1. | What is the Excluded Parties Lists System (EPLS)? |
2. | What is the purpose of EPLS? |
3. | Why was EPLS established? |
4. | What are the requirements for using EPLS? |
5. | How often is EPLS updated? |
6. | Is EPLS the same or similar list as the OIG, ECHO, LDP and FACIS? |
7. | How do I obtain a copy or subscription to the Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Nonprocurement Program (Lists), the monthly hardcopy? |
8. | What are Reciprocal, Procurement and Nonprocurement Exclusion Types? |
9. | Do I have to check all three Exclusion Types (Reciprocal, Procurement, Nonprocurement)? |
10. | What is an Individual Classification? |
11. | What is a Firm Classification? |
12. | What is an Entity Classification? |
13. | What is a Vessel Classification? |
14. | What is a Primary and Cross-reference (x-ref) record type? |
15. | What is a Cause and Treatment (CT) Code and how do I apply it to the entry? |
16. | What should a Federal debarring agency do if the EPLS does not have a suitable CT Code for the type of exclusion taken by your agency? |
17. | What is an Action Date and Termination Date? |
18. | What is an Archive Date? |
19. | What is the function of Advanced Search? |
20. | What is the function of Advanced Reports? |
21. | What is the function of Advanced Archive? |
22. | If an individual or firm appears in the archive list, may I make an award to the individual or firm? |
23. | How do I find out about an individual or firm that was convicted or plead guilty but is not on EPLS? |
24. | How do I obtain information on an exclusion that has been removed from the list of current exclusions? |
25. | How do I confirm or obtain more information on a listed individual or firm? |
26. | How do I determine the federal agency responsible for the exclusion? |
27. | How do I contact the federal agency responsible for the exclusion? |
28. | What is SDN? |
29. | What do I do if I have a match to the SDN list? |
30. | What is the Control list? Who do I call about the Control list? What is the difference between the Control list and OFAC's SDN list? |
31. | What is a Denied Persons List? |
32. | What is an Entity List? |
33. | What browsers does EPLS Support? |
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1. | What is the Excluded Parties Lists System (EPLS)? |
| http://acquisition.gov/faqs_whatis.asp
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2. | What is the purpose of EPLS? |
| The purpose of
EPLS is to provide a single comprehensive list of individuals and
firms excluded by Federal government agencies from receiving
federal contracts or federally approved subcontracts and from
certain types of federal financial and nonfinancial assistance
and benefits. The EPLS is used to keep agencies abreast of
administrative, as well as, statutory exclusions taken throughout
the Federal Government. Actions may be taken under the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) or supplements thereto, under
specific agency regulations or under the Government-wide
Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Common Rule [68 FR 66533]
or other specific statutory authority.
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3. | Why was EPLS established? |
| The EPLS was established to ensure that agencies solicit offers
from, award contracts, grants, or financial or non-financial
assistance and benefits to, and consent to subcontracts with
responsible contractors only and not allow a party to participate
in any affected program if any Executive department or agency has
debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded (to the extent
specified in the exclusion action) that party from participation
in an affected program.
Reference FAR Subpart 9.4 (Procurement Programs)
and Executive Orders 12549
and 12689 and the
Government-wide Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Common
Rule [68 FR 66533] (Nonprocurement Programs) provide the
guidance for using EPLS.
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4. | What are the requirements for using EPLS? |
| FAR Subpart 9.405(d)(1) require contracting officers to review
the EPLS after the opening of bids or receipt of proposals. FAR
Subpart 9.405(d)(4) require contracting officers to review the
EPLS again, immediately prior to award, to ensure that no award
is made to a listed contractor. FAR 9.405-1(b) also requires
contracting officers to check the EPLS prior to awarding
"new work" as defined in this provision.
Subpart D of the
Government-wide Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Common
Rule requires agency officials to check the EPLS before they
enter into a primary tier covered transaction, approve a
principal in a primary tier covered transaction, approve a lower
tier participant when agency approval is required, or approve a
principal in a lower tier transaction if agency approval of the
principal is required.
