limited participation in covered transactions assumed by a person pursuant to the terms of a settlement.

[53 FR 19177, 19204, May 26, 1988, as amended at 60 FR 33041, 33044, June 26, 1995.

§ 26.110 Coverage.

(a) These regulations apply to all persons who have participated, are currently participating or may reasonably be expected to participate in transactions under Federal nonprocurement programs. For purposes of these regulations such transactions will be referred to as "covered transactions.'

(1) Covered transaction. For purposes of these regulations, a covered transaction is a primary covered transaction or a lower tier covered transaction. Covered transactions at any tier need not involve the transfer of Federal funds.

(i) Primary covered transaction. Except as noted in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a primary covered transaction is any nonprocurement transaction between an agency and a person, regardless of type, including: grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, contracts of assistance, loans, loan guarantees, subsidies, insurance, payments for specified use, donation agreements and any other nonprocurement transactions between a Federal agency and a person. Primary covered transactions also include those transactions specially designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in such agency's regulations governing debarment and suspension.

(ii) Lower tier covered transaction. A lower tier covered transaction is:

(A) Any transaction between a participant and a person other than a procurement contract for goods or services, regardless of type, under a primary covered transaction.

(B) Any procurement contract for goods or services between a participant and a person, regardless of type, expected to equal or exceed the Federal procurement small purchase threshold fixed at 10 U.S.C. 2304(g) and 41 U.S.C. 253(g) (currently $25,000) under a primary covered transaction.

(C) Any procurement contract for goods or services between a participant and a person under a covered trans

action, regardless of amount, under which that person will have a critical influence on or substantive control over that covered transaction. Such persons are:

(1) Principal investigators.

(2) Providers of federally-required audit services.

(2) Exceptions. The following transactions are not covered:

(i) Statutory entitlements or mandatory awards (but not subtier awards thereunder which are not themselves mandatory), including deposited funds insured by the Federal Government;

(ii) Direct awards to foreign governments or public international organizations, or transactions with foreign governments or foreign governmental entities, public international organizations, foreign government owned (in whole or in part) or controlled entities, entities consisting wholly or partially of foreign governments or foreign governmental entities;

(iii) Benefits to an individual as a personal entitlement without regard to the individual's present responsibility (but benefits received in an individual's business capacity are not excepted);

(iv) Federal employment;

(v) Transactions pursuant to national or agency-recognized emergencies or disasters;

(vi) Incidental benefits derived from ordinary governmental operations; and (vii) Other transactions where the application of these regulations would be prohibited by law.

(3) Department of Commerce covered transactions. These Department of Commerce regulations apply to the Department's domestic assistance covered transactions (whether by a Federal agency, recipient, subrecipient, or intermediary) including, except as noted in paragraph (a)(2) of this section: grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, loans, loan guarantees, subsidies, insurance, payments for specified use, and donation agreement subawards, subcontracts and transactions at any tier that are charges as direct or indirect costs, regardless of type (including subtier awards under awards which are statutory entitlement or mandatory awards).

(b) Relationship to other sections. This section describes the types of transactions to which a debarment or suspension under the regulations will apply. Subpart B, "Effect of Action, § 26.200, "Debarment or suspension,' sets forth the consequences of a debarment or suspension. Those consequences would obtain only with respect to participants and principals in the covered transactions and activities described in §26.110(a). Sections 26.325, "Scope of debarment," and 26.420, "Scope of suspension," govern the extent to which a specific participant or organizational elements of a participant would be automatically included within a debarment or suspension action, and the conditions under which affiliates or persons associated with a participant may also be brought within the scope of the action.

(c) Relationship to Federal procurement activities. In accordance with E.O. 12689 and section 2455 of Public Law 103–355, any debarment, suspension, proposed debarment or other governmentwide exclusion initiated under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) on or after August 25, 1995 shall be recognized by and effective for Executive Branch agencies and participants as an exclusion under this regulation. Similarly, any debarment, suspension or other governmentwide exclusion initiated under this regulation on or after August 25, 1995 shall be recognized by and effective for those agencies as a debarment or suspension under the FAR. [53 FR 19177, 19204, May 26, 1988, as amended at 53 FR 19178, May 26, 1988, 60 FR 33041, 33044, June 26, 1995]

§ 26.115 Policy.

(a) In order to protect the public interest, it is the policy of the Federal Government to conduct business only with responsible persons. Debarment and suspension are discretionary actions that, taken in accordance with Executive Order 12549 and these regulations, are appropriate means to implement this policy.

(b) Debarment and suspension are serious actions which shall be used only in the public interest and for the Federal Government's protection and not for purposes of punishment. Agencies may impose debarment or suspension

for the causes and in accordance with the procedures set forth in these regulations.

