98-33512. Federal Acquisition Circular 97-10; Introduction  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
    [Rules and Regulations]
    [Pages 70264-70265]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-33512]
    
    
    
    [[Page 70263]]
    
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    Part VI
    
    Department of Defense
    
    General Services Administration
    
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    _______________________________________________________________________
    
    
    
    48 CFR Chapter 1 et al.
    
    
    
    Federal Acquisition Regulations; Rules
    
    Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 243 / Friday, December 18, 1998 / 
    Rules and Regulations
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
    
    GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
    
    NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
    
    48 CFR Chapter 1
    
    
    Federal Acquisition Circular 97-10; Introduction
    
    AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration 
    (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
    
    ACTION: Summary presentation of final and interim rules, and technical 
    amendments and corrections.
    
    SUMMARY: This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
    (FAR) rules issued by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the 
    Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition 
    Circular (FAC) 97-10. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance 
    Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, may be 
    located on the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far.
    
    DATES: For effective dates and comment dates, see separate documents 
    which follow.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS 
    Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 501-4755, for information 
    pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of 
    content, contact the analyst whose name appears in the table below in 
    relation to each FAR case or subject area. Please cite FAC 97-10 and 
    specific FAR case number(s). Interested parties may also visit our 
    website at http://www.arnet.gov/far.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Item                                   Subject                     FAR case         Analyst
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I................................  Historically Underutilized Business Zone         97-307  Moss.
                                        (HUBZone) Empowerment Contracting Program
                                        (Interim).
    II...............................  Limits for Indefinite-Quantity Contracts....     98-016  DeStefano.
    III..............................  Office of Federal Contract Compliance            98-607  O'Neill.
                                        Programs National Pre-Award Registry.
    IV...............................  Limitation on Allowability of Compensation       97-303  Nelson.
                                        for Certain Contractor Personnel.
    V................................  Contractor Purchasing System Review              97-016  Klein.
                                        Exclusions.
    VI...............................  Contract Quality Requirements...............     96-009  Klein.
    VII..............................  Mandatory Government Source Inspection......     97-027  Klein.
    VIII.............................  No-Cost Value Engineering Change Proposals..     96-011  Klein.
    IX...............................  Evidence of Shipment in Electronic Data          97-011  Nelson.
                                        Interchange Transactions.
    X................................  Technical Amendments........................
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the actual revisions and/or 
    amendments to these FAR cases, refer to the specific item number and 
    subject set forth in the documents following these item summaries.
        Federal Acquisition Circular 97-10 amends the Federal Acquisition 
    Regulation (FAR) as specified below:
    
    Item I--Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) 
    Empowerment Contracting Program
    
    [FAR Case 97-307]
    
        This interim rule amends FAR Parts 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 
    26, 52, and 53 to implement the Small Business Administration 
    Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Empowerment 
    Contracting Program. The purpose of the program is to provide Federal 
    contracting assistance for qualified small business concerns located in 
    historically underutilized business zones in an effort to increase 
    employment opportunities, investment, and economic development in these 
    areas. The program provides for set-asides, sole source awards, and 
    price evaluation preferences for HUBZone small business concerns and 
    establishes goals for awards to such concerns.
    
    Item II--Limits for Indefinite-Quantity Contracts
    
    [FAR Case 98-016]
    
        This final rule amends FAR 16.504(a) to clarify that maximum and 
    minimum limits for indefinite-quantity contracts may be expressed as a 
    number of units or dollar value.
    
    Item III--Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs National 
    Pre-Award Registry
    
    [FAR Case 98-607]
    
        This final rule amends FAR part 22 and related clauses at part 52 
    to (1) inform the procurement community of the availability of the 
    Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs 
    (OFCCP) National Pre-Award Registry (Registry), accessible through the 
    Internet, that contains contractor establishments who have received a 
    preaward clearance within the preceding 24 months, and the option to 
    use the information in the Registry in lieu of submitting a written 
    request for a preaward clearance; and (2) implement revised Department 
    of Labor (DoL) regulations pertaining to equal employment opportunity 
    and affirmative action requirements for Federal contractors and 
    subcontractors.
    
