Subpart 5-1.3-General Policies

SOURCE: The provisions of this Subpart 5-1.3 appear at 26 F.R. 6199, July 11, 1961, unless otherwise noted.

§ 5-1.302 Procurement sources.

§ 5-1.302-50 Employees of the Federal Government.

No contract for the procurement of personal property or nonpersonal services (including construction) shall be entered into with any employee of the Federal Government or with any firm substantially owned or controlled by one or more employees of the Federal Government, except for the most cogent reasons and only with the approval of the head of the service or staff office con'ducting the procurement.

§ 5-1.305 Specifications.

§ 5-1.305-2 Exceptions to mandatory use of Federal Specifications. Pursuant to § 1-1.305-2(f), when an Interim Federal Specification exists for a specific item which is also described in a Federal Specification, procuring activities shall use the Interim Federal Specification in lieu of the Federal Specification upon determination that the Federal Specification is not suitable for the specific application.

§ 5-1.305-3 Deviations from Federal Specifications.

Any deviation from a Federal Specification contemplated under § 1-1.305-3 shall be submitted to the Commissioner, FSS, or his designee, for approval prior to use. The request shall include a statement describing the deviation, with justification therefor and, where applicable, a recommendation for revision or amendment of the specification.

§ 5-1.305-4 Optional use of Interim Federal Specifications.

§ 5-1.305-6 Military and departmental specifications.

In the absence of a Federal Specification or Interim Federal Specification, military and departmental specifications shall be considered. The selection of the most appropriate specification is for determination by the contracting officer. § 5-1.305-50 Use and availability of specifications and standards.

(a) Rescinded or superseded specifications or standards shall not be used.

(b) Generally, specifications and standards shall be included by reference in invitations for bids and requests for proposals. The reference shall fully identify the specification or standard by type (e.g., Fed. Spec., Int. Fed. Spec., MIL, etc.) and number, and shall include amendments, supplements, and revisions, if any. The date should also be given if the number reference is not sufficient to identify the specification or standard beyond question.

(c) Business Service Centers stock most Federal, Interim Federal and GSA specifications, and Federal Standards, for issue in limited quantities to the general public without charge. When an invitation refers to a specification or standard not normally available from Business Service Centers, the contracting officer shall arrange, with appropriate Busines Service Centers or otherwise, to make copies available to bidders. The invitation or request shall state where copies of required specifications and standards can be obtained.

(d) When, prior to the time set for the opening of bids or receipt of proposals, the contracting officer discovers that an incorrect specification has been cited (e.g., not current, number and title do not agree, number and date do not agree, etc.), he shall take immediate corrective action. All prospective bidders who were sent the invitation shall be notified by amendment (see § 1-2.207), citing the correct specification. If the citation of an incorrect specification is not discovered until after bids have been opened, all bids should ordinarily be rejected and the requirement readvertised; but if the requirement is urgent or the deviation between the cited specification and the correct one is immaterial, and award based on the incorrent specification is considered in the best interest of the Government, the head of the procuring activity may authorize such

award. When an award has been made, based on an incorrect specification undiscovered prior to award, contractors shall be required to comply with the specification cited in the contract unless cancellation is accomplished for the best interest of the Government, or unless the contractor agrees to deliver a superior product under the correct specification at the bid price.

§ 5-1.307 Purchase descriptions.

In general, repeated use of the same purchase description indicates that consideration should be given to developing a specification. In such cases procuring activities shall forward an appropriate recommendation through channels, together with a complete description of the item, to the Standardization Division, FSS, for necessary action.

(a) Before a liquidated damages provision is included in a supply or service contract, other than construction, approval is required of the Head of the Service or Staff Office involved, or his designees.

(b) A liquidated damages provision shall be included in all construction contracts, except where a justification to omit such provision is approved by the Head of the Service or Staff Office involved or his designees. For purpose of this section, the term "construction" includes repair, alteration, and improvement.

[28 F.R. 4561, May 7, 1963, as amended at 28 F.R. 13840, Dec. 19, 1963]

§ 5-1.317 Noncollusive bids and proposals.

Authority to determine that a disclosure was not made with collusive intent under paragraph (d) of the certification prescribed in § 1-1.317 is vested in the Head of the Central Office Service or Staff Office concerned, with authority to redelegate to officials not below the level of head of a procuring activity, and Regional Administrators. All determinations require concurrence by the Office of General Counsel at the level of Assistant General Counsel or above.

