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Panoptic Enterprises' FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH

DATE: January 27, 2004

SUBJECT: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); Electronic Representations and Certifications

SOURCE: Federal Register, January 27, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 17 page 4011

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

ACTION: Proposed Rule

SYNOPSIS: It is proposed that the FAR be amended to require offerors to submit representations and certifications electronically through the Business Partner Network (BPN) annually unless certain exceptions apply.

DATES: Comments are due on or before March 29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to General Services Administration, FAR Secretariat (MVP), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, ATTN: Laurie Duarte, Washington, DC 20405, or by e-mail to farcase.2002-024@gsa.gov. Cite "FAR Case 2002-024" in all correspondence related to this proposed rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeritta Parnell, 202-501-4082.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: Currently, the FAR requires bidders and offerors to complete certain representations and certifications for each bid or offer they submit. One of the Integrated Acquisition Environment's (IAE) initiatives is to eliminate the administrative burden on offerors who must submit the same information to various contracting offices. This proposed rule would amend the FAR to require that representations and certifications be completed on-line through the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) portion of the BPN at least annually, and these representations and certifications would be available to contracting officers throughout the government. As part of this process, ORCA will use certain information that a contractor has already provided in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database (http://www.ccr.gov). Therefore, this requirement would apply only to bidders and offerors that are required to register in the CCR database.

This proposed rule would make the following changes to the FAR:

• Paragraph (a) of FAR 14.201-5, Part IV -- Representations and Instructions, would be amended to require that FAR 52.214-30, Annual Representations and Certifications -- Sealed Bidding, be included in Section K, Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Bidders, of the Invitation For Bids (IFB) to permit electronic submission of certain representations and certification when CCR registration is required.
  
  
• Paragraph (u) of FAR 14.201-6, Solicitation Provisions, would be amended to require that FAR 52.214-30 be included in IFBs that contain FAR 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration.
  
  
• FAR 14.213, Annual Submission of Representations and Certifications, would be amended to require annual representations and certifications be submitted through the BPN at http://www.bpn.gov in conjunction with registration in the CCR unless the IFB falls under one of the exceptions in paragraph (a) of FAR 4.1102, Policy (such as classified contracts, contracts issued in the course of military operations or emergency operations, purchases for urgent and compelling needs, or awards made to foreign vendors for work performed outside the United States). "Offerors (sic) shall update the representations and certifications as necessary, but at least annually to ensure they are kept current, accurate, and complete. The representations and certifications are effective until one year from date of submission or update."
  
  If FAR 14.204-30 is included in the IFB, contracting officers would be required to exclude the following from the IFB:
  
  
  • FAR 52.203-2, Certificate of Independent Price Determination
    
    
  • FAR 52.203-11, Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain Transactions
    
    
  • FAR 52.204-3, Taxpayer Identification
    
    
  • FAR 52.204-5, Women-Owned Business (Other Than Small Business)
    
    
  • FAR 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Proposed Debarment, and Other Responsibility Matters
    
    
  • FAR 52.214-14, Place of Performance Sealed Bidding
    
    
  • FAR 52.215-6, Place of Performance
    
    
  • FAR 52.219-1, Small Business Program Representations (Basic and Alternate I)
    
    
  • FAR 52.219-2, Equal Low Bids
    
    
  • FAR 52.219-19, Small Business Concern Representation for the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program
    
    
  • FAR 52.219-21, Small Business Size Representation for Targeted Industry Categories Under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program
    
    
  • FAR 52.219-22, Small Disadvantaged Business Status (Basic and Alternate I)
    
    
  • FAR 52.222-18, Certification Regarding Knowledge of Child Labor for Listed End Products
    
    
  • FAR 52.222-22, Previous Contracts and Compliance Reports
    
    
  • FAR 52.222-25, Affirmative Action Compliance
    
    
  • FAR 52.222-48, Exemption from Application of Service Contract Act Provisions for Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, and/or Repair of Certain Information Technology, Scientific and Medical and/or Office and Business Equipment Contractor Certification
    
    
  • FAR 52.223-4, Recovered Material Certification
    
    
  • FAR 52.223-9, Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for EPA-Designated Products (Alternate I only)
    
    
  • FAR 52.223-13, Certification of Toxic Chemical Release Reporting
    
    
  • FAR 52.225-2, Buy American Act Certificate
    
    
  • FAR 52.225-4, Buy American Act -- Free Trade Agreements -- Israeli Trade Act Certificate (Basic, Alternate I and II)
    
    
  • FAR 52.225-6, Trade Agreements Certificate
    
    
  • FAR 52.226-2, Historically Black College or University and Minority Institution Representation
    
    
  • FAR 52.227-6, Royalty Information (Basic and Alternate I)
    
    
  • FAR 52.227-15, Representation of Limited Rights Data and Restricted Computer Software
  
  
• FAR 15.204-5, Part IV -- Representations and Instructions, would be amended to require that FAR 52.215-7, Annual Representations and Certifications -- Negotiation, be included in Section K, Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Bidders, of the Request For Proposals (RFP) to permit electronic submission of certain representations and certification when CCR registration is required.
  
  
• FAR 15.209, Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses, would be amended to require the contracting officer to include FAR 52.215-7 in RFPs that contain FAR 52.204-7, and exclude the representations and certifications identified in FAR 14.204-30.
  
  
• FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications, FAR 52.214-30, and FAR 52.215-7 would be amended to have the bidder/offeror verify that: (1) it has completed the annual representations and certifications through the BPN and, (2) the representations and certifications are either: (i) current, accurate, and complete as of the date of the bid or offer; or (ii) current, accurate, and complete as of the date of the bid or offer except for specified clauses.

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

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