economic objectives and this factor, when added to price and other factors may make the offer of a non-small business not the best value.
Although the PIB is not a regulation that has the force and effect of law, I would like to know how GSA uses this document as internal guidance.
-- Specifically, does GSA mandate, as an internal policy, that its contracting officers justify in the PNM the reasons why the MFC price was not obtained, as stated in the PIB?
-- Or does GSA allow its contracting officers to decide whether or not to follow the PIB's guidance with regard to setting forth in the PNM the reasons for not obtaining MFC pricing?
What we do is determine the customer who we are most like in terms of buying practices and then we use that customer's pricing as our benchmark.
At 69 Fed. Reg. 34246, promulgated on June 18, 2004, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (FAR Councils) adopted either final or interim rules which, among other things, clarified the language at FAR 8.404(a) to indicate that ordering activities need not seek competition outside of the Federal Supply Schedules, but must follow the procedures under Subpart 8.4 to ensure compliance with the requirement for full and open competition, as implemented under the Multiple Award Schedules program.
Subsequently, GSA modified our Schedule 084 (Law Enforcement, Security, etc.) to delete G-FSS-920 - Ordering Procedures for Services (requiring a Statement of Work - in its entirety, without replacement. Although the modification no longer stipulates ANY ordering procedures, we are assuming that ordering agencies will revert to their own ordering procedures, or use FAR 8.4. Because the Civilian Council and Defense Council ordinarily act in cooperation, I have been trying to ascertain whether Department of Defense has or intends to modify its language at 208.404-70(c)(1)-(2) to revert to FAR 8.4 procedures or otherwise address consistency with GSA's deletion of G-FSS-920.
The FAR takes precedence over any agency supplement to the extent there are differences, the FAR language controls. I don't know whether DoD will change the language or not. All customers should be using the ordering procedures in the FAR.
According to Federal Acquisition Regulation 8.402(f), for administrative convenience, Open Market, or incidental, items may be included on a task or delivery order issued under a Federal Supply Schedule contract under the following conditions:
All applicable acquisition regulations pertaining to the purchase of the items not on the Federal Supply Schedule have been followed (e.g., publicizing (Part 5), competition requirements (Part 6), acquisition of commercial items (Part 12), contracting methods (Parts 13, 14, and 15), and small business programs (Part 19));
The ordering activity contracting officer has determined the price for the items not on the Federal Supply Schedule is fair and reasonable;
The items are clearly labeled on the order as items not on the Federal Supply Schedule; and
All clauses applicable to items not on the Federal Supply Schedule are included in the order.
Under GSA contracts, if a purchaser (customer) is eligible to purchase on GSA contract and use the Governmentwide Purchase Card, the customer is not required to make payment until shipment is made. If paying by check, the customer has 30 days to make payment, after receipt of shipment. However, if the customer is not eligible to purchase on GSA contract, the customer must make the purchase on the open market (without the use of a GSA contract) and be subject to the terms and conditions of the sale.
State and Local Governments are able to purchase products and services listed under the 1122 Counter drug Program, using a GSA contract. Since the services/supplies you are attempting to procure do not fall under the 1122 Counter drug Program, you cannot use the GSA contract GS-075-0667N for the purchase.
Additionally, Section 211 of the E-Government Act authorizes state and local governments to use GSA Federal Supply Schedule 70, Information Technology, to acquire automated data processing equipment, software, supplies, support equipment, and services.
If you need additional information or have further questions regarding the use of GSA's contracts, please do not hesitate to contact Cheryl M. Allen, Business Development Specialist, Business Operations Division, Greater Southwest Acquisition Center (7FCO), at (817) 978-2044, or e-mail: cheryl.allen@gsa.gov.
FAR Subpart 8.002 lists the descending order of priority for agencies to satisfy requirements for supplies and services. In accordance with FAR Subpart 8.404, orders placed against a multiple award schedule, using the procedures in this subpart, are considered to be issued using full and open competition. Vendors are not required to reference GSA schedules and prices when making offers on an open market basis. However there are priorities for use of Government supply sources. Therefore, if orders are placed on an open market basis, all applicable acquisition regulations must be followed such as synopsizing (FAR Subpart 5.101), competition requirements (FAR Subpart 6.1), acquisition of commercial items (FAR Part 12), contracting methods (FAR Parts 13, 14, and 15), and small business programs (FAR Part 19). The contracting activity must also make a determination that the price for the items not on GSA schedules is fair and reasonable.
