PART 13 – SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
13.003 Policy.
SUBPART 13.1 – PROCEDURES
13.101 General.
13.106 Soliciting competition, evaluation of quotations or offers, award and documentation.
13.106-1 Soliciting competition.
13.106-2 Evaluation of quotations or offers.
13.106-3 Award and documentation.
13.106-90 Other solicitation issues.
SUBPART 13.2 – ACTIONS AT OR BELOW THE MICRO-PURCHASE THRESHOLD
13.201 Actions at or below the micro-purchase threshold.
13.202 Purchase guidelines.
13.270 Use of the Governmentwide commercial purchase card.
SUBPART 13.3 – SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION METHODS
13.301 Governmentwide commercial purchase card.
13.302 Purchase orders.
13.302-1 General.
13.302-2 Unpriced purchase orders.
13.303 Blanket purchase agreements (BPAs).
13.303-2 Establishment of BPAs.
13.303-3 Preparation of BPAs.
13.306 Standard Form (SF) 44, Purchase Order-Invoice-Voucher (Deviation).
13.307 Forms.
13.390 Indefinite delivery purchase orders (IDPOs).
13.390-1 General.
13.390-2 Application.
13.390-3 Ordering period.
13.390-4 Decision to establish an IDPO.
13.390-5 Methods of establishment.
13.390-6 Order numbering.
13.390-7 Contract administration.
SUBPART 13.4 – FAST PAYMENT PROCEDURE
13.401 General.
13.402 Conditions for use.
13.404 Contract clause.
SUBPART 13.5 – TEST PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS
13.500 General.
13.501 Special documentation requirements.
(Revised July 2, 2012 through PROCLTR 2012-36)
(a) The contracting officer is delegated the authority to make the determination specified at 2.101, simplified acquisition threshold (2), that the acquisitions are to be used to facilitate defense against or recovery from terrorism or nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack, thereby authorizing the use of the higher SAT thresholds specified under that section. The specific authority utilized (i.e. Temporary Emergency Procurement Authority or Homeland Security Act) shall be documented in the contract file. Combining the authorities on a single procurement to take advantage of the most favorable aspects of each authority is not allowed; the requirements of whichever authority is used must be fully complied with.
(e) It is the policy of DLA that each supply chain shall utilize the automated solicitation, evaluation, and award processes to the fullest extent possible. Any requirements that are not satisfied as delivery orders against long-term contracting arrangements are candidates for automated procurement. Procedures for exclusions are provided in PGI 13.003-90(e)(S-90).
(Revised September 20, 2012 through PROCLTR 2012-50)
(a)(1)(90) The Government should take advantage of quantity price breaks whenever warranted. A provision substantially the same as that at 52.213-9000, Quantity Break, should be included in simplified acquisition solicitations, except where the contracting officer documents why it would serve no useful purpose. When it appears that it is in the best interest of the Government to purchase a larger quantity to take advantage of a lower unit price, the item manager should immediately be provided the details and an amendment to the purchase request quantity requested. If the item manager indicates that the quantity cannot be increased, the contracting officer shall document the contract file and purchase the original quantity.
(b)(2)(90) The provision at 52.213-9004, Offeror Representations, Certifications, and Fill-in Information--Electronic Commerce, shall be used in all solicitations below the simplified acquisition threshold issued via electronic means. It consolidates, to the maximum extent practicable, various FAR, DFARS, and DLAD clauses and/or provisions that require the respondent/offeror to submit information to the Government prior to and for the purpose of award. It is also intended to ensure the successful transmission and subsequent interpretation of that information within the automated processing system by means of alphanumeric coding. See also FAR 13.302-5(d).
(91)(i) When the individual FAR, DFARS, and DLAD provisions cited in provision 52.213-9004, Offeror Representations, Certifications, and Fill-in Information--Electronic Commerce, are used in solicitations issued using electronic means, the latter provision shall be used for certifications and representations, and to record and consolidate all offeror or respondent provided information required by the applicable fill-in paragraphs of the cited source provisions. Although still bound by these source provisions in their entirety, offerors/contractors shall not be required to enter requested information into both the consolidated and the individual provisions. Entering the requested information into 52.213-9004 shall be considered complete fulfillment of the data requirements of the applicable paragraphs of all source provisions.
