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(a) Section 302(d) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 requires, with respect to advertised procurement, that bids be referred to the Attorney General for appropriate action when in the opinion of the agency head they evidence any violation of the antitrust laws. The referral of such bids shall be in accordance with this Subpart 1-1.9.

(b) Where proposals received in competitive negotiated procurements evidence violations of the antitrust laws, the procedures in this Subpart 1-1.9 may be used in referring such proposals to the Attorney General.

(c) The reports required by this subpart are in addition to and are not to be considered as satisfying the requirements of Subpart 1-1.16 for reporting identical bids to the Attorney General.

§ 1-1.902 Documents to be transmitted.

In reporting cases of possible violations of the antitrust laws to the Attorney General, each agency shall transmit, in addition to a copy of each suspect bid, the documents and statements enumerated below (the expression "suspect bids" or variations thereof, as used in this Subpart 1-1.9, shall be deemed to include any bids which indicate practices which may evidence possible violations of the antitrust laws including collusive bidding, follow-the-leader pricing, rotated low bids, identical bids, or any other bid device intended to deprive the Government of the benefit of full and free competition):

(a) One copy of the invitation for bids and any amendments thereto.

(b) An abstract of all bids received for each item covered by the bid invitation for which suspect bids were received, showing for each such item—

(1) The unit and total price bid.

(2) The net price to the Government after discounts and allowance for transportation, or other costs, are absorbed by the bidder.

(3) The name of the manufacturer of the item or the source of supply if the bidder is a dealer or distributor, and the location of the plant from which shipment will be made. Where identical bids are filed by dealers, distributors, or jobbers representing the same manufacturer or supplier, they frequently indicate adherence to the supplier's list or suggested price to the Government. Unless the procurement agency has some evidence that such identical bids resulted from collusion or concert of action among the bidders they need not be reported to the Attorney General.

(4) The destination of shipments, and whether the price quoted includes or excludes the cost of transportation to destination.

(5) The identity of the successful bidder, and, where identical low bids were submitted by several bidders, an indication of how the award was made.

(c) Copies of documents filed by suspect bidders as part of the bid submission or obtained by the procuring agency such as the following

(1) Contracts with contingent fee representatives who acted on behalf of one or more of the bidders who submitted identical bids or assisted them in the preparation of their bids.

(2) Correspondence or other evidence of patent rights owned or licensed by bidders quoting identical prices.

(3) Evidence of the existence of financial or other ties between bidders submitting suspect bids as revealed by Dun and Bradstreet or other reliable financial reports.

(4) Any pertinent financial or corporate information concerning the suspect bids as may be contained in financial statements or annual reports to stockholders.

(d) Copies of reports containing the findings of any special investigations conducted by the procurement agency concerning the bids reported.

(e) Copies of any correspondence between the procurement agency and the suspect bidders revealing the factors responsible for the filing of suspect bids, or explaining the prices bid.

§ 1-1.903 Additional information.

In addition to the documentary matter described above, the following information must be submitted, or appropriate remarks made, to the degree available, with respect to each suspected antitrust violation:

(a) Where there is a prior pattern of procurement of the item for which suspect bids were received, indicate the procurement agency's annual dollar value of purchases of the item in each of the three calendar years preceding the year in which the suspect bids were received.

(b) With respect to purchases of the item in prior years, submit an abstract of all suspect bids received in response to each invitation for bids issued in the preceding three-year period, setting forth in such abstract the information described in § 1-1.902. If this information was submitted with a prior reference of identical bids to the Attorney General it will be necessary only to state that the information was submitted with a suspect bid reference of a specified date.

(c) Indicate whether the pattern of bidding in the three-year period preceding the receipt of the suspect bids reported appears to indicate such practices as bid rotation, sharing of the business, collusive bidding, or any other form of joint action. If such practices are indicated, explain in detail.

(d) If there are any known financial, personal, or other than personal relationships among any of the suspect bidders, describe them.

(e) Indicate if the Government's specifications for the item are SO drawn that only a limited number of potential bidders are capable of meeting these specifications.

(f) Indicate whether the item is covered by active patents and if such patents are owned or controlled by any of

the suspect bidders. If information is available, submit full details, including any evidence that patent control may have a bearing on price identity.

(g) If there are any known manufacturers or suppliers of the item who consistently avoid bidding on Government contracts, identify such suppliers or manufacturers and indicate whether the procurement agency has any knowledge as to the reasons why these firms avoid seeking Government busi

ness.

(h) Indicate if the prices bid by the suspect bidders are their published list prices or if they are prices applicable only to the particular bid. If the prices quoted by the suspect bidders are not their published list prices, state whether they appear to have been arrived at by the application of a uniform Government discount from list prices or by some other method of computation. If available, furnish photostatic copies of suspect bidders' and other bidders' price lists.

(i) Indicate whether it is known to be the general practice of the manufacturers of the item to adhere to pricing systems which may be characterized as delivered pricing, zone pricing, or basing point pricing. If the answer is in the affirmative, describe the nature of the pricing system used.