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5. | How often is EPLS updated? |
| Agencies taking
the exclusion actions update EPLS data in real time as changes to
the data occur. An update may consist of a new record being added
to EPLS, a current record being modified or updated, or a record
being deleted from the current list of exclusions. Once a record
has been deleted from the current list of exclusions, it is then
placed in the archive list of past exclusions. When performing
searches, updates are available in real time, however, updates to
the reports are processed during the nightly runs.
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6. | Is EPLS the same or similar list as the OIG, ECHO, LDP and FACIS? |
| The EPLS
database located at http://www.epls.gov is a Federal
government system maintained by GSA as required by FAR
Subpart 9.4 and Executive Orders 12549
and 12689. EPLS data is
received and maintained by Federal debarring/excluding agencies
only. A federal agency may maintain an internal agency system
similar to EPLS. However, the EPLS database maintained by GSA is
the official government-wide system of records of debarments,
suspensions and other exclusionary actions. EPLS is not a subset
of or a supplement to any other system. GSA cannot guarantee the
accuracy of data provided by other systems. Therefore, GSA
officials do not respond to inquiries retrieved from other
systems. Users obtaining data from systems other than the
official GSA EPLS database should contact the owner of that
system for data verification and support.
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7. | How do I obtain a copy or subscription to the Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Nonprocurement Program (Lists), the monthly hardcopy? |
| GSA discontinued
distribution of the monthly hardcopy List of Parties Excluded
from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs (Lists)
effective July 11, 2003. EPLS is the
electronic version of the Lists and serves as the official
government-wide list of excluded parties required by FAR
Subpart 9.4, Executive Orders 12549
and 12689 and the
Government-wide Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Common
Rule [68 FR 66533].
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8. | What are Reciprocal, Procurement and Nonprocurement Exclusion Types? |
| There are three (3) Exclusion Types: Reciprocal, Procurement and
Nonprocurement. The Exclusion Type identifies the Program that
the party has been excluded under. Below are descriptions of each
program list and the effect of an exclusion listed under that
program.
Reciprocal List - is a comprehensive list of both
Procurement and Nonprocurement program exclusions. All
exclusionary actions initiated on or after August 25,
1995, are excluded government-wide from both Procurement and
Nonprocurement programs and are being added to the EPLS as
Exclusion Type Reciprocal. The Federal Register dated June 26,
1995, published the final regulation that establishes reciprocity
between the Procurement and Nonprocurement debarment and
suspension systems. Therefore, individuals, businesses,
contractors and entities listed under this exclusion type are
ineligible to participate in Federal Procurement contracts and
sales program and Nonprocurement Federal financial and
nonfinancial benefit and loan programs (unless otherwise noted).
Procurement List - is a list of actions taken before
August 25, 1995, of individuals, businesses, contractors and
entities ineligible to participate in Federal Procurement
contracts and sales programs only and does not preclude the party
from participating in any Nonprocurement programs (unless
otherwise noted). Effective August 25, 1995, maintenance of this
list shall only consist of updates and deletions. No new actions
are being added to this list. This list will no longer exist when
the last action has been deleted.
Nonprocurement List - is a list of actions taken before
August 25, 1995, of individuals, businesses, contractors and
entities ineligible to participate in Nonprocurement Federal
financial and nonfinancial benefit and loan programs only and
does not preclude the party from participating in any Procurement
programs (unless otherwise noted). Effective August 25, 1995,
maintenance of this list shall only consist of updates and
deletions. No new actions are being added to this list. This list
will no longer exist when the last action has been deleted.
If you are not
certain of a listed party's eligibility status, it is
recommended that you contact the federal agency responsible for
the exclusion (See question # 22 on how to determine the
debarring/excluding agency).
