## Subpart 45.2—Competitive Advantage

### 45.201 General.

(a) The contracting officer shall, to the maximum practical extent, eliminate competitive advantage accruing to a contractor possessing Government production and research property (see 45.301). This is done by (1) adjusting the offers of those contractors by applying, for evaluation purposes only, a rental equivalent evaluation factor or, (2) when adjusting offers is not practical, by charging the contractor rent for using the property. Applying a rental equivalent factor is not appropriate in awarding negotiated contracts when the contracting officer determines that using the factor would not affect the choice of contractors.

(b) In evaluating offers, the contracting officer shall also consider any costs or savings to the Government related to providing such property, regardless of any competitive advantage that may result (see 45.202-3).

### 45.202 Evaluation procedures.

### 45.202-1 Rental equivalents.

If a rental equivalent evaluation factor is used, it shall be equal to the rent allocable to the proposed contract that would otherwise have been charged for the property, as computed in accordance with the clause at 52.245-9, Use and Charges. (See 45.205(b) for solicitation requirements.)

### 45.202-2 Rent.

If using a rental equivalent evaluation factor is not practical, and the competitive advantage is to be eliminated by charging rent, any offeror or subcontractor may use Government production and research property after obtaining the written approval of the contacting officer having cognizance of the property. Rent shall be charged in accordance with 45.403.

### 45.202-3 Other costs and savings.

(a) If furnishing Government production and research property will result in direct measurable costs that the Government must bear, additional factors shall be considered in evaluating bids or proposals. These factors shall be specified in the solicitation either as dollar amounts or as formulas and shall be limited to the cost of—

(1) Reactivation from storage;

(2) Rehabilitation and conversion; and

(3) Making the property available on an f.o.b. basis.

(b) If, under the terms of the solicitation, the contractor will bear the transportation cost of furnishing Government production and research property or the cost of making it suitable for use (such as when property is offered on an “as is” basis (see 45.308)), no additional evaluation factors related to those costs shall be used.

(c) If using Government production and research property will result in measurable savings to the Government, the dollar amount of these savings shall be specified in the solicitation and used in evaluating offers. Examples of such savings include—

(1) Savings occurring as a direct result of activating tools being maintained in idle status at known cost to the Government; and

(2) Avoiding the costs of deactivating and placing tools in layaway or storage or of maintaining them in an idle state, if the prospective costs are known. For these costs to be included in the evaluation, firm decisions must have been made that the tools will be laid away or stored if not used on the proposed contract and that such costs are not merely being deferred.

### 45.203 Postaward utilization requests.

When, after award, a contractor requests the use of special tooling or special test equipment, the administrative contracting officer shall obtain a fair rental or other adequate consideration if use is authorized. The value of the items, if known, and any amount included for them in the contract price shall be considered.

### 45.204 Residual value of special tooling and special test equipment.

(a) In awarding competitively negotiated contracts that permit the acquisition of special tooling or special test equipment, an evaluation may be made of the residual value of the property to the Government. This evaluation is appropriate when the contracting officer (1) determines that the property will have a reasonably foreseeable usefulness and related residual value beyond the period of use on the proposed contract and (2) anticipates that the cost of the property (as proposed by the several offerors) may be a factor in making the award. This evaluation is not appropriate if the contract will include the special tooling or special test equipment as a contract line item.

(b) The purpose of evaluating the residual value of special tooling or special test equipment is to apportion to each proposal only that part of the total cost of the property that represents the amount of useful life to be consumed during contract performance. Accordingly, the proposed price or cost may be reduced for evaluation purposes by an amount representing the residual value of such property to the Government. In estimating residual value, the contracting officer shall consider—

(1) The useful life of the special tooling and special test equipment to be acquired;

(2) Adaptability of the property for use by other contractors or by the Government;

(3) Reasonably foreseeable requirements for future use of the property; and

(4) The scrap or salvage value of the property.

(c) If the contracting officer decides to consider the residual value of special tooling or special test equipment, the solicitation shall so notify offerors and state the Government’s reasonably foreseeable future requirements for the property.

### 45.205 Solicitation requirements.

(a) When Government production and research property (see 45.301) is offered for use in a competitive acquisition, solicitations will ordinarily require the contractor to assume all costs related to making the property available for use (such as payment of all transportation or rehabilitation costs).

(b) The solicitation shall describe the evaluation procedures to be followed, including rental charges or equivalents (see 45.202) and other costs or savings to be evaluated (see 45.202-3), and shall require all offerors to submit with their offers the following information:

(1) A list or description of all Government production and research property that the offeror or its subcontractors propose to use on a rent-free basis. The list shall include property offered for use in the solicitation, as well as property already in possession of the offeror and its subcontractors under other contracts.

(2) Identification of the facilities contract or other instrument under which property already in possession of the offeror and its subcontractors is held, and the written permission for its use from the contracting officer having cognizance of the property.

(3) The dates during which the property will be available for use (including the first, last, and all intervening months) and, for any property that will be used concurrently in performing two or more contracts, the amounts of the respective uses in sufficient detail to support proration of the rent.

(4) The amount of rent that would otherwise be charged, computed in accordance with 45.403.

(c) Solicitations shall provide that using Government production and research property (other than as described and permitted in the solicitation (see paragraph (b) of this section)) will not be authorized under the contract unless such use is approved in writing by the contracting officer cognizant of the property, and either rent calculated in accordance with the clause at 52.245-9, Use and Charges, is charged, or the contract price is reduced by an equivalent amount. (See 45.203 for postaward requests for special tooling and special test equipment and 45.204(c) for solicitation requirements for special tooling and special test equipment with residual value.)