(ii) The full text of source provisions used in consolidated provisions intended to facilitate electronic commerce shall be made available as follows: DLAD or local acquisition regulation-level provisions shall be included in full text in every applicable buying activity master solicitation. If the FAR and DFARS level provisions are not also reproduced in full text in the master solicitation, the contracting officer shall provide a reference within the consolidated provision to an Internet location where they may be found. See 14.203-3(90).
(S-90) See 90.12 for the simplified acquisition price review program.
13.106 Soliciting competition, evaluation of quotations or offers, award and documentation.
13.106-1 Solicitation competition.
(a) Considerations.
(1) (Reserved.)
(2) Use of best value buying procedures is encouraged in competitive purchases where they would help improve the quality of the award decisions.
(b) Soliciting from a single source.
(1) Whenever urgency of the requirement necessitates limiting competition, and precludes the use of normal automated contracting procedures, the historically lowest price source should be contacted. However, award may be placed with another source when any increased price is reasonable and consistent with the extent to which delivery is required to be expedited.
13.106-1 (91) DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) quoting information for BSM automated solicitations.
The provision at 52.213-9007 shall be used in all BSM automated solicitations valued at or below $150,000 that are posted on the DLA internet bid board system (DIBBS) effective with the BSM retrofit release.
13.106-2 Evaluation of quotations or offers.
(b)(S-90) Evaluation procedures.
(1) The procedural flexibilities described at FAR 13.103 and 13.106-2 are intended to be illustrative, not all inclusive. If discussions are necessary with an offeror, contracting officers are authorized to hold discussions with one or more offerors, but need not conduct discussions with all offerors in the competitive range if such discussions are unnecessary and the procedures for these discussions are fair and equitable to all offerors.
(2) Procurement automated contract evaluation (PACE) program information.
(i) The provision at 52.213-9008 shall be used in all automated solicitations valued at or below the simplified acquisition threshold that are to be evaluated under the procurement automated contract evaluation (PACE) program.
(ii) See 1.601-90(b)(3)(iv) and 1.602-2(92) for additional oversight, training, and documentation requirements for contracting officers whose electronic signatures are applied to fully-automated awards generated by procurement systems that utilize automated solicitation, evaluation, and award processes to execute purchase orders.
(iii) Acquisition executives (AEs) for DLA Aviation, DLA Land and Maritime, and DLA Troop Support, shall perform an annual analysis to determine optimum percentage variance numbers for both competitive and non-competitive acquisitions by supply chain.
(A) The analysis must outline the methodology and calculations utilized and must demonstrate that the percentages are optimum in terms of cost savings, number of automated awards, results of internal reviews, and workload impacts.
(B) The AEs for DLA Aviation, DLA Land and Maritime, and DLA Troop Support shall submit their recommendations for establishment of new percentage variance numbers to the DLA Acquisition Policy and Systems Division, J71, by January 31 of each year.
(C) The J71 procurement systems process owner will direct a system update to reflect the optimum variance percentage recommended by the AEs for price evaluation.
(D) If any interim changes are required, an updated recommendation with supporting analysis must be submitted to DLA HQ J71.
(3)(ii)(D)(S-90) Past performance evaluation and past performance information systems.
(1) The contracting officer shall insert the provision at 52.213-9005, Contractor Past Performance Evaluation – Automated Systems,
(i) In all acquisitions using simplified acquisition procedures;
(ii) In which past performance will be an evaluation factor in best value awards decisions; and
(iii) Where ABVS/PPIRS-SR information will be considered to evaluate past performance.
(iv) Contracting officers are not precluded from collecting/analyzing past performance information in addition to ABVS/PPIRS-SR.
(2) The procedures at PGI 13.106-2(b)(3)(ii)(D)(S-90) should be followed when the provision 52.213-9005 Contractor Past Performance Evaluation –Automated Systems and ABVS/PPIRS-SR is used for manual awards.