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9. | Do I have to check all three Exclusion Types (Reciprocal, Procurement, Nonprocurement)? |
| The Reciprocal, Procurement and Nonprocurement Exclusion Type
programs are separate and distinct listings with separate and
distinct effects. The searching capability of EPLS does not
require the user to select an Exclusion Type. When the user
selects an option from the Search Menu of current exclusions, the
search is performed on the entire list of current exclusions in
the EPLS database. When the user selects an option from the
Archive Menu of archived exclusions, the search is performed on
the entire list of archived exclusions in the EPLS database.
However, if the user elects to run and/or download a report, the
user will be required to identify the Exclusion Type. To
determine a parties' eligibility status to participate in
Federal contracts and sales (Procurement) programs, the user
should select Exclusion Types Reciprocal and Procurement. To
determine a parties' eligibility status to participate in
Federal financial and nonfinancial benefit and loan
(Nonprocurement) programs, the user should select Exclusion Types
Reciprocal and Nonprocurement.
If you are not
certain of a listed party's eligibility status, it is
recommended that you contact the federal agency responsible for
the exclusion (See question #22 on how to determine the
debarring/excluding agency).
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10. | What is an Individual Classification? |
| A person.
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11. | What is a Firm Classification? |
| A company or organization.
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12. | What is an Entity Classification? |
| A person, organization, or thing capable of bearing legal rights and responsibilities. This classification is used exclusively by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (TREAS-OFAC).
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13. | What is a Vessel Classification? |
| A mode of transportation capable of transport by water. This classification is used exclusively by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (TREAS-OFAC).
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14. | What is a Primary and Cross-reference (x-ref) record type? |
| EPLS identifies
the relationship of an exclusion involving more than one
individual and/or firm by linking and tagging one record as the
Primary listing and the other(s) as a Cross-reference to the
Primary listing. The federal agency determines which records to
tag as Primary and Cross-reference(s). A record tagged as Primary
will list all parties associated with the exclusion. A record
tagged as a Cross-reference will identify its association to a
related Primary record.
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15. | What is a Cause and Treatment (CT) Code and how do I apply it to the entry? |
| The purpose of
the Cause and Treatment (CT) Code is to provide users with
information regarding the reason for the exclusion. The Cause
provides the authority by which the action was taken and the
Treatment provides information on the procedure(s) to apply to
the action. Users should review the record's CT Code(s) to
determine the conditions of the exclusion. If you are unable to
determine the extent of the exclusion, contact the federal agency
responsible for the exclusion. Checking the CT Code is crucial
because some CT Codes only apply to a limited number of agencies
or provide a specific narrow impact of the listing.
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16. | What should a Federal debarring agency do if the EPLS does not have a suitable CT Code for the type of exclusion taken by your agency? |
| If the EPLS
does not currently contain a suitable CT Code for the type of
exclusion taken by your agency, it is the agency's
responsibility to contact GSA's EPLS Project Manager to
request the addition of a new CT Code. The agency must
provide GSA's EPLS Project Manager with proposed written
language for both the cause and the treatment for the
requested CT code. GSA will work with the requesting agency
on any necessary amendments and add the CT code to EPLS.
Requests should be directed to Ms. Priscilla Owens at (703) 605-3408.
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17. | What is an Action Date and Termination Date? |
| The Action Date
is the effective date of the exclusion and the Termination Date
is the date the action will be removed from the current list of
exclusions and placed in the Archive list.
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18. | What is an Archive Date? |
| The Archive Date is the date the record was removed from the current list of
exclusions and placed in the archive list. A record can be
removed from the current list of exclusion and placed in archive
manually or by the termination date defined in the record's
termination field.
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19. | What is the function of Advanced Search? |
| The purpose of the Advanced Search is to provide the user with
several search options to determine if a party has been excluded
and listed in the EPLS database. The searching capabilities of
the Advanced Search will perform a search of the entire list of
current exclusions available in the EPLS database. Each option is
explained below.
Name - This option performs a search of the entire list
of current exclusions in the EPLS database based on the
individual or company name entered in the Name field. A Name
search requires the user to select a Match by either Partial
Name or Exact Name.
