No contract shall be entered into, modified, or terminated unless all required reviews, clearances, or approvals have been obtained, and all applicable requirements of law, the FAR, the HHSAR, and other applicable regulations have been met. In addition, refer to FAR 14.103-2 concerning limitations with respect to contracting by sealed bidding and FAR Part 6 which addresses competition requirements.

[49 FR 13961, Apr. 9, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 23127, May 31, 1985; 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985]

ordering from mandatory sources of supply (FSS, GSA, Perry Point, Md., DOD, etc.).

301.670 Head of the contracting activity.

301.670-1 Responsibility.

The head of the contracting activity (HCA) is responsible for the conduct of an effective and efficient acquisition program. Adequate controls shall be established to assure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, procedures, and the dictates of good management practices. Periodic reviews shall be conducted and evaluated by qualified personnel, preferably assigned to positions other than in the

contracting office being reviewed, to determine the extent of adherence to prescribed policies and regulations, and to detect a need for guidance and/ or training.

301.670-2 Designation.

Each OPDIV head has been designated as HCA along with the following officials:

(a) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Procurement, Assistance and Logistics; (b) Director, Office of Management Services, OS; and

(c) Each Regional Director.

301.670-3 Redelegation.

(a) The heads of contracting activities may redelegate their HCA authorities to the extent that redelegation is not prohibited by the terms of their respective delegations of authority, by law, by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, by the HHS Acquisition Regulation, or by other regulations. To ensure proper control of redelegated acquisition authorities, HCA's shall maintain a file containing successive delegations of HCA authority through and including the contracting officer level.

(b) Personnel delegated responsibility for acquisition functions must possess a level of experience, training, and ability commensurate with the complexity and magnitude of the acquisition actions involved.

Subpart 301.7—Determinations and

Findings

SOURCE: 50 FR 23127, May 31, 1985 (interim rule) and 50 FR 38004, Sept. 19, 1985 (final rule), unless otherwise noted.

301.703 Class determinations and findings.

(b) All class determinations and findings (D&F's) shall be limited to a period of one year or less.

301.704 Content.

An example of a D&F format may be found in 316.301-3(c). All D&F's shall be prepared using the referenced format and shall include the information required by FAR 1.704(a)–(g).

PART 302-DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND TERMS

AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; 40 U.S.C. 486(c).

Subpart 302.1-Definitions

302.100 Definitions of terms.

"Head of the agency" or "agency head" means the head of the Operating Division (OPDIV) for HCFA, OHDS, PHS, and SSA, or the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget (ASMB) for the Office of the Secretary (OS).

"Head of the contracting activity" (HCA)-see 301.670-2.

"Principal official responsible for acquisition" (PORA) is defined in terms of certain organizational positions within the Office of Management Services (OMS-OS), Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), Office of Human Development Services (OHDS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Food Drug Administration (FDA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Regional Offices (RO's), as follows:

and

OMS-OS-Director, Division of Contract and Grant Operations, OMS-OASMB

HCFA-Director, Division of Procurement Services, Office of Management and Budget

OHDS-Chief, Contracts Branch, Division of Grants, and Contracts Management, Office of Management Services OASH-Director, Division of Materiel Management, Administrative Services Center, Office of Management

ADAMHA-Director, Division of Grants and Contracts Management, Office of the Administrator

CDC-Director, Procurement and Grants
Office, Office of the Center Director
FDA-Director, Division of Contracts and
Grants Management, Office of the Associ-
ate Commissioner for Management and
Operations

HRSA-Director, Division of Grants and Procurement Management, Office of Management

NIH-Director, Division of Contracts and Grants, Office of Administration (For acquisitions assigned to the Division of Contracts and Grants)

NIH-Director, Division of Administrative
Services, Office of Research Services (For
acquisitions assigned to the Division of
Administrative Services)

SSA-Director, Division of Contracts and
Grants Management, Office of Material
Resources Management, Office of Man-
agement, Budget and Personnel
RO's-Director, Regional Administrative
Support Center

The PORA is subordinate to the head of the contracting activity and is the official in charge of the major contracting operation activity within the OPDIV, agency, staff office, or regional office.

[49 FR 13964, Apr. 9, 1984]

Subpart 303.3-Report of Suspected Antitrust Violations

303.303 Reporting suspected antitrust violations.

A copy of each report of suspected antitrust violations submitted to the Attorney General shall also be submitted to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Procurement, Assistance and Logistics.