13.106-3 Award and documentation.
(a) Basis for award.
(3)(S-90) Contracting personnel should avoid placing orders with vendors who have a minimum order quantity/value, and/or a minimum billing/charge policy, wherever possible. In furtherance of this policy, indefinite delivery contracts (IDCs), blanket purchase agreements (BPAs), and basic ordering agreements (BOAs) shall contain a provision explicitly precluding such features. In addition, the following alternatives should be explored before placing a purchase order with a supplier that follows such practices:
(i) Seek to eliminate or minimize the charge. (However, when an offer is low on an individual acquisition, inclusive of minimum charge, which the offeror will not reduce or agree to remove from its offer, such offeror should receive the award.);
(ii) When appropriate, increase the quantity of the buy; or
(iii) Make a concerted effort to consolidate orders with other buys from the same vendor. If the foregoing efforts are to no avail, DLA contracting personnel, when writing orders with vendors having such policies, will separately identify the unit price and amount for each item ordered and the minimum billing or service charge.
(b) File documentation and retention.
(S-90) Data to support purchases.
(1) The price reasonableness determination shall:
(i) Be documented (including the price reasonableness codes (15.401), basis thereof and other relevant information cited in the sample format (PGI 13.106-3(b)(90)(a)(i)).
(ii) Address the adequacy of any price competition received for assuring price reasonableness.
(iii) Address the comparability to prior prices paid for the same or similar item, if any, and
(iv) Incorporate, attach, or reference any other analyses performed concerning the reasonableness of the award price (see FAR, this paragraph, and DFARS 217.7504), along with any source data utilized (e.g., name, date, location, and page number of contractor catalog or other reference).
(2) Pricing techniques in the absence of adequate price competition.
(i) The technique of comparing the items to a similar competitive item should offer the best assurance of fair and reasonable pricing in simplified acquisitions. In the majority of purchases over the micro-purchase threshold involving noncompetitive and non-cataloged items, this method should be used to determine price reasonableness. It is not necessary to locate an identical item or to compare every feature of the two items. Quantity, packaging, and other factors must be considered in arriving at an independent estimate of a reasonable price for the individual acquisition. Abstracts of bids maintained by the contracting office may be useful in this regard. Commercial catalogs and price lists should also be used.
(ii) When prices appearing in a contractor price list are used for determining price reasonableness, see 15.404-1(b)(2)(iv).
(iii) Visual examination of warehouse samples, photographs, videotapes, drawings and/or DD Form 146, Federal Item Logistics Data Record, descriptions can be of considerable value in determining that a price is fair and reasonable. Often the actual manufacturer is revealed by this examination. Sources solicited shall include any manufacturers revealed by visual examination.
(iv) When other methods available to contracting personnel are unproductive, pricing/technical assistance should be considered for use in the buyer's price reasonableness determination.
(v) When a price reasonableness determination cannot be made via a price analysis technique, the determination may be made using one of the forms of cost analysis. When the cost analysis involves proposed, recommended, or approved forward pricing rates, factors, and/or a formula pricing methodology, see 15.404-1(c)(90).
13.106-90 Other solicitation issues.
(a) Use 52.213-9001 alternate I, Evaluation Factor for Source Inspection Alternate I with 52.213-9001 when destination inspection is specified in the solicitation and the solicitation will result in the award of a contract where multiple delivery orders will be issued, such as a long term contract (LTC).
(1) Evaluation of simplified acquisitions/quotations involving source inspection.
(i) The provision at 52.213 -9001, Evaluation Factor for Source Inspection, shall be inserted in all simplified acquisition solicitations. It shall be exercised for the acquisition of items normally requiring destination inspection (see FAR 46.402 and 46.403), when source inspection is specified for offerors under either of the following conditions: the offeror has a history of delivering nonconforming material on destination assigned contracts/purchases; or the offeror insists that inspection be performed at source, despite the Government’s determination that source inspection is unnecessary.
