§ 1-1.010 Interagency Procurement Policy Committee.

For the purpose of advising and assisting the General Services Administration in its Government-wide program for the development of uniform procurement policies and procedures, an Interagency Procurement Policy Committee, chaired by GSA, has been established. It is comprised of representatives of procurement and related Federal agencies designated by the heads of the agencies concerned.

[30 FR 9766, Aug. 5, 1965]

§ 1-1.011 Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act.

[40 FR 12077, Mar. 17, 1975]

§ 1-1.011-1 General.1

(a) The Commission on Government Procurement urged the establishment by law of a central Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Executive Office of the President, preferably in the Office of Management and Budget, with specialized competence to take the leadership in procurement policy and related matters. This was the first recommendation (A-1) of the Commission's Report because of its overall importance in achieving the improvements that the Commission proposed in the procurement process. The idea was also repeated in the Report's second recommendation (A-2).

(b) In response to these recommendations, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy was established by Pub. L. 93-400; i.e., the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 401412). The Conference Report on the Act notes that the Commission on Government Procurement urged the creation of the Office by statute. The Act states that it is the policy of the Congress to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the procurement of property and services by and for the executive branch of the Federal Government.

[40 FR 12077, Mar. 17, 1975]

'See Temporary Regulation 77 in the appendix to Chapter 1 for temporary changes to § 1-1.011-1.

§ 1-1.011-2 Declaration of policy.1 Section 2 of the Act provides as follows:

Sec. 2. It is declared to be the policy of Congress to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the procurement of property and services by and for the executive branch of the Federal Government by

(1) Establishing policies, procedures, and practices which will require the Government to acquire property and services of the requisite quality and within the time needed at the lowest reasonable cost, utilizing competitive procurement methods to the maximum extent practicable;

(2) Improving the quality, efficiency, economy, and performance of Government procurement organizations and personnel;

(3) Avoiding or eliminating unnecessary overlapping or duplication of procurement and related activities;

(4) Avoiding or eliminating unnecessary or redundant requirements placed on contractor and Federal procurement officials;

(5) Identifying gaps, omissions, or inconsistencies in procurement laws, regulations, and directives and in other laws, regulations, and directives, relating to or affecting procurement;

(6) Achieving greater uniformity and simplicity, whenever appropriate, in procurement procedures;

(7) Coordinating procurement policies and programs of the several departments and agencies;

(8) Minimizing possible disruptive effects of Government procurement on particular industries, areas, or occupations;

(9) Improving understanding of Government procurement laws and policies within the Government and by organizations and individuals doing business with the Government;

(10) Promoting fair dealing and equitable relationships among the parties in Government contracting; and

(11) Otherwise promoting economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Government procurement organizations and operations. [40 FR 12077, Mar. 17, 1975]

following terms have the meaning set forth in this subpart.

§ 1-1.202 Executive agency.

"Executive agency" means any executive department (including the Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force) or any independent establishment in the executive branch of the Government, including any wholly-owned Government corpora

tion.

§ 1-1.203 Federal agency.

"Federal agency" means any executive agency or any establishment in the legislative or judicial branch of the Government (except the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Architect of the Capitol and any activities under his direction).

§ 1-1.204 Head of the agency.

"Head of the agency" means the Secretary, Attorney General, Postmaster General, Administrator, Governor, Chairman, or other chief official of an executive agency, unless otherwise indicated, including any assistant chief official of an executive agency and, for the military departments, the Under Secretary and any Assistant Secretary of the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

§ 1-1.205 Procuring activity.

"Procuring activity" means the organizational element of an executive agency which has responsibility to contract for the procurement of personal property and nonpersonal services (including construction).

§ 1-1.206 Head of the procuring activity.

"Head of the procuring activity" means that official, intermediate between the head of the agency and the contracting officer, who has the responsibility for supervision and direction of the procuring activity.

§ 1-1.207 Contracting officer.

"Contracting officer" means an official designated to enter into or administer contracts and make related determinations and findings.

§ 1-1.208 Contract.

