i.

Was sent by registered or certified mail not later than
the fifth calendar day before the date specified for
receipt of offers (e.g., an offer submitted in response
to a solicitation requiring receipt of offers by the
18th of the month must have been mailed by the 13th);

ii.

Was sent by mail and it is determined by the Government that the late receipt was due solely to mishandling by the Government after receipt at the Government installation; or

(b) Any modification of a proposal or quotation, except a modification resulting from a request for "best and final" offer, is subject to the same conditions as in subparagraphs (a)(i) and (ii) above.

(c) A modification resulting from a request for "best and final" offer received after the time and date specified in the request will not be considered unless received before award and the late receipt is due solely to mishandling by the Government after receipt at the Government installation.

(d) The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a late proposal or modification sent either by registered or certified mail is the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service postmark on the wrapper or on the original receipt from the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service. If neither postmark shows a legible date, the proposal, quotation, or modification shall be processed as if mailed late. "Postmark" means a printed, stamped, or otherwise placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) that is readily identifiable without further action as having been supplied and affixed by employees of the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service on the date of mailing. Therefore, offerors or quoters should request the postal clerks to place a hand cancellation bull's-eye postmark on both the receipt and the envelope or wrapper.

(e) The only acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation is the time/date stamp of that installation on the proposal wrapper or other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation.

(f) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) above, a late modification of an otherwise successful proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the Government will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

(g) Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice or telegram

(including mailgram) received at any time before award. Proposals may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or an authorized representative, if the representative's identity is made known and the representative signs a receipt for the proposal before award.

35. EXPLANATION TO PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS

A prospective offeror who would like an explanation or interpretation
of this PON must submit a written request for such explanation or
interpretation to the Procurement Board Member in time to allow the
reply to reach all prospective offerors before the submission of
their offers. In order to ensure that requests for explanation or
interpretation will be considered, the requests actually must be
received by the Procurement Board Member by 3:30 p.m., Washington,
D.C., time, on April 4, 1986. Oral explanations or instructions
provided before the award of the cooperative agreement are not
binding. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning
this PON will be furnished promptly to all other prospective offerors
as an amendment of the PON, if that information is necessary in
submitting offers or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any
other prospective offerors.

36. FAILURE TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL

Recipients of this PON who choose not to submit a proposal should not
return this PON. However, they should indicate by letter or postcard
to the Procurement Board Member whether they want to receive future
solicitations for similar requirements. If a recipient does not
submit an offer and does not so notify that future solicitations are
desired, the recipient's name may be removed from the applicable
mailing list. Accordingly, it is essential that recipients complete
and return the "Intention to Propose" form provided as Appendix M
of this PON.

37. AWARD OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

(a) The Government intends to provide financial assistance through cost-shared cooperative agreements resulting from this PON to those responsible offerors who submit proposals which conform to this PON and are determined to be most advantageous to the Government following consideration of the evaluation criteria and program policy factors as specified in this PON.

(b) The Government may (1) reject any or all offers, (2) accept for support any proposal, in whole or in part, and (3) waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received.

(c) The Government may award financial assistance on the basis of

initial offers received, without discussions. Therefore, each initial offer should contain the offeror's best possible terms from technical, cost, and business and management standpoints.

(d) A written award or acceptance of offer mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer shall result in a binding agreement without further action by either party. Before the offeror's specified expiration time (see SECTION III.7, "Offer Acceptance Period"), the Government may accept an offer whether or not there are discussions after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(e) If the resulting agreement contains a clause providing for price reduction for defective cost or pricing data, the negotiated cost (including the Government's cost-share) will be subject to reduction if cost or pricing data furnished are incomplete, inaccurate, or not current.

38. RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL DATA

The section of this PON that describes the work to be performed
also sets forth DOE's known requirements for technical data.
The Additional Technical Data Requirements clause (see Appendix
B, "Model Cooperative Agreement") provides the Government