(j) Indicate whether, in the opinion of the procurement agency, the suspect or tie bids submitted appear to stem from collusion or conspiracy on the part of the suspect bidders, and, if so, explain the basis for this opinion.

Subpart 1-1.10-Publicizing Procurement Actions

§ 1-1.1001 General policy.

Proposed procurements which offer competitive opportunities for prospective prime contractors or subcontractors shall be publicized as prescribed in this Subpart 1-1.10, to increase competition, thus assisting small business and labor surplus area concerns and broadening industry participation in Government procurement programs.

§ 1-1.1002 Availability of invitations for bids and requests for proposals.

A reasonable number of copies of each invitation for bids and request for proposals publicized in the Department of Commerce Synopsis (see § 11.1003-1), including specifications and other pertinent information, shall be maintained by the issuing office. To the extent such unclassified invitations for bids and requests for proposals are available, they shall be provided upon request to manufacturers, construction contractors, and regular dealers and to others having a legitimate interest therein, such as publishers, trade associations, procurement information services and others who disseminate information concerning invitations for bids and requests for proposals; otherwise the procuring activity may limit the availability of invitations for bids and requests for proposals to perusal at the issuing office. With regard to classified procurements, this § 1-1.1002 applies to the extent consistent with agency security requirements.

§ 1-1.1002-1 Availability of procurement information and publications.

Procuring activities shall make information available to potential suppliers concerning formal advertising and negotiation procedures and shall encourage potential suppliers to utilize the Commerce Business Daily which is a valuable source of information on proposed procurements.

[40 FR 2811, Jan. 16, 1975]

§ 1-1.1002-2 Publicizing proposed small purchases.

Procuring activities shall ensure that proposed small purchases are publicized to the maximum extent practicable consistent with the dollar value of the actions and any time constraints applicable to the purchases. One or more of the following methods of publicizing shall be used:

(a) Displaying on bulletin boards in the purchasing office and/or other public places.

(b) Preparing periodic handouts listing proposed purchases, and displaying these lists as in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) Publicizing in local newspapers or other mass communication media.

(d) Encouraging and assisting local area trade associations in disseminating small purchase information to their members.

[40 FR 44138, Sept. 25, 1975]

§ 1-1.1003 Synopses of proposed procure

ments.

§ 1-1.1003-1 Department of Commerce Synopsis.

(a) The "Commerce Business Daily, Synopsis of U.S. Government Proposed Procurement, Sales and Contract Awards," informally known as "Department of Commerce Synopsis"

or

"Synopsis," is published daily, except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Chicago, Illinois. Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e)) empowers the Secretary of Commerce to obtain notice of certain proposed procurement actions from any Federal department, establishment, or agency engaged in procurement of supplies and services in the United States; and to publicize such notices in the Department of Commerce Synopsis immediately after the necessity for the procurement is established.

(b) The primary purpose of the Department of Commerce Synopsis is to provide industry with information concerning current Government contracting and subcontracting opportunities, including information as to the identity and location of Government contracting offices and prime contractors having current or potential need for certain types of products or services.

(c) The Department of Commerce Synopsis is available on an annual subscription basis, and subscriptions can be entered at any Department of Commerce office. Complimentary subscriptions are available to participating Government activities upon request.

(d) Procurement agencies shall develop procedures for assuring that proposed procurements are publicized in the Synopsis as required by this § 11.1003.

§ 1-1.1003-2 General requirements.1

of

(a) In accordance with section 8 of the Small Business Act, all proposed defense procurement actions $10,000 and above, and all proposed civilian agency procurement actions of $5,000 and above, will be published promptly in the Department of Commerce Synopsis (see § 1-1.1003-6), except that the following need not be so publicized:

(1) Procurements of a classified nature where the information necessary to be included or referenced in the solicitation (invitation for bids or request for proposals) is in itself of a classified nature and the public disclosure of this information would violate security requirements. All other classified procurements shall be published in the Synopsis if sufficient information of an unclassified nature can be provided in the solicitation to enable a prospective contractor to submit a bid or proposal;

(2) Procurements of perishable subsistence;

(3) Procurements which are for utility services and the procuring agency in accordance with applicable law has predetermined the utility concern to whom the award will be made;

(4) Procurements which are of such unusual and compelling emergency that the Government would be seriously injured if bids or offers were permitted to be made more than 15 calendar days after issuance of the invitation for bids or request for proposals or the date of transmittal of the synopsis, whichever is earlier;

(5) Procurements which are made by an order placed under an existing contract except as provided in § 1-4.11076(a) with respect to non-mandatory schedule contracts for Automatic Data Processing Equipment;

(6) Procurements which are made from another Government department or agency, or a mandatory source of supply;

(7) [Reserved]

(8) Procurements which are for services from educational institutions;

For a temporary regulation affecting § 11.1003-2, see Appendix-Temporary Regulations, appearing at the end of Chapter 1.