(ii) When source inspection is to be performed under either of these conditions, the contracting officer shall exercise the provision at 52.2 13-9001 and add $250 to that offeror’s quoted price. If multiple source inspections are required, the evaluation factor will be multiplied by the number of inspections required, and that figure will be added to the offerors quoted price.
(b) Evaluation of simplified acquisitions/quotations involving the conduct of a preaward survey (PAS). This paragraph pertains only to those contracting offices that have decided, in accordance with 15.304(c)(95), to use the PAS evaluation factor coverage. The provision at 52.215-9001, Evaluation Factor for Preaward Survey, shall be inserted in simplified acquisition solicitations and exercised when a PAS is required to determine the responsibility of prospective contractors described in 15.304(c)(95)(A) through (F).
(c) Disposition of unsolicited quotations.
(1) Unsolicited quotations need not be evaluated except when it is feasible and
practicable to do so in order to:
(i) Satisfy the requirements of FAR 13.104 to provide for maximum practicable competition; or
(ii) Consider alternate offers to provide competition for sole source items (also see 17.7501(b)(4)).
(2) Contracting personnel should return quotes to the offeror with an explanation of the reason(s) the quote is not being considered for award, to include whether the RFQ number or other identifying number was not included, the quote did not contain certification requirements, the quote offerred an alternate item, without evaluation data sufficient to evaluate the quote.
(d) All solicitations issued under this part, Part 13, both written and oral, will be assigned a unique request for quotations number ("Q", "T", or "U" in PIIN position 9, as appropriate), to be used for the primary identification of the solicitation. While the procurement request number may be cited as an additional reference number in solicitations, it must be used in conjunction with an RFQ number.
SUBPART 13.2 – ACTIONS AT OR BELOW THE MICRO-PURCHASE THRESHOLD
(g)(1) For other than purchase card acquisitions the contracting officer is delegated the authority to make the determination that the acquisitions are to support a contingency operation or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack. For purchase card acquisitions the determination authority is delegated to the individual specified in DLAI DLA Government Purchase Card Program; the individual provides the written pre-approval when purchasing other than routine office supplies. Contract files or written pre-approvals shall document how the acquisition is in support of a contingency operation or to be used to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack.
(a) Solicitation, evaluation of quotations, and award.
(2) A conclusion as to price reasonableness is required prior to award, regardless of dollar value. In competitive buys, review of competitive quotations and pricing history should normally suffice. For non-competitive buys, the conclusion may be based on comparable prior buy history or, where appropriate, a commercial catalog/price list, similar item or other price analysis technique. In the absence of any of the foregoing a price quotation from one (1) additional vendor is required.
(3)(S-90) Price reasonableness verification (e.g., to a source document or other authority) is required prior to award (or call acceptance):
(i) For first-time buys.
(ii) When a price is highlighted/kicked out for buyer review pursuant to a price variance check procedure in SPEDE, PACE, and other automated systems.
(b) Documentation.
(S-90) Award documentation shall be limited, but include:
(1) The price quote(s) received plus, for any other price(s) considered, the price, source, quantity, and effective date;
(2) The price reasonableness conclusion, in any instance where the award is to be made at a price known or suspected of being unfair and unreasonable, or where the price is not considered reasonable. (The absence of documentation of the conclusion shall be deemed as an implicit affirmation that the price was considered reasonable); and
(3) The basis/bases of the price reasonableness conclusion (e.g., catalog price, commercial off the shelf item, comparable item, etc.) for:
(i) first time buys where competitive prices were not received;
(ii) a single quote for a previously bought item is considered excessive in comparison to such prior prices(s), as adjusted for any differences in quantity, time, etc.
The absence of documentation of the basis/bases shall be deemed an implicit affirmation that the price reasonableness conclusion was based on competition received or on consistency of a single quote with the prior price(s).
13.270 Use of the Governmentwide commercial purchase card.
(a) DLA has been granted DEPSECDEF exceptions from the mandatory requirement to use the purchase card for wholesale stock fund purchases. The exceptions resulted from business cases demonstrating that introducing the manual processes associated with using the card would not be cost effective when compared to the efficiencies DLA gained from existing automation capabilities.
