### Subpart 13.2- Actions At or Below the Micro-Purchase Threshold

## 13.201 General.

(a) Agency heads are encouraged to delegate micro-purchase authority (see 1.603-3).
(b) The Governmentwide commercial purchase card shall be the preferred method to purchase and to pay for micro-purchases (see 2.101).
(c) Purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold may be conducted using any of the methods described in Subpart 13.3, provided the purchaser is authorized and trained, pursuant to agency procedures, to use those methods.
(d) Micro-purchases do not require provisions or clauses, except as provided at 32.1110. This paragraph takes precedence over any other FAR requirement to the contrary, but does not prohibit the use of any clause.
(e) The requirements in Part 8 apply to purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold.
(f) The procurement requirements in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6962) and Executive Order 13101 of September 14, 1998, Greening the Government through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition, apply to purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold (see Subpart 23.4).
(g) There is a temporary $15,000 micro-purchase threshold for the acquisition of supplies or services by or for the Department of Defense for which award is made and funds are obligated on or before September 30, 2003, facilitating the defense against terrorism or biological or chemical attack against the United States (see 2.101). Purchases using this authority must have a clear and direct relationship to the defense against terrorism or biological or chemical attack.

## 13.202 Purchase guidelines.

(a) Solicitation, evaluation of quotations, and award.

(1) To the extent practicable, micro-purchases shall be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers.
(2) Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive quotations if the contracting officer or individual appointed in accordance with 1.603-3(b) considers the price to be reasonable.
(3) The administrative cost of verifying the reasonableness of the price for purchases may more than offset potential savings from detecting instances of overpricing. Therefore, action to verify price reasonableness need only be taken if-

(i) The contracting officer or individual appointed in accordance with 1.603-3(b) suspects or has information to indicate that the price may not be reasonable (e.g., comparison to the previous price paid or personal knowledge of the supply or service); or
(ii) Purchasing a supply or service for which no comparable pricing information is readily available (e.g., a supply or service that is not the same as, or is not similar to, other supplies or services that have recently been purchased on a competitive basis).

(b) Documentation. If competitive quotations were solicited and award was made to other than the low quoter, documentation to support the purchase may be limited to identification of the solicited concerns and an explanation for the award decision.