The items from the “Wildfire Protection Equipment and Supplies” catalog are available for purchase by the North Carolina fire departments through the NC Division of Forest Resources (NCDFR). All items are designated and manufactured according to U.S. Government specifications for use on wildland fires. The NCDFR purchases the items for fire departments from General Services Administration who negotiates the contracts. Please check your local County Forest Ranger for current pricing or Fire Department Assistance Program website for additional information including catalogs and order forms.
On April 18, 2005, GSA forwarded a letter (attached) to the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department of Interior to convey that DOI's GovWorks practice of requiring contractor certification of scope is inconsistent with the MAS program. We reminded DOI that the ordering procedures in FAR Subpart 8.4 do not require the schedule contractor to certify that their proposed solution to a requirement is within the scope of the MAS contract. The letter is available for download at www.gsa.gov.
That is a correct interpretation of 19.1404. Although the mandatory preference programs of Part 19 do not apply, orders placed against schedule contracts may be credited toward the ordering activity’s small business goals (including service-disabled veteran-owned small business goals). For purposes of reporting an order placed with a small business schedule contractor, an ordering agency may only take credit if the awardee meets a size standard that corresponds to the work performed. (Reference: 8.405-5 - Small business)
Ordering activities may consider socio-economic status when identifying contractor(s) for consideration or competition for award of an order. At a minimum, ordering activities should consider, if available, at least one small business, veteran-owned small business, service disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, women-owned small business, or small disadvantaged business schedule contractor(s). For orders exceeding the micro-purchase threshold, ordering activities should give preference to the items of small business concerns when two or more items at the same delivered price will satisfy the requirement. (Reference: 8.405-5 - Small business)
If an agency is trying to achieve credit for a particular socioeconomic category, the agency can look at 3 or more contractors in a specific socioeconomic category if they can meet the requirement. FAR 8.404-2 entitled “Ordering procedures for services requiring a statement of work” states that for orders exceeding the micropurchase threshold, the RFQ, statement of work and evaluation criteria shall be provided to at least 3 schedule contractors that offer services that will meet the agency's need. If the proposed order exceeds the maximum order threshold, the RFQ, statement of work, and evaluation shall be provided to additional schedule contractors.
My understanding is that the GSA Advantage web site provides accurate information and I would be within policy and procedures to issue an order that incorporates the terms and conditions of the GSA schedule contract and the contractor must accept it as long as it (the order) does not exceed the maximum order value for that SIN.
If I am correct in this assumption, is there anything that precludes me from doing just that even though I have in hand a quote that is higher than the GSA schedule price?
I do not have that much experience with the GSA schedule, but would like to know if this type of issue comes up very often, that is a contractor quoting (in response to a RFQ/RFP) a higher price than the one found in the GSA schedule.
In response to your question regarding "Schedule prices." GSA Advantage! is GSA’s electronic on-line shopping and ordering systems. Schedule contractor's are required to upload their schedules pricelist and GSA pricing to this systems. In some instance the entire pricelist is not available via Advantage due to the shear volume of products offered. In instances where the contractor’s catalog is not available, you are encourage to contact the schedule contracting officer to verify the prices.
The price quoted to you should not exceed the price on this system or in the contractor’s hardcopy GSA schedule pricelist (the contractor’s schedule pricelist should be available for download from GSA Advantage!). The pricelist in addition to pricing, contains all the schedule terms and conditions.
GSA allows Schedule contractors to lower their contract prices at any time. Although you may seek price reductions at any time, you are required to seek price reductions on any order that exceeds the maximum order limitation (See Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.405-1(d)). Access the FAR . I also encourage you to contact the schedule contracting officer to make him or her aware that the schedule contractor that you are referring to in your email is quoting prices other than those in his or her pricelist.