A Partial Name search of an individual or company
name is performed on the individual's Last Name or the first
word of the company's name (other than the words "A" and
"The").
An Exact Name search of an
individual or company requires that the name you enter in the
name field is an exact match with the name in EPLS. For instance,
if you enter Doe, John D., in the name field, and the EPLS
database has Doe, John David, the result is no match
because of the middle name (David). Likewise, if you enter
Express Computer Service in the name field, and the EPLS
database has Express Computer Services, Inc., the result
is no match because of the Inc. in the company name.
Any portion of the name of an entity in EPLS. For example:
'John', 'building', or 'Smith'
Action Date range - The date range when a debarment
first becomes active. You must supply both a starting and an
ending date.
Termination Date range - The date range when a debarment
will be terminated. You must supply both a starting and an ending
date.
Create Date range - When the data was first entered into
the EPLS.
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number - The
number provided by Dun & Bradstreet to uniquely identify a
business. It is important to note that all EPLS records
identified as "Firms" may not provide a DUNS number.
Therefore, the user should also perform a Name search to
ascertain that the concerned Firm is not listed in the EPLS.
Exclusion Type - What type of exclusion is associated
with the entity. Each CT code is associated with an Exclusion
Type and a single code may be associated with several Exclusion
Types. Consequently, CT codes may be selected for each of the
available Exclusion Types. If one or more Exclusion Types are
selected, all selected CT codes must correspond to the selected
Exclusion Types. For example, it is incorrect to select an
Exclusion Type of Procurement and a CT code from the Reciprocal
list.
Cause and Treatment (CT) Code - The reason why the
entity has been debarred.
Agency - The agency that imposed the debarment.
US State - The US state where the entity is located.
Country - The country where the entity is located.
Cage Code - An identifier that may be specific to one or
more US federal government agencies.
More than one advanced search criterion may be selected, but they
do not all need to be selected to perform a search. In fact, many
searches will not return any results if more than two criteria
are selected, as each one will reduce the number of returned
search results.
Exact Name and SSN/TIN - Searches the entire list of
current exclusions for an action that matches both the Exact Name
and Social Security Number (SSN)/Taxpayer Identification Number
(TIN) that you enter in the Exact Name and SSN/TIN fields. If the
system does not retrieve a match for your search criteria, this
does not necessarily suggest that the individual is not listed in
the EPLS database. The results of a no match may be due to: (1)
the Name and SSN/TIN that you entered may not have resulted in an
Exact Name and SSN/TIN match with a record in EPLS, (2) the Name
that you entered may not have resulted in an Exact Name match
with a record in EPLS or (3) the Name may be listed, however, the
SSN/TIN may not have been provided with the record information to
result a match.
It is
recommended that you try your search again by selecting the Name
option listed at the Search Menu. For best results, try
performing a Partial Name search on the individual's last name
or the first word (other than the words "A" and "The")
of the company's name.
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20. | What is the function of Advanced Reports? |
| The purpose of
the Advanced Reports is to allow users to select and define
multiple search criteria to meet user needs. See #15 for an
explanation of each option.
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21. | What is the function of Advanced Archive? |
| The Archive Menu
is a historical list of past exclusions. The purpose of the
Archive Menu is to allow users to review a past exclusion to: (1)
determine if an individual or company has ever been excluded, (2)
verify that a previous exclusion has been terminated and (3) to
determine when a record was deleted from the current list of
exclusions. The Archive Menu can serve many purposes depending on
the user's need.
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22. | If an individual or firm appears in the archive list, may I make an award to the individual or firm? |
| The archive is
for historical reference only. It should not be used to deny an
eligible individual or firm from participating in federal
contracts or federally approved subcontracts and other types of
federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefit type
programs.
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23. | How do I find out about an individual or firm that was convicted or plead guilty but is not on EPLS? |
| If you have
information about an indictment and/or convictions of an
individual or firm that conducts business with a Federal
Government agency, and the party is not listed on EPLS, you may
provide such information to the appropriate federal agency point
of contact.Agency points of
contacts names and telephone numbers are available by clicking on
the "
Agency Contacts"
link under the category labeled "Agency and Acronym Info."