SUBPART 13.3 – SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION METHODS
(Revised September 26, 2012 through PROCLTR 2012-52)
13.301 Governmentwide commercial purchase card.
(S-90) The Governmentwide commercial purchase card may be used as a method of purchase and/or payment for purchases and orders under existing indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts, and for other contracts when the contract authorizes its use as an ordering/payment method. Procedural guidance on use of the purchase card is in the DLA Government Purchase Card Program Issuance.
(S-90) Documentation of the price or cost analysis techniques as discussed at 13.106-3(b) shall also be accomplished for awards of priced purchase orders and definitization of unpriced purchase orders (UPOs).
13.302-2 Unpriced purchase orders.
(S-90) Consistent with the intent of DFARS 217.74 the requirements of DFARS Subpart 217.74 and DLAD Subpart 17.74 shall be followed for all unpriced purchase orders issued by DLA contracting offices.
13.303 Blanket purchase agreements (BPAs).
13.303-2 Establishment of BPAs.
(c)(3)(S-90) While BPAs may be established with federal supply schedule (FSS) contractors for both non-FSS items and FSS items, a distinction between such items should be made.
(i) A BPA with an FSS contractor for non-FSS items which can be construed to cover FSS items because of a generic item description should contain a statement to the effect that the BPA excludes all items on FSSs.
(ii) If it is desired to establish a BPA with an FSS contractor for items on an FSS, the agreement shall be consistent with the provisions of the applicable FSS, i.e., period of agreement, terms and conditions. The terms of the agreement should be limited to a simplification of purchasing techniques, such as placement of calls orally and provisions for submitting monthly consolidated billings.
(a)(1) Description of agreement. The maximum aggregate amount, if any, of all calls to be issued against one BPA shall be prescribed by the HCA.
13.306 Standard Form (SF) 44, Purchase Order-Invoice-Voucher (Deviation).
(a)(1)(A) SF 44, purchase order-invoice-voucher.
(Deviation 2007-01) Fuel and oil. The aviation into-plane reimbursement (AIR) card or the ships bunkers easy acquisition (SEA) card, as appropriate, may be used in lieu of an SF 44 for fuel and oil transactions valued up to the simplified acquisition threshold.
(a) DLA Form 1224, Shipping Instructions, may be used to issue automated calls made under a BPA.
(b) The Standard Automated Material Management System (SAMMS) automated simplified purchase system (SASPS) issues requests for quotations using DLA Form 1231, Request for Quotation.
13.390 Indefinite delivery purchase orders (IDPOs).
(a) An IDPO is a simplified acquisition procedure that applies indefinite delivery contract concepts to a procurement action not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (see FAR 2.101). An IDPO establishes a firm commitment that the contractor will perform under subsequent orders issued at the purchase order price for a definite period for an indefinite quantity of supplies.
(b) Only a warranted contracting officer shall award an IDPO and, as necessary, execute modifications or terminations. The contracting officer may designate an ordering officer for one specific IDPO, with authority to only issue orders.]
13.390-2 Application and provisions and/or clauses.
(a) Use of an IDPO is appropriate where repetitive low dollar value purchases are made for the same item, the price of the item is expected to be stable, and expected yearly or other long–term demands are not sufficient to establish an indefinite delivery contract. Only one IDPO shall be established per item.
(b) The aggregate total dollar value of orders issued against an IDPO during the ordering period shall not exceed the maximum value stated in the basic order, which, in turn, shall not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (see FAR 2.101).
(c) Requirements shall not be split to qualify for use of an IDPO (see FAR 13.003(c)).
(d) Publication. To establish an IDPO, either unilaterally or bilaterally with an aggregate value in excess of $15,000, the contracting officer must disseminate information to satisfy the requirements at FAR 5.101, which are applicable to the basic order.
(e) The ordering period should not normally exceed 1 year. Otherwise, the policy under 16.190 may apply and the procurement action may be considered a long term contract.
(f) The decision to establish an IDPO shall be made by the contracting officer in coordination with the customer.