[29 F.R. 231, Jan. 9, 1964]

Advance notice of award shall be in writing over the signature of the contracting officer except as otherwise authorized in this § 5-1.350. When an advance notice of award is issued, it shall be followed as soon as possible by the formal contract document. [26 F.R. 10354, Nov. 3, 1961]

§ 5-1.350-1 Circumstances which warrant advance notice.

Advance notices of contract award may be issued by contracting officers under any one or more of the circumstances listed in this § 5-1.350-1 and § 5-1.350-3.

(a) A bid or offer is about to expire and it is necessary to issue an award notice promptly.

(b) Prompt action is necessary to afford the contractor an opportunity to secure necessary materials.

(c) Delivery or performance is urgent and cannot await release of formal contract documents.

(d) Contract involves work of an urgent nature and it is essential that the contractor rush all preliminaries prior to actual starting of work.

(e) Prompt action is necessary to secure advance predelivery samples on contracts.

(f) Prompt action is necessary to permit contractors to proceed with preparation of necessary catalogs and other Federal Supply Schedule data.

(g) A prospective contractor requests advice, orally or in writing, as to whether he is to receive the award, and gives good and sufficient reasons to the satisfaction of the contracting officer, why advance notice is desirable.

(h) Other compelling circumstances exist, but only with the approval of the head of the procuring activity. [26 FR. 10354, Nov. 3, 1961]

§ 5-1.350-2 Telegraphic notices.

When justified, contracting officers may issue telegraphic notices. Such notices shall contain in addition to the requirements set forth in § 5-1.350-4, a statement that written confirmation will follow. Such confirmation shall be issued without delay.

[26 FR. 10354, Nov. 3, 1961]

§ 5-1.350-3 Oral notices.

Oral notices shall not be used, except as authorized in this § 5-1.350-3. Such notices shall include a statement that written confirmation will follow, and such confirmation shall be issued without delay.

(a) Oral notices may be issued by DMS in negotiating the procurement of rubber and cordage fibers.

(b) Oral notices may be issued by TCS in negotiating the procurement of transportation and related services when the exigencies of the situation will not admit of delay, and when security regulations preclude telegraphic notice of award.

[27 F.R. 10354, Nov. 3, 1961]

§ 5-1.350-4 Content of notice.

The content of advance notices of award may vary, but shall contain all of the essential elements to identify the award, such as: identification of invitation, description of item, quantity and price, and contract number assigned. Care should be taken to avoid the use of language which might in any way vary from the terms of the offer.

[26 FR. 10354, Nov. 3, 1961]

§ 5-1.352 Contract numbering. [27 FR. 6830, July 19, 1962]

§ 5-1.352-1 Contracts required to be numbered.

For identification and control, all contracts involving the payment of $20,000 or more in a single payment and all multiple-payment contracts, regardless of amount, shall be numbered. Contracts involving the payment of less than $20,000 in a single payment may or may not be numbered depending upon the needs of the procuring activity. In case of doubt whether the amount to be paid

under a contract is more or less than $20,000 or whether more than one payment may be necessary, the contract shall be numbered.

[27 F.R. 6830, July 19, 1962]

§ 5-1.352-2 System of numbering.

(a) Contract numbers shall be placed in the space provided therefor on the contract form, or, if no such space is provided, in the upper right corner of the contract separate from all other information and identified as such.

(b) Each series of contract numbers shall be assigned by the procuring activity in numerical sequence beginning with number 1 and going through 99,999 without regard to the fiscal year. Contracts beyond 99,999 shall be assigned a new series of numbers beginning with number 1. A separate series of numbers shall be used for each type of contract or procurement program where the use of a single series of numbers by the procuring activity is impractical. Records shall be maintained by the procuring activity to insure the continuity and control of numbers assigned.

(c) Each contract number shall be prefixed by use of the symbol "GS", followed by a dash and the appropriate location and procuring activity designation set forth in paragraphs (d) and (e), of this section.

(d) The following designations shall be used to identify the Central Office or GSA region in which the procuring activity is located:

Central Office

00

01

Region 1

02

Region 2

03

Region 3

04

Region 4

05 Region 5

06 Region 6

07 Region 7

08 Region 8 09 Region 9 10 Region 10

P

S

Federal Supply Service

B Public Buildings Service

T

Transportation and Communications Service

U

Utilization and Disposal Service

R

National Archives and Records Service