The FAR Council is amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation. The following are particularly relevant to our readers:

Several measures were added to the FAR to enhance competition for task and delivery order contracts. The requirements for increased competition for task and delivery orders valued at more than $5 million placed against a multiple award contact requires all awardees be given a fair chance to be considered for each order. All awardees are to be provided, at a minimum, a reasonable notice of the order with a clear statement of requirements, a reasonable response period, disclosure of significant evaluation factors and subfactors and where award is on a best value basis a statement documenting the basis for award and relative importance of quality, price or cost factors. Also, offerors are to be provided an opportunity for a post award debriefing. The rule also authorizes protests alleging the order increased the scope, period or maximum value of the contract under which the order is issued. Protests are also authorized as a matter of right for orders in excess of $10 Million.  For contracts valued at $100 Million, no such award to a single source can be made unless only a single source can reasonably perform the work, the contract is only for firm fixed price orders and only one source is qualified and capable of performing the work at a reasonable price or it is in the public’s interest to award a single source.  

The FAR Council also issued an interim rule to revise the contract clauses related to the administration of the Cost Accounting Standards to maintain consistency between the FAR and CAS.  The CAS applicability threshold will be the same as the threshold for compliance with the Truth in Negotiations Act (currently $650,000).  Separately, the FAR Council issued a final rule to implement recent decisions to the regulations related to CAS as they pertain to contracts with foreign concerns including the United Kingdom.

In addition, the Council extended agency authority for the use of simplified acquisition procedures for commercial items in amounts greater than the $100,000 simplified acquisition threshold but not exceeding $5.5 Million or $11 Million for certain commercial items described at FAR 13.500(e) (Fed. Reg. 53990).

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