"Contract" means establishment of a binding legal relation basically obligating the seller to furnish personal property or nonpersonal services (including construction) and the buyer to pay therefor. It includes all types of commitments which obligate the Government to an expenditure of funds and which, except as otherwise authorized, are in writing. In addition to a two-signature document, it includes all transactions resulting from acceptance of offers by awards or notices of awards; agreements and job orders or task letters issued thereunder; letter contracts; letters of intent; and orders, such as purchase orders, under which the contract becomes effective by written acceptance or performance. It also includes contract modifications.

not include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

§ 1-1.218 Negotiation.

"Negotiation" means the procedure for making contracts without formal advertising.

§ 1-1.219 Contract modification.

"Contract modification" means any written alteration in the specifications, delivery point, rate of delivery, contract period, price, quantity, or other contract provision of an existing contract, whether accomplished by unilateral action in accordance with a contract provision or by mutual action of the parties to the contract. It includes: (a) Bilateral actions, such as supplemental agreements and amendments, and (b) unilateral actions, such as change orders, notices of termination, and notices of the exercise of an option.

§ 1-1.220 Procurement item.

"Procurement item" means any personal property or nonpersonal service, including construction, alteration, repair, or installation, which is the object of procurement.

Subpart 1-1.3-General Policies

§ 1-1.301 Methods of procurement. § 1-1.301-1 Competition.

All purchases and contracts, whether by formal advertising or by negotiation, shall be made on a competitive basis to the maximum practicable extent.

§ 1-1.301-2 Formal advertising.

Contracts for property and services shall be made by formal advertising in all cases in which the use of such method is feasible and practicable under the existing conditions and circumstances. Procurement by formal advertising shall be in accordance with detailed requirements and procedures set forth in Part 2 of this chapter.

§ 1-1.301-3 Negotiation.

If the use of formal advertising is not feasible and practicable, purchases and contracts for property and serv

ices may be negotiated in accordance with the detailed requirements and procedures set forth in Part 3 of this chapter.

§ 1-1.302 Procurement sources.

§ 1-1.302-1 General.

(a) Before taking procurement action, in accordance with this chapter, agencies shall have complied with applicable laws and regulations relative to obtaining supplies or services from Government sources and from contracts of other Government agencies. These include excess and surplus stocks in the hands of any Government agency, Federal Supply Schedules, General Services Administration Stores Stock, Federal Supply Service Consolidated Purchase Programs, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., and National Industries for the Blind.

(b) Irrespective of whether the procurement of supplies or services from sources outside the Government is to be effected by formal advertising or by negotiation, competitive offers (“bids” in the case of procurement by formal advertising, "proposals" in the case of procurement by negotiation) shall be solicited from all such qualified sources as are deemed necessary by the contracting officer to ensure such full and free competition as is consistent with the procurement of types of supplies and services necessary to meet the requirements of the agency concerned. Offers shall not knowingly be solicited on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, or national origin of prospective sources.

[29 FR 10104, July 24, 1964, as amended at 41 FR 38166, Sept. 9, 1976]

§ 1-1.302-2 Production and research and development pools.

(a) Description. A production or research and development pool is a group of concerns: (1) Which have associated together for the purpose of obtaining and performing jointly, or in conjunction with each other, contracts for supplies or services, or for research and development, for defense use or to effectuate the purposes of the Small Business Act; (2) which have entered into a pool agreement governing their

organization, relationship, and procedure; and (3) whose agreement has been approved either in accordance with section 708 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (Defense Production Pool), or in accordance with sections 9(d) or 11 of the Small Business Act (Small Business Pool). Pool participants are exempt from the "manufacturer or regular dealer" requirement of the WalshHealey Public Contracts Act. (See Subpart 1-12.6.)

(b) General rule. Except as provided in this § 1-1.302-2, a pool shall be treated for purposes of Government procurement on exactly the same basis as any other prospective or actual contractor.

(c) Ascertainment of status. The contracting officer is responsible for ascertaining whether a group of firms seeking to do business with the Government is a pool. In ascertaining the status of a group representing that it is a pool, contracting officers may rely on a copy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) or the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) notification of approval of the pool. If the contracting officer has any question as to whether a given pool has been approved, he shall consult the regional office of the SBA. Each executive agency should expeditiously disseminate to appropriate contracting officers information received from SBA or OEP concerning the approval of production pools.