Contact information for Schedule Contracting Officers may be obtained at Schedule List, where you will be able to find contact information for the applicable Schedule Contracting Officer.
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number means the 9-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (D&B), to identify unique business entities. Data Universal Numbering System +4 (DUNS+4) number means the DUNS number assigned by D&B plus a 4-character suffix that may be assigned by a business concern. (D&B has no affiliation with this 4-character suffix.) This 4-character suffix may be assigned at the discretion of the business concern to establish additional CCR records for identifying alternative Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) accounts (see Subpart 32.11) for the same concern.
It depends on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code used for the procurement. For instance, NAICS code 113110, Timber Tract Operations, has a revenue size standard of $6 million while NAICS code 114112, Shellfish Fishing, has a revenue size standard of $3.5 million.
In addition, please refer to the information below for direct access to the Small Business Administration:
For further information, you may write or call the Office of Size Standards:
Office of Size Standards
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd St., SW, Washington, DC 20416
Phone: (202) 205-6618
Fax: (202) 205-6390
E-mail: sizestandards@sba.gov
There is no set dollar amount for bids/RFP's/RFQ's. The amount bid for government RFP's/RFQ's varies based on what is being purchased and can range from several dollar to several billion dollars. Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 14 discusses the policy for sealed bidding in the federal government.
Pursuant to 40 United States Code (U.S.C.), section 502, GSA may make its sources of supply available to Federal agencies, mixed-ownership Government corporations, and the District of Columbia, upon request. Also, GSA may provide access to GSA sources to a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or other severely handicapped that is to provide a commodity or service to the Government under the Javit-O'Day Act. As a general rule, when GSA is unable to extend its agency's sources of supply to a requesting entity based on (40 U.S.C. Sec. 502, GSA reviews other relevant statutes to determine if the organization is authorized based on other authority.
So, you see that specific authority is needed to access GSA supply sources. Please be aware that since this specific authority is not afforded to state and local governments via 40 U.S.C. Sec. 502, GSA has taken the position that except in limited circumstances, state and local governments are not eligible to access GSA supply sources.
Please note that these limited circumstances have resulted from reviews of other relevant statutes that specifically authorize access to GSA supply sources. Currently, the exceptions to the general rule are: (1) the purchase of law enforcement equipment suitable for counter-drug activities for the Department of Defense; (2) wildfire suppression equipment through cooperative agreements with authorized Federal agencies; and (3) the ability of state and local governments to purchase automatic data processing equipment, software, supplies, and support equipment ( Schedule 70) per Sec. 211 of the Electronic Government Act (HR 2458 (2002).
At the time of MAS contract award, GSA makes a responsibility determination. GSA reviews an offeror’s financial, performance and business ethics information as the basis of responsibility determinations under FAR Part 9. The signed schedule contract constitutes a determination that the prospective contractor is responsible with respect to that contract. In addition, GSA reviews the responsibility of the MAS contractors at each option period. Further, GSA monitors contractor performance on key aspects of MAS contract compliance throughout the life of the contract. Therefore, agencies using the MAS program are not required to make separate responsibility determinations for individual orders.
Although a separate responsibility determination is not necessary, FAR 9.405-1(b) states that when contractors are debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment, the ordering activities should not place orders against MAS contracts without a justification from the agency head. Therefore, ordering agency contracting officers should check the Lists of Excluded Parties immediately after opening the offer (FAR 9.405(d)(1)) then check again prior to award (FAR 9.405(d)(4)). If a customer agency contracting officer has information to question the continuing responsibility of a contractor, then he or she should bring it to the attention of the MAS contracting officer."
GSA offers several e-tools designed to help manage an agency's GSA procurement transactions, place orders, or learn about business opportunities. From the Federal Procurement Data Center and FedBizOps to e-buy and e-library, customers can find information about many leading-edge services that GSA offers through our website at gsa.gov.
The Federal Acquisition Conference & Exposition (FACE) 2007 is sponsored by the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI). The Theme of FACE this year is Acquisition Frontiers: Blazing New Trails. FACE 2007 provides new sessions for the acquisition workforce community. Attendees will leave FACE with "tool kits", best practices and lessons learned, practical applications, and human capital development success stories. FACE is a forum for federal acquisition professionals and policy makers to share insights and experiences that provide a full range of training on the latest acquisition issues and an opportunity to review exhibitors' products and services.
