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(i) acceptance of the property or services by an employee of an agency authorized to accept the property or services; or

(ii) the making of a determination by such an employee, that the performance covered by the payment conforms to the terms and conditions of the contract; (6) in the case of a construction contract, provide for the payment of interest on

(A) a progress payment (including a monthly percentage-of-completion progress payment or milestone payments for completed phases, increments, or segments of any project) that is approved as payable by the agency pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and remains unpaid for

(i) a period of more than 14 days after receipt of the payment request by the place or person designated by the agency to first receive such requests; or

(ii) a longer period, specified in the solicitation, if required to afford the Government a practicable opportunity to adequately inspect the work and to determine the adequacy of the contractor's performance under the contract; and

(B) any amounts which the agency has retained pursuant to a prime contract clause providing for retaining a percentage of progress payments otherwise due to a contractor and that are approved for release to the contractor, if such retained amounts are not paid to the contractor by a date specified in the contract or, in the absence of such a specified date, by the 30th day after final acceptance; (7) require that—

(A) each invoice be reviewed as soon as practicable after receipt for the purpose of determining that such an invoice is a proper invoice within the meaning of section 3901(a)(3) of this title;

(B) any invoice determined not to be such a proper invoice suitable for payment shall be returned as soon as practicable, but not later than 7 days, after receipt, specifying the reasons that the invoice is not a proper invoice; and

(C) the number of days available to an agency to make a timely payment of an invoice without incurring an interest penalty shall be reduced by the number of days by which an agency exceeds the requirements of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph;

(8) permit an agency to make payment up to 7 days prior to the required payment date, or earlier as determined by the agency to be necessary on a case-by-case basis; and

(9) prescribe the methods for computing interest under section 3903(c) 14 of this title.

14 So in law. Probably should refer to subsection (d). See section 1009 of Public Law 106-65 (113 Stat. 738).

(b)(1) A payment request may not be approved under subsection (a)(6)(A) of this section unless the application for such payment includes

(A) substantiation of the amounts requested; and

(B) a certification by the prime contractor, to the best of the contractor's knowledge and belief, that

(i) the amounts requested are only for performance in accordance with the specifications, terms, and conditions of the contract;

(ii) payments to subcontractors and suppliers have been made from previous payments received under the contract, and timely payments will be made from the proceeds of the payment covered by the certification, in accordance with their subcontract agreements and the requirements of this chapter; and

(iii) the application does not include any amounts which the prime contractor intends to withhold or retain from a subcontractor or supplier in accordance with the terms and conditions of their subcontract.

(2) The agency shall return any such payment request which is defective to the contractor within 7 days after receipt, with a statement identifying the defect.

(c) A contract for the procurement of subsistence items that is entered into under the prime vendor program of the Defense Logistics Agency may specify for the purposes of section 3902 of this title a single required payment date that is to be applicable to an invoice for subsistence items furnished under the contract when more than one payment due date would otherwise be applicable to the invoice under the regulations prescribed under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a) or under any other provisions of law. The required payment date specified in the contract shall be consistent with prevailing industry practices for the subsistence items, but may not be more than 10 days after the date of receipt of the invoice or the certified date of receipt of the items. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall provide in the regulations under subsection (a) that when a required payment date is so specified for an invoice, no other payment due date applies to the invoice.

(d)(1) The contracting officer shall

(A) compute the interest which a contractor shall be obligated to pay under sections 3905(a)(2) and 3905(e)(6) of this title on the basis of the average bond equivalent rates of 91day Treasury bills auctioned at the most recent auction of such bills prior to the date the contractor received the unearned amount; and

(B) deduct the interest amount determined under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph from the next available payment to the contractor.

(2) Amounts deducted from payments to contractors under paragraph (1)(B) shall revert to the Treasury.

§ 3904. Limitations on discount payments

The head of an agency offered a discount by a business concern from an amount due under a contract for property or service in ex

change for payment within a specified time may pay the discounted amount only if payment is made within the specified time. For the purpose of the preceding sentence, the specified time shall be determined from the date of the invoice. The head of the agency shall pay an interest penalty on an amount remaining unpaid in violation of this section. The penalty accrues as provided under sections 3902 and 3903 of this title, except that the required payment date for the unpaid amount is the last day specified in the contract that the discounted amount may be paid.

§ 3905. Payment provisions relating to construction contracts

(a) In the event that a contractor, after making a certified payment request to an agency pursuant to section 3903(b) of this title, discovers that a portion or all of such payment request constitutes a payment for performance by such contractor that fails to conform to the specifications, terms, and conditions of its contract (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the "unearned amount"), then the contractor shall

(1) notify the agency of such performance deficiency; and (2) be obligated to pay the Government an amount equal to interest on the unearned amount (computed in the manner provided in section 3903(c) of this title), from the date of the contractor's receipt of such unearned amount until—

(A) the date the contractor notifies the agency that the performance deficiency has been corrected; or

(B) the date the contractor reduces the amount of any subsequent certified application for payment to such agency by an amount equal to the unearned amount.

