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Panoptic Enterprises' FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH

DATE: December 2, 2003

SUBJECT: Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NMCARS) Issued

SOURCE: Navy Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition Memorandum, November 25, 2003

AGENCIES: Department of the Navy (DON) and Marine Corps

ACTION: The Navy and the Marine Corps are issuing the NMCARS, which replaces the Navy Acquisition Procedures Supplement (NAPS).

EDITOR'S NOTE: The NMCARS is Chapter 52 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It is available on the Internet at http://www.abm.rda.hq.navy.mil/2november2003nmcars.doc. The Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Guide (NMCAG) is available on the Internet at http://www.abm.rda.hq.navy.mil/nmcagnov2003final.doc.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 25, 2003.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: On November 25, 2003, the Navy Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition issued a memorandum to Navy acquisition personnel notifying them that the new NMCARS is replacing the NAPS. "The NCMARS has been streamlined to reduce its content and focus principally on mandatory policies and procedures, including delegations of authority and assignment of responsibilities," the memorandum says. In addition to the NMCARS, the NMCAG is being issued, and it "primarily addresses administrative matters including procedures for processing documents for higher level approval, internal reporting requirements, and various discretionary practices."

The memorandum states, "To the extent this NMCARS conflicts with policy issued by any previous memorandum, the policy in the memorandum should be considered canceled and/or superseded. However, guidance contained in prior memoranda that does not conflict with this NMCARS remains in effect."

The following are the most noteworthy changes in the NMCARS:

• NMCARS 5201.601-90, Department of the Navy Authorities and Responsibilities, is amended to add certain responsibilities of the Military Sealift Command and the Chief of Naval Research that previously appeared in NAPS Subpart 5208.90, Services of Ships and Crafts.
  
  
• NMCARS 5203.104-7, Violations or Possible Violations, is amended to implement the requirement in paragraph (f) of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 3.104-7 that the head of the agency be notified in accordance with agency procedures before authorizing contract award or execution of a contract modification based on urgent and compelling circumstances. The revised NMCARS 5203.104-7 requires the agency head notification to be submitted to DASN(ACQ). In addition, the head of the contracting activity (HCA) or designee must verify the agency head's receipt of the notification.
  
  
• NAPS 5206.003, Definitions, has been removed because Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 97-22 deleted FAR 6.003 and moved the definition of "procuring activity" to FAR 2.101, Definitions (for more on FAC 97-22, see the January 10, 2001, FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH "Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 97-22, Miscellaneous Amendments"). The definition of "procuring activity" in NAPS 5206.003 was for the sole purpose of enabling the cognizant competition advocate to exercise the approval authority provided by paragraph (a)(2) of FAR 6.304, Approval of the Justification. Therefore, the definition is moved to NMCARS 5206.304, Approval of the Justification.
  
  
• NMCARS 5207.103, Agency-Head Responsibilities, is amended to (1) remove the exception for the preparation of written Acquisition Plans (APs) for certain categories of acquisitions (previousparagraph (c)(ii) of NAPS 5207.103); (2) permit HCAs to tailor the content requirements of FAR 7.105, Contents of Written Acquisition Plans, and Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) 207.105 for such acquisitions; and (3) designate HCAs as responsible for prescribing procedures for the review and approval of acquisitions plans and revisions to those plans.
  
  
• NMCARS 5207.503, Policy, is added to designate the Chief of the Contracting Office (CCO) as the individual responsible for resolving disagreements regarding a requiring official's written determination that none of the functions to be performed under a proposed contract are inherently governmental.
  
  
• NAPS Subpart 5208.4, Ordering from Federal Supply Schedules, is removed.
  
  
• NMCARS Subpart 5208.74, Enterprise Sofware Agreements, is added. It consists of NMCARS 5208.7403, Acquisition Procedures, which designates the HCA as the agency management official authorized to waive the requirement to obtain commercial software or related services through an enterprise software agreement.
  
  
• NMCARS Subpart 5211.2, Using and Maintaining Requirements Documents, is amended to streamline the coverage and rely on existing policy and procedures for managing class I ozone depleting substances as specified in the current OPNAVINST 5090.1B, "Environmental and Natural Resources Program Manual." Unique Navy coverage has been moved to the NMCAG.
  
  
• NMCARS 5215.305, Proposal Evaluation, is amended to require the use of the automated Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) as a source of past performance information when proposal evaluation includes past performance. Other sources may be used as appropriate.
  
  
• NMCARS Subpart 5215.6, Unsolicited Proposals, is added. It consists of NMCARS 5215.606, Agency Procedures, which designates HCAs as being responsible for establishing contact points and procedures for controlling the receipt, evaluation, and timely disposition of unsolicited proposals.
  
  
• NMCARS Subpart 5217.5, Interagency Acquisitions Under the Economy Act, is added. It consists of NMCARS 5217.503, Determinations and Findings Requirements, which establishs Navy-wide policy and procedures for the processing of interagency acquisitions under the Economy Act.
  
  
• NMCARS Part 5225, Foreign Acquisition, has been rewritten and reorganized to conform to the revised DFARS Part 225 (see the March 31, 2003, FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH "Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS); Foreign Acquisition").
  
  
• NAPS 5228.106, Administration, and NAPS 5228.308, Self-Insurance, are removed because the submission of questions and requests for guidance to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Acquisition Management (DASN(ACQ)) regarding bonds, and the referral of matters to DASN(ACQ) concerning self-insurance, should be limited to those circumstances where no other assistance is available.
  
  
• NAPS 5232.908, Contract Clauses, and the "Submission of Invoices" clauses at NAPS 5252.232-9000 through 5252.232-9003 are removed. Invoicing instructions are adequately addressed by FAR Part 32, Contract Financing, the FAR Part 52 prompt payment and payment clauses, and FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items."
  
  
• NMCARS 5233.103, Protests to the Agency, is added to designate HCAs as being responsible for establishing procedures for handling requests for an independent review of a protest at a level above the contracting officer.
  
  
• NMCARS 5237.503, Agency-Head Responsibilities, is added to require that all acquisitions of services in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold comply with the policy and procedures in the "Department of the Navy (DON) Management and Oversight Process for the Acquisition of Services (MOPAS)."
  
  
• NMCARS 5239.001, Applicability, is added to reference the October 18, 2002, ASN(RD&A) memorandum "Information Technology-Related Procurements."
  
  
• NMCARS Subpart 5242.15, Contractor Performance Information, is added. It consists of NMCARS 5242.1503, Procedures, which requires use of the DON Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).
  
  
• NMCAR 5248.103, Processing Value Engineering Change Proposals, is added to designate the HCA as the individual responsible for establishing procedures for processing and evaluating Value Engineering Change Proposals (VECPs).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Panoptic Enterprises at 703-451-5953 or by e-mail to Panoptic@FedGovContracts.com.

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