FACE 2007 will be held June 19-20, 2007, at the Ronald Reagan Building, Washington D.C. For more information and how to register please visit the FAI website.
The 13th Annual GSA International Products and Services Expo will be held May 15-17th, in Orlando, FL. Admission is free for all government and military personnel, and the show features more than 200 hours of FREE training courses offered attendees can earn Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) for selected courses. For more information on Expo please visit the Expo website.
Written acquisition plans are not required under $100,000. GSA's Acquisition Letter on Acquisition Planning spells out when a limited acquisition plan is required and when a full plan is required. To satisfy the requirement for market research and acquisition planning under $100K a contracting officer need only document the contract file describing generally the plan he or she has settled on to satisfy the requirement. Acquisition planning and market research should be tailored to the complexity and value of the requirement.
The use of orders against an existing contract does not obviate the need for an acquisition plan. The process by which one determines to use a GSA Schedule or an IDIQ is the acquisition planning process. If the order is above $100K then a written plan is required and should document the basis for using an existing contract to meet the requirement.
This is an issue that should have been addressed at the beginning of the process in the acquisition plan and put the contractors on notice as design services were purchased. At this point it is an issue of Organizational Conflict of Interest and will be very fact specific, resolved on a case-by-case basis.
The solicitation should specifically point out the possibility of conflicts of interests and require the contractors to affirmatively assert that they are not conflicted. Counsel can help prepare the language; however, a general disqualification is not recommended.
The FAR and GSA's special ordering procedures were changed on June 18, 2004 to specifically allow for sole source awards against the schedules using the processes of FAR Part 6. Prior to the publication of the FAC, there was no authority to make a sole source award against the schedules.
In accordance with FAR Part 42.1303, issuance of a stop-work order shall be approved at a level higher than the contracting officer. Please identify who constitutes a level higher than the contracting officer. Depending on the agency and other guidance, anyone immediately above the contracting officer in the supervisory chain or HCA.
The question presumes that the original task order was a sole source award and was not properly documented at the time the task order was placed. In this case any sole source task order against a schedule issued prior to June 18, 2004 was without authority in the first place. At this point, I recommend that you treat this as an irregular procurement, ratify the initial order and then execute the option. Alternatively, you can cancel the existing order, do a sole source bridge contract, assuming that there is an urgent and compelling circumstance to support it, and run a new competition.
(Specifically, the language is as follows: This is a market survey for the attached items and/or services. Please review the following request from the customer and reply specifying the contract vehicle that you have that would provide the best price and value for the items requested. This is a market survey to determine which contract this will be competed on, please do not provide a quote at this time.)
That certainly is part of a market research effort. Depending on the item or service being bought further inquiry may be needed to see what prices are advertised in existing catalogues, an on-line price comparison of the same or similar products, a literature search, etc
When you change a term or condition of the contract, you must modify the contract (PO). When you extend or shorten the schedule, even if it is a no cost change, the contract should be changed to reflect the new schedule. If you don't change the PO, you haven't changed the schedule. Remember, the contract can only be changed in writing.
1. Penalties for failure to meet negotiated deliverable(s): At the discretion of the Client, the Contractor may be penalized for failure to meet negotiated dates of deliverables by 2.5% of the weekly cost of services, for deliverables up to 2 weeks late, and 5% per week for deliverables later than 3 weeks late. For deliverables later than 5 weeks, payment in the amount of the penalty shall be withheld and the Contractor put on ("Cure") notice pending satisfactory completion of the failed deliverable. Serious performance deficiencies may result in the partial or full termination of services under this task order.
2. IAW FAR 16.402-3, "Delivery Incentives", this task permits the awarding of performance incentives or awards directly to contractor staff for improvement, exceptional performance or exceptional quality, or exceptional innovation of deliverables, performed under this task order, to be determined by the contractor task management team (i.e.; Directors, Producers and their designated management staff); as made available and to be designated by the client.
