§ 810.004-70 - Sealed bidding.

(a) When any purchase description, including a “brand name or equal” purchase description, is used in a solicitation for a supply contract to describe required items of mechanical equipment, the solicitation will include the clauses in 852.210-70 (Service Data Manual) and in 852.210-71 (Guarantee).

(b) Solicitations using “brand name or equal” purchase descriptions will contain the “brand name or equal” provision in 852.210-77, and the provision set forth at FAR 52.214-21, Descriptive Literature. Contracting officers are cautioned to review the requirements at FAR 14.202-5(d) when utilizing the descriptive literature provision.

(c) Except as provided in 810.004-70(d), when a “brand name or equal” purchase description is included in an invitation for bids, the following shall be inserted after each item so described in the solicitation, for completion by the bidder:

(d) When component parts of an end item are described in the solicitation by a “brand name or equal” purchase description and the contracting officer determines that the clause in 810.004-70(b) is inapplicable to such component parts, the requirements of 810.004-70(c) shall not apply with respect to such component parts. In such cases, if the clause is included in the solicitation for other reasons, a statement substantially as follows also shall be included:

In the alternative, if the contracting officer determines that the clause in 810.004-70(c) shall apply to only certain such component parts, the requirements of 810.004-70(b) shall apply to such component parts and a statement substantially as follows also shall be included:

(e) When a solicitation contains “brand name or equal” purchase descriptions, bidders who offer brand name products, including component parts, referenced in such descriptions shall not be required to furnish bid samples of the referenced brand name products. However, solicitations may require the submission of bid samples in the case of bidders offering “or equal” products. If bid samples are required, the solicitation shall include the provision set forth at FAR 52.214-20, Bid Samples. The bidder must still furnish all descriptive literature in accordance with and for the purpose set forth in the “Brand Name of Equal” clause, 852.210-77(c)(1) and (2), even though bid samples may not be required.