(b) Each construction contract awarded by an agency shall include a clause that requires the prime contractor to include in each subcontract for property or services entered into by the prime contractor and a subcontractor (including a material supplier) for the purpose of performing such construction contract

(1) a payment clause which obligates the prime contractor to pay the subcontractor for satisfactory performance under its subcontract within 7 days out of such amounts as are paid to the prime contractor by the agency under such contract; and

(2) an interest penalty clause which obligates the prime contractor to pay to the subcontractor an interest penalty on amounts due in the case of each payment not made in accordance with the payment clause included in the subcontract pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection

(A) for the period beginning on the day after the required payment date and ending on the date on which payment of the amount due is made; and

(B) computed at the rate specified by section 3902(a) of this title.

(c) The construction contract awarded by the agency shall further require the prime contractor to include in each of its subcontracts (for the purpose of performance of such construction contract) a provision requiring the subcontractor to include a payment clause and an interest penalty clause conforming to the standards of subsection (b) of this section in each of its subcontracts and to

require each of its subcontractors to include such clauses in their subcontracts with each lower-tier subcontractor or supplier.

(d) The clauses required by subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall not be construed to impair the right of a prime contractor or a subcontractor at any tier to negotiate, and to include in their subcontract, provisions which

(1) permit the prime contractor or a subcontractor to retain (without cause) a specified percentage of each progress payment otherwise due to a subcontractor for satisfactory performance under the subcontract, without incurring any obligation to pay a late payment interest penalty, in accordance with terms and conditions agreed to by the parties to the subcontract, giving such recognition as the parties deem appropriate to the ability of a subcontractor to furnish a performance bond and a payment bond;

(2) permit the contractor or subcontractor to make a determination that part or all of the subcontractor's request for payment may be withheld in accordance with the subcontract agreement; and

(3) permit such withholding without incurring any obligation to pay a late payment penalty if—

(A) a notice conforming to the standards of subsection (g) of this section has been previously furnished to the subcontractor; and

(B) a copy of any notice issued by a prime contractor pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph has been furnished to the Government.

(e) If a prime contractor, after making application to an agency for payment under a contract but before making a payment to a subcontractor for the subcontractor's performance covered by such application, discovers that all or a portion of the payment otherwise due such subcontractor is subject to withholding from the subcontractor in accordance with the subcontract agreement, then the prime contractor shall

(1) furnish to the subcontractor a notice conforming to the standards of subsection (g) of this section as soon as practicable upon ascertaining the cause giving rise to a withholding, but prior to the due date for subcontractor payment;

(2) furnish to the Government, as soon as practicable, a copy of the notice furnished to the subcontractor pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection;

(3) reduce the subcontractor's progress payment by an amount not to exceed the amount specified in the notice of withholding furnished under paragraph (1) of this subsection; (4) pay the subcontractor as soon as practicable after the correction of the identified subcontract performance deficiency, and

(A) make such payment within

(i) 7 days after correction of the identified subcontract performance deficiency (unless the funds therefor must be recovered from the Government because of a reduction under paragraph (5)(A)); or

(ii) 7 days after the contractor recovers such funds from the Government; or

(B) incur an obligation to pay a late payment interest penalty computed at the rate specified by section 3902(a) of this title;

(5) notify the Government, upon

(A) reduction of the amount of any subsequent certified application for payment; or

(B) payment to the subcontractor of any withheld amounts of a progress payment, specifying—

(i) the amounts of the progress payments withheld under paragraph (1) of this subsection; and

(ii) the dates that such withholding began and ended; and

(6) be obligated to pay to the Government an amount equal to interest on the withheld payments (computed in the manner provided in section 3903(c) of this title), from the 8th day after receipt of the withheld amounts from the Government until

(A) the day the identified subcontractor performance deficiency is corrected; or

(B) the date that any subsequent payment is reduced under paragraph (5)(A).

(f)(1) If a prime contractor, after making payment to a first-tier subcontractor, receives from a supplier or subcontractor of the firsttier subcontractor (hereafter referred to as a "second-tier subcontractor") a written notice in accordance with section 3133(b) of title 40, asserting a deficiency in such first-tier subcontractor's performance under the contract for which the prime contractor may be ultimately liable, and the prime contractor determines that all or a portion of future payments otherwise due such first-tier subcontractor is subject to withholding in accordance with the subcontract agreement, then the prime contractor may, without incurring an obligation to pay an interest penalty under subsection (e)(6) of this section

(A) furnish to the first-tier subcontractor a notice conforming to the standards of subsection (g) of this section as soon as practicable upon making such determination; and

(B) withhold from the first-tier subcontractor's next available progress payment or payments an amount not to exceed the amount specified in the notice of withholding furnished under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(2) As soon as practicable, but not later than 7 days after receipt of satisfactory written notification that the identified subcontract performance deficiency has been corrected, the prime contractor shall pay the amount withheld under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection to such first-tier subcontractor, or shall incur an obligation to pay a late payment interest penalty to such first-tier subcontractor computed at the rate specified by section 3902(a) of this title.

(g) A written notice of any withholding shall be issued to a subcontractor (with a copy to the Government of any such notice issued by a prime contractor), specifying—

(1) the amount to be withheld;

(2) the specific causes for the withholding under the terms of the subcontract; and

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