At a minimum, the maximum value of the incentives should have been negotiated at the time the order was placed. In the absence of pre-negotiated incentive maximums, you may negotiate the maximum incentive value now, but you must be careful not to wind up with a cost plus a percentage of cost contract which is prohibited.
There is unfortunately no hard and fast answer to your questions. Clearly they can order services now subject to the availability of funds, this is something that we've done for years. They can also plan on their next contract being longer than 12 months so they are not faced with the annual issue surrounding Authorization and Appropriation Acts.
Right now they are not required to go through new approval requirements. When the DFARS changes they will have to comply with the DFARS provisions. None of us know for sure what those will be or when they'll be finalized. I don't anticipate any new requirements being created before the end of this fiscal year.
In context of GSA schedules program, the term “most preferred customer” is not used. It is our understanding that the term is used interchangeably in the commercial market place instead of the “most favored customer” terminology used by GSA.
Most favored customer are the individuals or entities that get the best price, discounts, and/or concessions period-regardless of selling terms and conditions. GSA request this information at the time of solicitation. Generally, the offeror completes the “Commercial Sales practices Format” (see General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM 515.408, Figure 515.4-2) Access the GSAM
The Government's goal when negotiating MAS contract pricing arrangements is to obtain a discount from such a catalog or pricelist that is equal to or greater than the discount given to that firm's most favored customer (MFC). The most favored customer discount is equal to the best discount given by a firm to any entity with which that firm conducts business.
The GSAM 538.270 provides-
“The Government will seek to obtain the offeror's best price (the best price given to the most favored customer). However, the Government recognizes that the terms and conditions of commercial sales vary and there may be legitimate reasons why the best price is not achieved.”
There are no written policies or government directives regarding government employees applying for rebates on products purchased using government funds. However, a rebate resulting from the expenditure of appropriated funds would belong to the government. If the manufacturer will not make out the rebate check to the government or if the rebate form is submitted in the name of the federal employee, the federal employee would have to endorse any rebate check over to the government. Ethics rules prohibit federal employees from profiting from their employment.
Rather than give rebates, manufacturers selling to the government usually reduce their prices to commensurate with the amount of rebates given to the public.
If a contractor is purchasing equipment on behalf of the government under a cost reimbursable contract, the contractor is required to pass on the rebate to the government. For example, the clause at FAR 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment, states, "The Contractor shall pay to the Government any refunds, rebates, credits, or other amounts (including interest, if any) accruing to or received by the Contractor or any assignee under this contract, to the extent that those amounts are properly allocable to costs for which the Contractor has been reimbursed by the government. Reasonable expenses incurred by the Contractor for securing refunds, rebates, credits, or other amounts shall be allowable costs if approved by the Contracting Officer."
As always, the terms and conditions of the contract are the best place to look to determine what the contractor's responsibilities are.
"Best Value" is defined in FAR 2.101 and discussed in FAR 15.101:
“Best value” means the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement.
FAR 15.101 Best value continuum. An agency can obtain best value in negotiated acquisitions by using any one or a combination of source selection approaches. In different types of acquisitions, the relative importance of cost or price may vary. For example, in acquisitions where the requirement is clearly definable and the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal, cost or price may play a dominant role in source selection. The less definitive the requirement, the more development work required, or the greater the performance risk, the more technical or past performance considerations may play a dominant role in source selection.
FAR 15.101-1 Tradeoff process. (a) A tradeoff process is appropriate when it may be in the best interest of the Government to consider award to other than the lowest priced offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror. (b) When using a tradeoff process, the following apply: (1) All evaluation factors and significant subfactors that will affect contract award and their relative importance shall be clearly stated in the solicitation; and (2) The solicitation shall state whether all evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than, approximately equal to, or significantly less important than cost or price. (c) This process permits tradeoffs among cost or price and non-cost factors and allows the Government to accept other than the lowest priced proposal. The perceived benefits of the higher priced proposal shall merit the additional cost, and the rationale for tradeoffs must be documented in the file in accordance with 15.406.
Additional information on Source Selection procedures can be found in FAR 15.3.