(g) Order numbering.
(1) IDPO orders shall be numbered in accordance with the uniform procurement instrument identification numbering (PIIN) system (see. DFARS 204.7003)
(2) The initial purchase order and subsequent orders shall be distinguished by a "D" in the ninth position and, when the system permits, insert a "5" in the tenth position of the PIIN. The initial purchase order shall be numbered with –supplemental PIIN number 0001. Subsequent orders shall be serially numbered with –supplemental PIIN numbers 0002 through 9999.
(h) Provisions and clauses for IDPOs.
(1) Clause - IDPO evaluation.
(i) The clause at 52.213-9010, Indefinite Delivery Purchase Order (IDPO) Evaluation, shall be used when the evaluation will be based on the estimated annual demand stated in the schedule.
(ii) The clause advises that the Government may reject quotes as technically unacceptable from offerors that do not agree to the one of the IDPO clauses, either clause 52.213-9011, Indefinite Delivery Purchase Order (IDPO) Agreement, for a unilateral IDPO, or clause 52.213-9012, for a bilateral IDPO, depending on the contracting officer’s decision as to the type of IDPO. Award shall be made, under the conditions specified in the request for quote (RFQ), to that offeror that submits the low, technically acceptable quotation for either the minimum requirement, or the combined basic and IDPO requirements, depending on the conditions specified in the RFQ.
(iii) When the award includes one of the IDPO clauses, the price(s) for the minimum purchase order quantity and for the IDPO projected requirements shall be determined fair and reasonable at the time of award of the basic requirement
(2) Clause – unilateral indefinite delivery purchase order (IDPO) agreement.
(i) An IDPO may be established unilaterally. When the vendor has quoted against the clause at 52.213-9010, the vendor will not have entered into a contract that binds the contractor for performance under subsequently issued orders. Likewise, the Government is not obligated to place subsequent orders under the IDPO clause. The procurement action awarded is an agreement with terms and conditions for ordering.
(ii) The clause at 52.213-9011, Indefinite Delivery Purchase Order (IDPO) Agreement, shall be included in the request for quote and award documents when a unilateral IDPO is contemplated.
(A) A unilateral IDPO provides the flexibility for the contracting officer to determine the method of purchase that is in the best interest of the Government for a subsequent requirement, either by ordering against the IDPO or issuing a new request for quotes.
(B) The request for quotes will be based on the requirement and whether the prospective contractor agrees to accept subsequent orders within the stated quantity range at the quoted price for the current requirement specified in the request for quotations. The basic quantity requirement shall be within the minimum and maximum quantity range and order frequency limit included in the request for quotes.
(iii) When using 52.213-9011, include the following clauses --- FAR 52.216-19, Order Limitations, FAR 52.216-22, Indefinite Quantity and DFARS 252.216-7006, Ordering (see DFARS 216.506(a)).
(iv) Evaluation and award. Award shall be made to that responsible offeror that submits the lowest technically acceptable quotation for the basic requirement. If the price for the projected requirement is determined fair and reasonable at the time of award for the basic requirement, a price reasonableness determination need not be made for subsequent orders placed under the IDPO clause.
(3) Clause – bilateral indefinite delivery purchase order (IDPO) clause.
(i) An IDPO may be established bilaterally. Under this approach, offerors shall be advised, by inclusion of the clause at 52.213-9012, Indefinite Delivery Purchase Order (IDPO), that performance under the purchase order, by supplying the minimum order quantity (which is the basic order quantity), requires the contractor to provide the additional supplies specified in the clause, within the stated minimum and maximum quantities, as ordered. Use of this approach establishes a binding contract for the IDPO, yet does not bind the Government to place future orders against the IDPO.
(ii) The clause at 52.213-9012, Indefinite Delivery Purchase Order (IDPO) shall be included in the request for quotes and award documents when a bilateral IDPO is contemplated. This clause provides that initial performance under the purchase order, by supplying the minimum purchase order quantity, obligates the contractor to provide the additional supplies, within the stated minimum and maximum quantities cited in the purchase order, as ordered by the ordering officer.