(c) When more than one agency has an interest in the proposed debarment or suspension of a person, consideration shall be given to designating one agency as the lead agency for making the decision. Agencies are encouraged to establish methods and procedures for coordinating their debarment or suspension actions.

Subpart B-Effect of Actions

§ 26.200 Debarment or suspension.

(a) Primary covered transactions. Except to the extent prohibited by law, persons who are debarred or suspended shall be excluded from primary covered transactions as either participants or principals throughout the Executive Branch of the Federal Government for the period of their debarment, suspension, or the period they are proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4. Accordingly, no agency shall enter into primary covered transactions with such excluded persons during such period, except as permitted pursuant to § 26.215.

(b) Lower tier covered transactions. Except to the extent prohibited by law, persons who have been proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, debarred or suspended shall be excluded from participating as either participants or principals in all lower tier covered transactions (see § 26.110(a)(1)(ii)) for the period of their exclusion.

(c) Exceptions. Debarment or suspension does not affect a person's eligibility for

(1) Statutory entitlements or mandatory awards (but not subtier awards thereunder which are not themselves mandatory), including deposited funds insured by the Federal Government;

(2) Direct awards to foreign governments or public international organizations, or transactions with foreign governments or foreign governmental entities, public international organizations, foreign government owned (in whole or in part) or controlled entities, and entities consisting wholly or partially of foreign governments or foreign governmental entities;

(3) Benefits to an individual as a personal entitlement without regard to the individual's present responsibility (but benefits received in an individual's business capacity are not excepted);

(4) Federal employment;

(5) Transactions pursuant to national or agency-recognized emergencies or disasters;

(6) Incidental benefits derived from ordinary governmental operations; and

(7) Other transactions where the application of these regulations would be prohibited by law.

[60 FR 33041, 33044, June 26, 1995]

§ 26.205 Ineligible persons.

Persons who are ineligible, as defined in §26.105(i), are excluded in accordance with the applicable statutory, executive order, or regulatory authority.

§ 26.210 Voluntary exclusion.

Persons who accept voluntary exclusions under §26.315 are excluded in accordance with the terms of their settlements. Department of Commerce shall, and participants may, contact the original action agency to ascertain the extent of the exclusion.

§ 26.215 Exception provision.

a

The Department of Commerce may grant an exception permitting debarred, suspended, or voluntarily excluded person, or a person proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, to participate in a particular covered transaction upon a written determination by the agency head or an authorized designee stating the reason(s) for deviating from the Presidential policy established by Executive Order 12549 and §26.200. However, in accordance with the President's stated intention in the Executive Order, exceptions shall be granted only infrequently. Exceptions shall be reported in accordance with §26.505(a).

[60 FR 33041, 33044, June 26, 1995]

$26.220 Continuation of covered transactions.

(a) Notwithstanding the debarment, suspension, proposed debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, determination of ineligibility, or voluntary ex

clusion of any person by an agency, agencies and participants may continue covered transactions in existence at the time the person was debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded. A decision as to the type of termination action, if any, to be taken should be made only after thorough review to ensure the propriety of the proposed action.

(b) Agencies and participants shall not renew or extend covered transactions (other than no-cost time extensions) with any person who is debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, ineligible or voluntary excluded, except as provided in § 26.215.

[60 FR 33041, 33044, June 26, 1995]

§ 26.225 Failure to adhere to restrictions.

(a) Except as permitted under $26.215 or §26.220, a participant shall not knowingly do business under a covered transaction with a person who is—

(1) Debarred or suspended;

(2) Proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4; or

(3) Ineligible for or voluntarily excluded from the covered transaction.

(b) Violation of the restriction under paragraph (a) of this section may result in disallowance of costs, annulment or termination of award, issuance of a stop work order, debarment or suspension, or other remedies as appropriate.

(c) A participant may rely upon the certification of a prospective participant in a lower tier covered transaction that it and its principals are not debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from the covered transaction (See appendix B of these regulations), unless it knows that the certification is erroneous. An agency has the burden of proof that a participant did knowingly do business with a person that filed an erroneous certification.

[60 FR 33041, 33044, June 26, 1995]

Subpart C-Debarment

§ 26.300 General.

The debarring official may debar a person for any of the causes in §26.305, using procedures established in §§ 26.310 through 26.314. The existence of a cause for debarment, however, does not necessarily require that the person be debarred; the seriousness of the person's acts or omissions and any mitigating factors shall be considered in making any debarment decision.

§ 26.305 Causes for debarment.

