2023-08196. Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-03; Introduction

AGENCY:

Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION:

Summary presentation of final rules.

SUMMARY:

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023–03. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC.

DATES:

For effective dates see the separate documents, which follow.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The analyst whose name appears in the table below in relation to the FAR case. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755 or [e-mail].

Rules Listed in FAC 2023–03

Item	Subject	FAR case	Analyst
I	Removal of FAR Subpart 8.5, Acquisition of Helium	2022–007	Jackson.
II	Exemption of Certain Contracts from the Periodic Inflation Adjustments to the Acquisition-Related Thresholds	2022–002	Ryba.
III	Technical Amendments

ADDRESSES:

The FAC, including the SECG, is available at https://www.regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR rules, refer to the specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents following these item summaries. FAC 2023–03 amends the FAR as follows:

Item I—Removal of FAR Subpart 8.5, Acquisition of Helium (FAR Case 2022–007)

This final rule amends the FAR to implement the statutory expiration of the Federal Helium System in accordance with the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113–40). The Helium Stewardship Act required the disposal of the Federal Helium System by September 30, 2021. The Federal In-Kind Program ended a year later, on September 30, 2022. Agencies now procure helium on the open market as they do for other requirements.

The final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because it removes all of the procedures and reporting requirements associated with helium procurements currently in the FAR. Procurements for helium shall be conducted using the most appropriate methods in the FAR.

Item II—Exemption of Certain Contracts From the Periodic Inflation Adjustments to the Acquisition-Related Thresholds (FAR Case 2022–002)

This final rule amends the FAR to add a new statutory exception for certain performance and payment bonds requirements for construction contracts to the already established list of acquisition-related thresholds not subject to escalation. These updates ensure that the current dollar thresholds are retained for performance and payment bonds as well as the threshold for alternatives to such bonds. This rule is not expected to have a significant impact on the Government or industry, to include small entities, because the rule maintains acquisition-related thresholds that have been in the FAR for several years.

Item III—Technical Amendments

Administrative change is made at FAR 7.403.

William F. Clark,

Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023–03 is issued under the authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2023–03 is effective April 26, 2023 except for Items I through III, which are effective May 26, 2023.

John M. Tenaglia,

Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting, Department of Defense.

Jeffrey A. Koses,

Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition Policy, U.S. General Services Administration.

Karla Smith Jackson,

Assistant Administrator for Procurement, Senior Procurement Executive, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.