# 13.203 Purchase guidelines.

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

   1. (1) To the extent practicable, micro-purchases shall be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers.

   2. (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. (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-

      1. (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

      2. (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).

2. (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.