(9) Procurements in which only foreign sources are to be solicited; or

(10) Procurements for which it is determined in writing by the procuring agency, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, that advance publicity is not appropriate or reasonable. (The term "defense procurement actions," as used in this § 1-1.1003-2, shall apply only to procurement made by the Department of Defense.)

(b) The dollar amount specified in § 1-1.1003-2(a) is not a prohibition against publicizing procurements below that amount where it is determined that such publication would be advantageous to industry or to the Government.

[29 FR 10104, July 24, 1964, as amended at 35 FR 3070, Feb. 17, 1970; 41 FR 43538, Oct. 1, 1976]

§ 1-1.1003-3 Special areas of negotiation.

(a) Research and development. Advance notices of the Government's interest in a given field of research and development shall be published in the Synopsis in accordance with § 11.1003-7(b)(7), except where security considerations prohibit such publication. Such notices will enable potential sources to learn of research and development programs and provide such sources with an adequate opportunity to submit information which will permit evaluation of their research and development capabilities. Each specific procurement of research and development shall be publicized in the Synopsis unless (1) one of the exceptions in § 1-1.1003-2 is applicable, or (2) an advance notice has been published in the Synopsis and such notice was sufficiently specific to permit potential sources to request solicitations for the procurement.

(b) Personal and professional (other than architect-engineer) services. Advance notice or procurements for personal or professional services shall be published in the Synopsis when it is feasible and practicable and in the best interest of the Government.

(c) Architect-engineer and related services with fees over $10,000. For each contract for which the fee is expected to exceed $10,000, a notice of

intention to contract for architect-engineer services shall be published in the Synopsis. The notice shall be prepared in accordance with § 1-1.10037(b)(9) and shall solicit submission of Standard Form 254, Architect-Engineer and Related Services Questionnaire, and, when applicable, Standard Form 255, Architect-Engineer and Related Services Questionnaire for Specific Project, from those persons or firms that are eligible for consideration but do not have current data on file with the procuring agency office. The notice will be published sufficiently in advance to afford the architect-engineer firms an adequate opportunity to submit to the procurement Office a statement of qualifications and performance data applicable to the expected requirements of that procurement office. Synopses of tract awards shall be in accordance with § 11.1004.

or

(d) Architect-engineer and related services with fees $10,000 and under. Agencies may employ the procedures in paragraph (c) above. In the alternative, however, agencies may publicize each contract estimated to be $10,000 and under only in the area where the project is to be performed. Copies of the announcement shall be publicly displayed at the procuring office and appear in at least one daily newspaper circulated in the local area. Written notification to affected professional societies in the area of project consideration should also be made.

[35 FR 3070, Feb. 17, 1970, as amended at 38 FR 33594, Dec. 6, 1973; 40 FR 30440, July 18, 1975]

§ 1-1.1003-4 Synopses of subcontract opportunities.

(a) By contracting officers. (1) In order to broaden the opportunity in negotiated procurement for subcontracting to small business concerns and others, contracting officers shall, unless not in the Government's interest or subcontracting opportunities do not exist, publish in the Commerce Business Daily the names and addresses of firms to whom requests for proposals are to be issued in connection with all procurement actions over $500,000. Contracting officers are encouraged to synopsize procurement ac

tions under $500,000 unless not in the Government's interest or subcontracting opportunities do not exist. However, the list need not be synopsized where the number of concerns to whom requests for proposals will be sent is extensive, the list includes all or a major portion of an industry, and the procurement involves articles which either are regularly sold commercially or are essentially similar to articles which are so sold. The foregoing procedure will offer opportunities to small business concerns and others interested in subcontracting to make direct contacts with prospective prime contractors at an early stage in the procurement. An addition to the regular synopsis, prepared in accordance with § 1-1.1003-7, shall be made as set forth in § 1-1.1003-7(b)(8).

(2) Contracting officers shall, unless not in the Government's interest or subcontracting opportunities do not exist, publish in the Commerce Business Daily the names and addresses of firms which have submitted acceptable technical proposals in the first step of two-step formal advertising and will therefore be issued invitations for bids in the second step (see § 12.503). Such lists should be followed by a statement substantially as follows:

It is suggested that small firms or others interested in subcontracting opportunities in connection with this procurement make direct contact with the above firms.

(b) By prime contractors and subcontractors. Prime contractors and subcontractors should be encouraged to use the Commerce Business Daily to publicize opportunities in the field of subcontracting stemming from Government business. Prime contractors and their subcontractors will be advised to mail subcontract information directly to the Commerce Business Daily, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1304, 433 West Van Buren Street, Chicago, Ill. 60607, under the heading "Subcontracting Assistance Wanted" and in the form of the following example:

XYZ CO. ATTN JOHN Z. SMITH, TELE. NO. RANDOLPH 6-1111, 102 FIRST AVE., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60607, seeks Subcontractor on items to be used in connection

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