Reference GSA Order ADM 4800.2E, Eligibility to Use GSA Sources of Supply and Services, specifically Appendix B. 1, Other eligible users. It states, in part, "The following have been determined to be eligible to use GSA sources of supply and services, in addition to the organizations listed in appendixes A and C. An asterisk indicates that special limitations apply. This list is not all-inclusive; other activities also may be eligible to use GSA sources. GSA will rule upon eligibility on a case-by-case basis in response to requests received (see par. 11).
On the list that follows this paragraph is "Contractors and subcontractors - cost reimbursement (as authorized by the applicable agency's contracting official)."
So the answer is yes, a cost-reimbursement contractor may use GSA sources of supply and services, as provided by GSA Order ADM 4800.2E, in accordance with that order's stipulations. Also see Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 51.1, Contractor Use of Government Supply Sources and FAR clause 52.251-1, Government Supply Sources.
Automated (P) means the contract numbers are generated by an electronic contract writing system. Manual (M) means you do not have an electronic contract writing system so you assign contract numbers usually by signing into a log and taking the next available number, i.e., the first number may be for example, GS00M0001 taken by Contracting Officer John Adams and then the next person would log in their name and take contract number GS00M0002, and so forth. An automated or electronic contract writing system would assign the contract numbers in sequence for instance, GS00P0001, GS00P0002, etc.
Regarding this question, a contractor working under the auspices of a government contract, generally will have the same rights and duties, under the terms and conditions of that contract, that a bonafide government employee has, which means full access to the work, proposals, etc. of other contractors. The contractor has signed non-disclosure agreements and covenants not to compete, of course.
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 3.104-3 (a)(1) states "A person described in paragraph (a)(2) of this subsection must not, other than as provided by law, knowingly disclose contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information before the award of a Federal agency procurement contract to which the information relates. (2) Paragraph (a)(1) of this subsection applies to any person who (i) is a present or former official of the United States, or a person who is acting or has acted for or on behalf of, or who is advising or has advised the United States with respect to, a Federal agency procurement; and (ii) by virtue of that office, employment, or relationship, has or had access to contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information.
Regarding this question, while the government encourages the exchange of ideas among industry, all questions regarding a procurement should be directed to the Contracting Officer for that procurement. FAR 15.201(f) states, in part, "General information about agency mission needs and future requirements may be disclosed at any time. After release of the solicitation, the contracting officer must be the focal point of any exchange with potential offerors...."
A contractor interested in selling in large quantities to the Government should consider becoming a GSA Schedule contractor. A contractor must first submit an offer in response to the applicable GSA Schedule solicitation. GSA awards contracts to responsible companies that offer commercial items falling within the generic descriptions in the GSA schedule solicitations. For more information, visit “For Vendors - Getting on Schedule” on the Federal Supply Service's Web site.
There are various schedules. For example, visit the Center for Facilities Maintenance and Hardware schedule to view the products at the Website
To ask more detailed questions, contact the Center for Facilities Maintenance and Hardware on (816) 926-6760. "
Yes, this is the correct website address for Ask.Acquisition@gsa.gov.
To access Ask.Acquisition@gsa.gov from the Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer’s (OCAO) Web site, go to the top of the page to “Policy,” click on “Acquisition” and scroll down the left side of the page to find “Ask Acquisition Questions and Answers.”
The Government Contracts Reference Book defines a cardinal change as “a change that is beyond the scope of the contract and, thus, cannot be ordered by the contracting officer under the contract’s Changes clause. Cardinal changes are breaches of contract.”
For recent case law that addresses cardinal change, refer to the United States Court of Federal Claims decision below: Cardinal Maintenance Services, Inc. v. United States, 63 Fed. Cl. 98 (2004)
***Additional Information on the Reference Book: Nash, Schooner and O’Brien, The Government Contracts Reference Book, (2nd ed. 1998), The George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC.
There is no comprehensive listing. The General Services Administration Manual (GSAM) cites at 514.404-1, Cancellation of invitations after opening, that the HCA, or designee, makes any determinations required by FAR 14.404-1. In response to your example, you must check your region’s internal delegations to see if the HCA has delegated the authority to a designee.