(d) Contracting with pools. (1) A bid or proposal of a pool is not eligible for award to the pool unless submitted either by the pool in its own name or by an individual member expressly disclosing that it is on behalf of the pool. Except as to contracts to be awarded to incorporated pools, the contracting officer shall prior to award to a pool require to be deposited with him a certified copy of a power of attorney from each member of the pool who is to participate in the performance of the contract authorizing an agent to execute the bid, proposal, or contract on behalf of such member. A copy of each such power of attorney shall be appended to each executed copy of the contract retained by the Government.

(2) Membership in a pool shall not of itself preclude individual members from submitting bids or proposals as individuals on appropriate procurements. Bids or proposals submitted by an individual member of a pool shall not be considered when the individual member has participated in the bid or proposal submitted by the pool.

(e) Responsibility of pool member. Where a member of a production pool has submitted a bid or proposal in its own name, the pool agreement shall be considered in determining the pool member's responsibility pursuant to Subpart 1-1.12.

[29 FR 10104, July 24, 1964, as amended at 36 FR 17419, Aug. 31, 1971]

§ 1-1.302-3 Contracts between the Government and Government employees or business concerns substantially owned or controlled by Government employ

ees.

(a) Contracts shall not knowingly be entered into between the Government and employees of the Government or business concerns or organizations which are substantially owned or controlled by Government employees, except for the most compelling reasons, such as cases where the needs of the Government cannot reasonably be otherwise supplied.

(b) When a contracting officer has reason to believe that an exception as described in paragraph (a) of this section, should be made, approval of the decision to make such an exception shall be handled in accordance with agency procedures and shall be obtained prior to entering into any such contract.

[30 FR 9589, July 31, 1965]

§ 1-1.303 Approval signatures.

Approval signatures on contracts or purchase authorizations should be minimized to the greatest practical extent and, in the event that multiple approval signatures are required, they should, where possible, be obtained concurrently.

§ 1-1.304 Designation of solicitation opening time.

The statement of the time designated as bid opening time in the case of solicitations for advertised procurement, or the time fixed for receipt of offers in the case of solicitations for negotiated procurement, shall include the phrase "local time at the place of bid opening," or "local time at the place designated for receipt of offers" in the case of proposals. Where a particular block or blank space on a standard form does not readily permit inclusion of the phrase, an asterisk may be used to call attention to an explanatory phrase which shall be set forth elsewhere in the solicitation, preferably on the same page. Procurement documents shall not refer to "daylight time" or "daylight saving time" and abbreviations such as "EDT" or "PDT" shall not be used.

[35 FR 15994, Oct. 10, 1970]

§ 1-1.305 Specifications. 1

"Specification,” as used in this § 11.305, is a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for a material, product, or service, including the procedure by which it will be determined that the requirements have been met. Specifications for items or materials contain also preservation, packaging, packing, and marking requirements. The identification of categories and intended use of such specifications are as follows:

(a) Federal. A specification covering those materials, products, or services, used by or for potential use of two or more Federal agencies (at least one of which is a civil agency), or new items of potential general application, promulgated by the General Services Administration and mandatory for use by all executive agencies.

(b) Interim Federal. A potential Federal specification issued in interim form, for optional use by agencies. Interim amendments to Federal Specifications are included in this definition.

(c) Military (MIL). A specification issued by the Department of Defense, used solely or predominantly by and

'Other instructions concerning specifications are contained in the Federal Property Management Regulations, Part 101-29.

§ 1-1.305-2 Exceptions to mandatory use of Federal Specifications.1

Federal Specifications need not be used under the following circumstances:

(a) The purchase is required under a public exigency and a delay would be involved in using the applicable specification to obtain agency requirements.

(b) The total amount of the purchase does not exceed $10,000. (Multiple small purchases of the same item shall not be made for the purpose of avoiding the intent of this exception.)

(c) The purchase involves items of construction for new processes, new installations of equipment, or items for experiment, test, or research and development, until such time as specifications covering them are issued or it is determined by the General Services Administration, and the procuring agencies notified, that further deviations from the Federal Specifications will not be permitted: Provided, That, in connection with such deviations, existing Federal Specifications shall be used to the extent that they are applicable.

'See Temporary Regulation 77 in the appendix to Chapter 1 for temporary changes to § 1-1.305-2.