(iii) When using 52.213-9012, include the following clauses --- FAR 52.216-19, Order Limitations, FAR 52.216-22, Indefinite Quantity and DFARS 252.216-7006, Ordering (see DFARS 216.506(a)).
(iv) The contracting officer may decide to include FAR 52.243-1, 52.232-23, 52.249-8, and DFARS 252.243-7001, however, these FAR clauses are not prescribed for use in commercial acquisitions.
SUBPART 13.4 – FAST PAYMENT PROCEDURE
(a) The fast payment procedure allows payment to a contractor before receipt verification only under “limited conditions.” Fast pay should therefore not be used unless necessary from a business standpoint. If receipt documentation is or could be forthcoming from the customer on a timely basis, or if expectations of fast pay use do not exist in a particular market sector, fast pay should not be used, even if the acquisition is a prime vendor arrangement or other direct delivery contract.
(90) As implied by FAR Subpart 13.4, fast payment procedures shall not be used for the acquisition of services.
(a) FAR 13.402(a) establishes an upper limit threshold of $30,000 for the allowable use of fast payment procedures on individual purchasing instruments. Various exceptions to this threshold exist, both at the DoD and agency (DLA) level. DFARS 213.402 allows for fast payment procedures to be utilized on individual orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold for brand name commissary resale subsistence items and medical supplies for direct shipment overseas. DLA permits higher-dollar applications of the fast pay tool under conditions specified in Federal Acquisition Regulation deviations (FARS DEVs) 06-05 through 06-08 and 09-05. The former four are one-time deviations with applicability limited to use in certain base realignment and closure (BRAC) acquisitions; FAR DEV 09-05 is a class deviation. A July 31, 2009 memorandum permits use of fast pay at higher dollar levels for OCONUS subsistence awards in support of contingency operations. See these individual documents for relevant conditions and dollar ceilings.
(f)(1)(90) In order for a contracting office to use fast payment procedures, the FAR and the DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR, DoD 7000.14R, volume 10, chapter 10, §1003) both require that a system be in place to ensure documentary evidence of contractor performance.
(91) See PGI 13.402 for mandatory procedures to ensure fulfillment of the requirement to document evidence of contractor performance under fast pay.
(90) The additional criteria set forth below shall be followed when determining the applicability of fast payment procedures.
(1) Depot shipments. Requirements which are shipped to a depot and marked for stock are not authorized to use fast payment procedures, with the exception of OCONUS stock buys supporting forward stock locations (FSL) initiatives that require inspection and acceptance at destination. However, the fact that requirements may be shipped to a depot for transshipment purposes under customer direct/direct vendor delivery procedures does not disqualify the acquisition from fast pay applicability (but see (2), below).
(2) Direct vendor deliveries (DVDs). DVDs, including shipments that go through the consolidation point are authorized to use fast payment procedures (see 25.7302-90) if the requirements for use are otherwise satisfied. However, DVDs with source inspection or DVDs with subsistence requirements shipped through a consolidation point prior to shipment overseas are not authorized to use fast payment procedures.
(3) A contracting officer’s written determination that the conditions of FAR 13.402(a) through (f) are fulfilled, or that an applicable deviation relieves compliance with one or more of those conditions, shall be included in the contract file for manual awards when fast pay is included in a contract.
(4) The contract file for every order and contract utilizing fast pay shall be maintained up to date, and shall be immediately accessible for verification and other purposes (such as procurement management reviews (PMRs) or special audits), in electronic or hard-copy format. As part of the post-payment validation process described at PGI 13.402(f)(1)(91), the contract file should be checked (electronically for simplified acquisitions, and manually for acquisitions valued above the simplified acquisition threshold) to ensure that the underlying contract actually contains fast payment terms.
(90) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.213-9009, Fast Payment Procedure, in solicitations and contracts containing FAR 52.213-1. When fast payment applies to an acquisition conducted using FAR Part 12, the contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.212-9001.