Subpart 303.4-Contingent Fees 303.408 Evaluation of the SF 119. 303.408-1 Responsibilities.

(b) The chief of the contracting office shall perform the review required by FAR 3.408-1(b) and should consult with the Office of General Counsel, Business and Administrative Law Division, when deemed necessary.

303.409 Misrepresentations or violations

of the Covenant Against Contingent Fees.

(a) Reports shall be made promptly to the contracting officer.

(4) Suspected fraudulent or criminal matters to be reported to the Department of Justice shall be prepared in letter format and forwarded through acquisition channels to the head of the contracting activity for signature. The letter must contain all pertinent facts and background information considered by the contracting officer and chief of the contracting office that led to the decision that fraudulent or criminal matters may be present. A copy of the signed letter shall be sent to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Procurement, Assistance and Logistics.

Sec.

304.7005 Numbering basic ordering agreements.

Subpart 304.71—Review and Approval of Proposed Contract Awards

304.7100 Scope of subpart.

304.7101 Contracts requiring review and approval.

304.7102 Conduct of the review. 304.7103 Approvals.

AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; 40 U.S.C. 486(c). SOURCE: 49 FR 13965, Apr. 9, 1984, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart 304.1—Contract Execution

304.101 Contracting officer's signature.

An original of each bilateral contract or modification shall be executed by the contractor and contracting officer. An original of each unilateral contract or modification shall be executed by the contracting officer. The contracting officer need only sign the original when carbon paper is used in sets of forms such as Standard Form 44 or Optional Form 347 or 348. A legible carbon impression of the contracting officer's signature shall carry the same force and effect as a pen and ink signature for unilateral contracts.

304.170 Ratification of unauthorized contract awards.

(a) The Government is not bound by agreements or contractual commitments made to prospective contractors by persons to whom contracting authority has not been delegated. Such unauthorized acts may be in violation of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, other Federal laws, the FAR, the HHSAR, and good acquisition practice; e.g., certain requirements of law and regulation necessary for the proper establishment of a contractual obligation may not be met; i.e., certification of the availability of funds, determinations and findings, competition of sources, determination of contractor responsibility, certification of current pricing data, price/cost analysis, administrative approvals, negotiation of appropriate contract clauses, etc.

(b) The execution of otherwise proper contracts made by individuals

without contracting authority, or by contracting officers in excess of the limits of their delegated authority, may be later ratified. To be effective, the ratification must be in the form of a written document clearly stating that ratification of a previously unauthorized act is intended and must be signed by the head of the contracting activity, provided the head of the contracting activity could have granted authority to enter into the commitment at the time it was made and still has the power to do so. Contracting officers shall not ratify contractual commitments made by other personnel of the Department without the prior approval of the head of the contracting activity. (This approval authority may be redelegated to a designee not lower than the principal official responsible for acquisition.)

(c) Requests received by contracting officers for ratification of commitments made by personnel lacking contracting authority shall be processed as follows:

(1) The individual who made the unauthorized contractual commitment shall furnish the contracting officer all records and documents concerning the commitment and a complete written statement of facts, including, but not limited to: a statement as to why the contracting office was not used, a statement as to why the proposed contractor was selected, a list of other sources considered, a description of work to be performed or products to be furnished, the estimated or agreed contract price, a citation of the appropriation available, and a statement of whether the contractor has commenced performance.

(2) The contracting officer will review the file and forward it to the head of the contracting activity with any comments or information which should be considered in evaluation of the request for ratification. If legal review is desirable, the head of the contracting activity will coordinate the request for ratification with the Office of General Counsel, Business and Administrative Law Division.

(3) If ratification is authorized by the head of the contracting activity, the file will be returned to the contracting officer for issuance of a pur

The signed original of bilateral contracts and modifications shall be placed in the contract file, and duplicate originals shall be furnished the contractor, the appropriate accounting point, the project officer, and other individuals or offices, as applicable. Purchase orders, delivery orders, and other unilateral contracts and modifications shall be distributed the same as bilateral contracts except the original shall be furnished the contractor or seller. Copies of unilateral contracts and modifications with carbon impressioned signatures may be used but must be stamped "DUPLICATE ORIGINAL" (see 304.101).

[49 FR 36110, Sept. 14, 1984]