    Item IV--Limitation on Allowability of Compensation for Certain 
    Contractor Personnel
    
    [FAR Case 97-303]
    
        The interim rule published as Item XIII of FAC 97-04 is converted 
    to a final rule with minor clarifying amendments at FAR 31.205-6(p)(2). 
    The rule implements Section 808 of the National Defense Authorization 
    Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Pub. L. 105-85). Section 808 limits allowable 
    compensation costs for senior executives of contractors to the 
    benchmark year by the Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement 
    Policy (OFPP). The benchmark compensation amount is $340,650 for 
    contractor fiscal year 1998, and subsequent contractor fiscal years, 
    unless and until revised by OFPP.
    
    Item V--Contractor Purchasing System Review Exclusions
    
    [FAR Case 97-016]
    
        This final rule amends FAR 44.302 and 44.303 to exclude 
    competitively awarded firm-fixed-price and competitively awarded fixed-
    price contracts with economic price adjustment, and sales of commercial 
    items pursuant to FAR part 12, from the dollar amount used to determine 
    if a contractor's level of sales to the Government warrants the conduct 
    of a CPSR; and to exclude subcontracts awarded by a contractor 
    exclusively in
    
    [[Page 70265]]
    
    support of Government contracts that are competitively awarded firm-
    fixed-price, competitively awarded fixed-price with economic price 
    adjustment, or awarded for commercial items pursuant to FAR part 12, 
    from evaluation during a CPSR.
    
    Item VI--Contract Quality Requirements
    
    [FAR Case 96-009]
    
        This final rule amends FAR 46.202-4, 46.311, and 52.246-11 to 
    replace references to Government specifications with references to 
    commercial quality standards as examples of higher-level contract 
    quality requirements; to require the contracting officer to indicate in 
    the solicitation which higher-level quality standards will satisfy the 
    Government's requirement; and, if more than one standard is listed in 
    the solicitation, to require the offeror to indicate its selection by 
    checking a block.
    
    Item VII--Mandatory Government Source Inspection
    
    [FAR Case 97-027]
    
        This final rule amends FAR 46.402 to facilitate the elimination of 
    unnecessary requirements for Government contract quality assurance at 
    source. This rule deletes the mandatory requirements for Government 
    contract quality assurance at source on all contracts that include a 
    higher-level contract quality requirement, and for supplies requiring 
    inspection that are destined for overseas shipment.
    
    Item VIII--No-Cost Value Engineering Change Proposals
    
    [FAR Case 96-011]
    
        The interim rule published as Item X of FAC 97-05 is converted to a 
    final rule without change. The rule revises FAR 48.104-3 to clarify 
    that no-cost value engineering change proposals (VECPs) may be used 
    when, in the contracting officer's judgment, reliance on other VECP 
    approaches likely would not be more cost-effective, and the no-cost 
    settlement would provide adequate consideration to the Government.
    
    Item IX--Evidence of Shipment in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 
    Transactions
    
    [FAR Case 97-011]
    
        This final rule revises the clause at FAR 52.247-48 to facilitate 
    the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions and to 
    streamline the payment process when supplies are purchased on a free on 
    board (f.o.b.) destination basis with inspection and acceptance at 
    origin.
    
    Item X--Technical Amendments
    
        Amendments are being made at FAR 1.106, 19.102, 19.502-5, 32.908, 
    37.602-3, 42.203, 52.212-5, 52.219-9, 52.222-37, 53.228 and 53.301 in 
    order to update references and make editorial changes.
    
        Dated: December 14, 1998.
    Ralph DeStafano,
    Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division.
    
    Federal Acquisition Circular
    
    FAC 97-10
    
        Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 97-10 is issued under the 
    authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General 
    Services, and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and 
    Space Administration.
        Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation 
    (FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 97-10 are 
    effective February 16, 1999, except for Item VIII which is effective 
    December 18, 1998, and Items I and X which are effective January 4, 
    1999.
    
        Dated: December 14, 1998.
    Eleanor R. Spector,
    Director, Defense Procurement.
        Dated: December 11, 1998.
    Ida M. Ustad,
    Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Acquisition Policy, General 
    Services Administration.
    Tom Luedtke,
    Acting Associate Administrator for Procurement, National Aeronautics 
    and Space Administration.
        Dated: December 11, 1998.
    [FR Doc. 98-33512 Filed 12-16-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
12/18/1998
Department:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Entry Type:
Rule
Action:
Summary presentation of final and interim rules, and technical amendments and corrections.
Document Number:
98-33512
Dates:
For effective dates and comment dates, see separate documents which follow.
Pages:
70264-70265 (2 pages)
PDF File:
98-33512.pdf
CFR: (2)
48 CFR None
48 CFR None