Debarment may be imposed in accordance with the provisions of §§ 26.300 through 26.314 for:

(a) Conviction of or civil judgment for:

(1) Commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public or private agreement or transaction;

(2) Violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes, including those proscribing price fixing between competitors, allocation of customers between competitors, and bid rigging;

(3) Commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, receiving stolen property, making false claims, or obstruction of justice; or

(4) Commission of any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty that seriously and directly affects the present responsibility of a person.

(b) Violation of the terms of a public agreement or transaction so serious as to affect the integrity of an agency program, such as:

(1) A willful failure to perform in accordance with the terms of one or more public agreements or transactions;

(2) A history of failure to perform or of unsatisfactory performance of one or more public public agreements or transactions; or

(3) A willful violation of a statutory or regulatory provision or requirement applicable to a public agreement or transaction.

(c) Any of the following causes: (1) A nonprocurement debarment by any Federal agency taken before Octo

ber 1, 1988, the effective date of these regulations, or a procurement debarment by any Federal agency taken pursuant to 48 CFR subpart 9.4;

(2) Knowingly doing business with a debarred, suspended, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded person, in connection with a covered transaction, except as permitted in § 26.215 or § 26.220;

(3) Failure to pay a single substantial debt, or a number of outstanding debts (including disallowed costs and overpayments, but not including sums owed the Federal Government under the Internal Revenue Code) owed to any Federal agency or instrumentality, provided the debt is uncontested by the debtor or, if contested, provided that the debtor's legal and administrative remedies have been exhausted;

(4) Violation of a material provision of a voluntary exclusion agreement entered into under §26.315 or of any settlement of a debarment or suspension action; or

(5) Violation of any requirement of subpart F of this part, relating to providing a drug-free workplace, as set forth in §26.615 of this part.

(d) Any other cause of so serious or compelling a nature that it affects the present responsibility of a person.

[53 FR 19177, 19204, May 26, 1988, as amended at 54 FR 4950 and 4954, Jan. 31, 1989]

§ 26.310 Procedures.

Department of Commerce shall process debarment actions as informally as practicable, consistent with the principles of fundamental fairness, using the procedures in §§ 26.311 through 26.314.

§ 26.311 Investigation and referral. Information concerning the existence of a cause for debarment from any source shall be promptly reported, investigated, and referred, when appropriate, to the debarring official for consideration. After consideration, the debarring official may issue a notice of proposed debarment.

§ 26.312 Notice of proposed debarment. A debarment proceeding shall be initiated by notice to the respondent advising:

(a) That debarment is being considered;

(b) Additional proceedings as to disputed material facts. (1) In actions not based upon a conviction or civil judgment, if the debarring official finds that the respondent's submission in opposition raises a genuine dispute over facts material to the proposed debarment, respondent(s) shall be afforded an opportunity to appear with a representative, submit documentary evidence, present witnesses, and confront any witness the agency presents.

(2) A transcribed record of any additional proceedings shall be made available at cost to the respondent, upon request, unless the respondent and the agency, by mutual agreement, waive the requirement for a transcript.

§ 26.314 Debarring official's decision.

(a) No additional proceedings necessary. In actions based upon a conviction or civil judgment, or in which there is no genuine dispute over material facts, the debarring official shall make a decision on the basis of all the information in the administrative record, including any submission made by the respondent. The decision shall be made within 45 days after receipt of any information and argument submitted by the respondent, unless the debarring official extends this period for good

cause.

(b) Additional proceedings necessary. (1) In actions in which additional proceedings are necessary to determine disputed material facts, written findings of fact shall be prepared. The debarring official shall base the decision on the facts as found, together with any information and argument submitted by the respondent and any other information in the administrative record.

(2) The debarring official may refer disputed material facts to another official for findings of fact. The debarring official may reject any such findings, in whole or in part, only after specifically determining them to be arbitrary and capricious or clearly erroneous.

(3) The debarring official's decision shall be made after the conclusion of the proceedings with respect to disputed facts.

(c)(1) Standard of proof. In any debarment action, the cause for debarment must be established by a preponderance of the evidence. Where the proposed debarment is based upon a conviction or civil judgment, the standard shall be deemed to have been met.

(2) Burden of proof. The burden of proof is on the agency proposing debarment.

(d) Notice of debarring official's decision. (1) If the debarring official decides to impose debarment, the respondent shall be given prompt notice:

(i) Referring to the notice of proposed debarment;

(ii) Specifying the reasons for debarment;

(iii) Stating the period of debarment, including effective dates; and

(iv) Advising that the debarment is effective for covered transactions throughout the executive branch of the Federal Government unless an agency head or an authorized designee makes the determination referred to in § 26.215.

(2) If the debarring official decides not to impose debarment, the respondent shall be given prompt notice of that decision. A decision not to impose debarment shall be without prejudice to a subsequent imposition of debarment by any other agency.