Once the page opens, click on ” E-Gov Laws, Regs and Policies,” under “Laws,” click on “Key E-Government Related Laws,“ click on “previous page” until you reach the “Clinger Cohen Act of 1996.”
“Your concerns were discussed with the auditors and counsel office. All of us concur with your stated view. Close-out modifications while important to the overall procurement process they are not of major interest to us in the audit. While the next review is focused mainly on new awards, the only modifications that would be looked at in detail would be if an existing award was expanded by large dollar increases over its base or was used to add activities substantially beyond the original scope of work.”
GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts available to all federal agencies worldwide. GSA awards and administers MAS contracts pursuant to section 201 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended. Under the MAS Program, GSA enters into governmentwide contracts with commercial firms to provide over 4 million commercial services and products. Agencies place orders directly with MAS contractors. Interagency agreements are not required to use MAS contracts. The Economy Act does not apply to orders placed against MAS contracts.
Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) are task order or delivery order contracts for information technology established by one agency for governmentwide use. Each GWAC is operated by an executive agent designated by the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to section 5112(e) of the Clinger-Cohen Act. The Economy Act does not apply to orders under GWACs.
Multi-agency Contracts (MACs) are task order or delivery order contracts established by one agency for use by government agencies to obtain a variety of supplies and services. The Economy Act (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 17.5) applies to orders placed under MACs, with the exception of MACs for information technology that are established pursuant to the Clinger-Cohen Act.
If the function to be performed is part of the requirement originally awarded, funds that are available from the original appropriation have always been and remain today available for that purpose - just like we may use original funds to pay claims. The problem arises when it is new work not contemplated under the original contract. You can't modify a contract to do new work using the original funds; you must use current year funds for that purpose, assuming that the modification is otherwise appropriate. Generally, you cannot modify a contract to add new work since you would not have competed the new work at the time of the original award.
As a general rule, GSA does not buy personal memberships for government personnel with government funds. We can, however, buy a government membership in private associations. This is currently done for associates in GSA's acquisition community for memberships in NIGP and NCMA. The associates who use these memberships cannot run for office and the membership is not personal to them. These memberships do not have to be competed.
Annual funds may be used only to fulfill the bona fide needs of the fiscal year for which the funds were appropriated. Agencies cannot obligate an annual appropriation for the needs of prior or subsequent years. However in the case of funds committed to the General Services Administration's IT Fund through an Interagency Agreement (IA) under the Property Act, 40 U.S.C. Sec. 501, et. seq., funds may be obligated on a contract or order beyond the period of time for which the funds were appropriated when: 1) the IA was made during the period of availability of the funds; 2) the customer agency's requirements were specific, definite and certain, with specificity similar to that found in contractual orders; and 3) FTS has acted reasonably and expeditiously to fill the requirements. Guidance has been provided in the following Memoranda:
Memorandum for Assistant Administrators dated June 7, 2004, from Sandra Bates and Kathleen M. Turco
Subject: Guidance and Information Concerning Interagency Transactions and Proper Management of Reimbursable Agreements in Revolving Funds and its Appendices:
Memorandum for Assistant Administrators dated January 10, 2005, from Sandra Bates and Kathleen M. Turco
Subject: Decision Tree Illustrating Conditions for Closing of Projects and Returning Funds (Appendix D)
Memorandum for Regional Administrators dated January 10, 2005, from Sandra Bates and Kathleen M. Turco and George Barclay
Subject: Acquisition of Information Technology Services - Clarifying Guidance (Appendix C)
Memorandum for Federal Technology Associates dated August 24, 2004, from Sandra Bates and David Drabkin
Subject: Acquisition of Information Technology Services
Memorandum for Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Principal Under Secretary of Defense (Comptrollers) dated March 24, 2005, from Director, Accounting and Finance Policy and Analysis,
Subject: Proper Use of Interagency Agreements for Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Contracts Under Authorities Other Than the Economy Act
Further, you should consult with your Financial Point of Contact in GSA and in the originating office at DoD to clarify the type of funds submitted and the period of performance for those funds or expiration date of the funds.