SUBPART 13.5 – TEST PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS
(a)(S-90) Circumstances when the contracting officer may reasonably expect that quotes or offers will include only commercial items include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) No sources of items other than commercial items are known to exist; or
(2) Sources of items other than commercial items are known to exist but are not expected to offer.
If the contracting officer reasonably expected that quotes or offers would only include commercial items but receives one or more offers of other than commercial items, the contracting officer may proceed with the acquisition under the procedures in subpart 13.5.
(S-91) Contracting officers are authorized to issue purchase orders and blanket purchase agreement (BPA) calls (see FAR 13.303-5(b)(2)) in amounts greater than the simplified acquisition threshold but not exceeding $6,500,000 when the contracting officer determines, after the synopsis of the requirement, and after the evaluation of all offers or quotes in response to the synopsis, that the purchase order or BPA call is the appropriate contract vehicle. Each DLA contracting office may establish appropriate guidelines, based on the nature of the commodities it is responsible for acquiring, as to when a request for proposals may be more appropriate than a request for quotations, and may issue other guidance it determines necessary to protect the Government’s interest (e.g., identifying circumstances when use of a bilateral purchase order should be considered). Each DLA contracting office shall retain BPA call limitations it determines appropriate to its automated systems and that are consistent with both the nature of the items it is responsible for acquiring and the historical pricing practices of its suppliers.
(S-92) Some procedures in Part 13 are expressly limited to the simplified acquisition threshold or some lower threshold, or their use is expressly superseded by a reference to differing procedures in FAR subpart 13.5. Part 13 procedures are not be authorized for use when conducting an acquisition under subpart 13.5 include the following acquisitions:
(i) Micro-purchase procedures (FAR 13.2);
(ii) Simplified justification procedures for sole source buys (FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) and 13.106-3(b)(3)(i));
(iii) Fast payment procedures (FAR Subpart 13.4); and
(iv) Imprest fund procedures (FAR Subpart 13.305).
(c)(1) Unless Part 12 expressly provides otherwise, procedures required in other FAR parts still apply to acquisitions of commercial items, including those conducted under Subpart 13.5 to include the following requirements:
(i) Synopsize proposed contract actions expected to exceed $25,000 in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) (FAR 5.101(a)(1)); and
(ii) Announce contract awards valued over $3,000,000 (FAR 5.303(a)) ($5,000,000 for DoD (see DFARS 205.303(a)(i))).
(2) Agency and/or local requirements for review under specified circumstances also still apply, unless explicitly waived. Additionally, if an exemption applies only to acquisitions that are not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, such an exemption is not applicable when using subpart 13.5. One example of an exception that does not apply under subpart 13.5 is the exception from the synopsis requirement when the contract action is expected to exceed $25,000 but not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold and will be made through FACNET (FAR 5.202(a)(13)). See 7.102, which requires written acquisition plans for all proposed contract actions other than “those not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold,” instead of “those effected under FAR Part 13.”
(S-93) Acquisitions under subpart 13.5 cannot be conducted in the same manner as those that were formerly called “small purchases,” which did not exceed $25,000 and therefore were never subject to synopsis requirements. Synopsis requirements are not waived for acquisitions conducted under Part 13 (including Subpart 13.5), and all questions or offers must be considered (see FAR 5.101(a)(1) and 13.106-2(a)(3), respectively). Therefore, acquisitions conducted under the authority of Subpart 13.5 are comparable to simplified acquisitions between $25,000 and $150,000, which also require synopsis.
13.501 Special documentation requirements.
(a) If an acquisition is conducted under circumstances that would be considered “other than full and open” if Part 6 applied, but is not conducted on a “sole source” basis, no justification and approval (J&A) is required. If the exception for urgency applies but more than one source is solicited, no J&A is required. This is a different standard from the standard in FAR and DLAD Part 6, where any circumstance that is other than full and open requires a J&A. Acquisitions of commercial items described only by a single manufacturer’s name and part number are sole source acquisitions and do require a J&A pursuant to FAR Subpart 13.5. When multiple manufacturers and part numbers are identified in the purchase description, the acquisition is not sole source, and no J&A is required.