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24. | How do I obtain information on an exclusion that has been removed from the list of current exclusions? |
| Past exclusions
can be obtained by performing an Archive Search. See comment at
#17.
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25. | How do I confirm or obtain more information on a listed individual or firm? |
| If a match is
found and further verification is needed beyond what the record
information provides, users should contact the federal agency
that took the action against the listed party. Agency points of
contacts names and telephone numbers are available by clicking on
the "
Agency Contacts"
link under the category labeled "Agency and Acronym Info."
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26. | How do I determine the federal agency responsible for the exclusion? |
| To determine the
federal agency, users should refer to the "Agency" field
provided in the record information. This field contains the
federal agency's acronym and identifies the federal agency to
contact for additional information. See #22 for information on
agency points of contacts.
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27. | How do I contact the federal agency responsible for the exclusion? |
| A list of agency
points of contact is available at the EPLS main page by clicking
on the "
Agency Contacts" link.
Select the corresponding
acronym or scroll the list to locate the federal agency's point
of contact name and telephone number. Some agencies may provide
their website address as a point of reference. Presently, EPLS
does not provide hyperlinks to these sites but you may copy the
uniform resource locator (URL) or internet address and access the
agency website by pasting the internet address into your internet
browser window.
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28. | What is SDN? |
| As part of its
enforcement efforts, the U.S. Department the Treasury, Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) publishes a list of individuals and
companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of,
targeted countries. It also lists individuals, groups, and
entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated
under programs that are not country-specific. Collectively, such
individuals and companies are called "Specially Designated
Nationals" or "SDN." Their assets are blocked and
U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. To
access the SDN list, please visit www.treas.gov/ofac
and click on the link for the SDN list under the OFAC mission
statement.
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29. | What do I do if I have a match to the SDN list? |
| If you have
checked a name manually or by using software and find a match,
you should do a little more research. Is it an exact name match
or very close? Is your customer located in the same general area
as the SDN? If not, it may be a "false hit." If there
are many similarities, contact the Office of Foreign Assets
Control's (OFAC) "Hotline" at 1-800-540-6322 for
verification. Unless a transaction involves an exact match, it is
recommended that you contact OFAC Compliance office before
actually blocking assets.
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30. | What is the Control list? Who do I call about the Control list? What is the difference between the Control list and OFAC's SDN list? |
| The Control List
was developed by the law enforcement community in response to the
events of September 11. It is separate from the OFAC's SDN list
and is not disseminated by OFAC. If you have received a copy of
this list, you should follow the instructions received with it.
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31. | What is a Denied Persons List? |
| The purpose of
'The Denied Persons List' is to prevent the illegal export of
dual-use items before they occur; investigate and assist in the
prosecution of violators of the Export Administration Regulations
(EAR) and the Fastener Quality Act (FQA); and inform and educate
exporters, freight forwarders, and manufacturers of their
enforcement responsibilities under the EAR and FQA. The list is
created by U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security as part of BIS's
Export Enforcement (EE) program. You may access the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security's
Denied Persons List at www.bis.doc.gov.
Click on the Lists to Check
link located to the left of the screen.
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32. | What is an Entity List? |
| The Entity List
contains a list of foreign end users involved in proliferation
activities and informs the public of export license requirements
related to these entities. The listing is based on the Enhanced
Proliferation Control Initiative (EPCI), which has been
implemented in the Export Administration Regulations, and has
been created by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of
Industry and Security. While this list will assist exporters in
determining whether an entity poses proliferation concerns, it is
not comprehensive. It does not relieve exporters of the
responsibility to determine the nature and activities of their
potential customers. You may access the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List at
www.bis.doc.gov.
Click on the Lists to Check
link located to the left of the screen.
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33. | What browsers does EPLS Support? |
| EPLS supports the latest versions of both Internet Explorer and Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox.
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