Yes, the agency funding official has the authority to make the decision on the availability of funds - one, multi-year, no-year. GSA has no authority over other agencies and should never make the determination. The GSA CO should consider the agency funding amendment as an official document. If the GSA CO is uncomfortable with this, he/she should discuss it with the Regional General Counsel staff. Further, I strongly encourage the CO to make a note in the official contract file - date, agency, name and title of official, amount, appropriation/account symbol, etc. and attach the amendment to the IA or contract/task order modification.
The Berry Amendment is a permanent law found in the note 10 USC 2533a. It essentially restricts procurement of all food, natural and synthetic fibers and hand tools to domestic sources with noted exceptions. For more information see DFARS 225.7002
The Wynne letter was published October 2004 and outlines procedures on the proper use of non-DoD contracts. For a copy of the letter, see The Wynne letter.
It is understood that in the Pre-Award Stage for new requirements we should consult with DoD Contracting Officers and Financial Managers. However, please clarify whether or not the new policies and procedures for consulting with DoD contracting officers and Financial Managers will apply to contracts and task orders that have already been awarded.
For example, in the Post-Award stage, when exercising options under existing task orders should we attempt to consult with the DoD contracting officers and financial managers or will the concurrence from the DoD program manager suffice?
The idea is to make sure that you understand what the customer wants to acquire and what rules apply to the acquisition. To do this it makes sense to coordinate with the DoD customer. This may be the contracting officer, the funds manager or the program manager. There is no requirement to do this at the moment, it just makes good sense.
Our advice is to follow the guidance at FAR 15.304(c)(3). IAW FAR 42.1501 Past Performance evaluations should address: "the contractor's record of conforming to contract requirements and to standards of good workmanship; the contractor's record of forecasting and controlling costs; the contractor's adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; the contractor's history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the contractor's business-like concern for the interest of the customer."
It is GSA’s policy that prior to submission of any agency protest, all parties shall use their best efforts to resolve concerns raised by an interested party at the contracting officer level through open and frank discussion, as required by FAR 33.103(b).
Should those discussions fail to resolve concerns and the contractor should follow the format and information noted in the General Service Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) Clause usually found in Section I or section of their basic contract or section C. 39 of the Federal Supply Schedule 70 Contract.
Protests based on alleged apparent improprieties in a solicitation shall be filed before bid opening or the closing date for receipt of proposals. In all cases protests shall be filed no later than 10 days after the basis of the protest is known or should have been known, whichever is earlier. The agency, for good cause shown, or where it determines that a protest raises issues significant to the agency’s acquisition system, may consider the merits of any protest which is not timely filed (FAR 33.103(e)). FAR guidance
The Procedures to utilize when filing a protest are as specified in the clause below: 552.233-70 Protests Filed Directly with the General Services Administration. Protests Filed Directly with the General Services Administration (Mar 2000) (a) The following definitions apply in this provision: “Agency Protest Official for GSA” means the official in the Office of Acquisition Policy designated to review and decide procurement protests filed with GSA. “Deciding official” means the person chosen by the protester to decide the agency protest. The deciding official may be either the Contracting Officer or the Agency Protest Official. (b) The filing time frames in FAR 33.103(e) apply. An agency protest is filed when the protest complaint is received at the location the solicitation designates for serving protests. GSA’s hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Protests delivered after 4:30 p.m. will be considered received and filed the following business day. (c) A protest filed directly with the General Services Administration (GSA) must: (1) Indicate that it is a protest to the agency. (2) Be filed with the Contracting Officer. (3) State whether the protester chooses to have the Contracting Officer or the Agency Protest Official for GSA decide the protest. If the protest is silent on this matter, the Contracting Officer will decide the protest. (4) Indicate whether the protester prefers to make an oral presentation, a written presentation, or an oral presentation confirmed in writing, of arguments in support of the protest to the deciding official. (5) Include the information required by FAR 33.103(d)(2): (i) Name, address, fax number, and telephone number of the protester. (ii) Solicitation or contract number. (iii) Detailed statement of the legal and factual grounds for the protest, to include a description of resulting prejudice to the protester. (iv) Copies of relevant documents.