Circular Letter No. 580

March 25, 2005

TO: Printing and Publishing Officials of the Federal Government

SUBJECT: Increase of Simplified Purchase Agreement Limit

This Circular Letter is to announce an increase in the Simplified Purchase Agreement (SPA) limit from $2,500 to $10,000. This change was effective on March 15, 2005.

Please be reminded that each order you place under the SPA is conducted pursuant to your procurement authority and is subject to your agency's procurement regulations. You should discuss this increase with the procurement officials in your agency, as this new limit exceeds the FAR micro-purchase limit and might trigger the application of additional regulations or requirements.

If you wish to take advantage of these increased limits, you will need to supply GPO with a new letter of procurement authority for those individuals who are being granted higher levels of contracting authority. This letter should list the individuals, their email address, phone number, and the dollar level (up to $10,000) for which they may place orders. This letter must be signed by an individual who has the authority to delegate contracting authority to the persons listed. The letter must contain the following certification:

"I hereby authorize the following individuals to make single purchases of up to the dollar limit specified, under GPO SPA (insert applicable number). I further certify that I am the head of the procuring activity or a designee appointed by the head of the procuring activity and that this delegation is in compliance with applicable agency regulations."

Individuals will receive email notification from GPO when their new purchasing limits have been approved. They may begin placing orders up to their new limits upon receipt of this notification. The names of these individuals will be furnished to all participating contractors. Contractors have been alerted that if they accept an order from a person in excess of that person's authorized limit, the contractor may not be paid by GPO for any work performed.

We realize that many of you will not be able to take advantage of these increased limits. If this is the case, you do not need to take any action and may continue using the SPA as you currently do for orders under $2,500.

If you have any questions about the information contained in this Circular Letter or if you are currently not participating on the SPA and would like more information, please contact your Washington, DC, GPO SPA Agency Publishing Specialist on 202-512-0455 or the GPO Regional Office administering your SPA. Contact information for Regional Offices can be found at http://www.gpo.gov/customerservices/offices.htm.

Sincerely,
JIM BRADLEY
Managing Director, Customer Services