an operations memorandum, Subject: Finance. A signed copy of the contract with related SF-1036 shall be placed in the contract file (§ 6-1.351-4) and, if feasible, a signed copy furnished the contractor. (b) FBO series. The signed original and one signed copy of both the contract and the SF-1036 shall be forwarded to the Department with an operations memorandum, Subject: Buildings. The memorandum shall specify the appropriation against which the contract will be paid and shall refer to the Departmental authority, if any, under which the contract was consummated. A signed copy of the contract with a SF-1036 shall be placed in the contract file and, if feasible, a signed copy furnished the contractor. (c) Where the law of a foreign country requires that the original of a contract be retained in the country, a signed copy shall be forwarded to the Department in lieu of the original. (d) Department's Washington series. The signed original together with the original SF-1036 if required shall be forwarded to the Department's Office of Finance. One signed copy shall be retained in the contract file and, if feasible, one copy shall be furnished to the contractor. [30 F.R. 7247, May 29, 1965] "Written contract." For the purpose of this section, the term "written contract" means a contract made in writing and signed by both of the parties thereto. Such a contract may be a single document bearing the signatures of both parties or a group of documents properly signed. For example, when competitive bids are obtained, the written contract will normally consist of an invitation to bid issued by a contracting officer, an offer signed by the supplier and an acceptance of offer signed by a contracting officer. [28 F.R. 7779, July 31, 1963] § 6-1.352-2 Distribution. (a) Post series. Written contracts numbered in the post series under § 6-1.351-3 (a) shall be distributed as follows: (1) The signed original together with the original of the SF-1036 (see §§ 6-2.407-7 and 6-3.250) shall be for warded to the Department under cover of an operations memorandum, Subject: Finance. (2) One signed copy shall be furnished to the contractor whenever feasible. (3) One signed copy shall be retained in the contract file. (b) FBO series. Written contracts numbered in the FBO series under § 6-1.351-3(b) shall be distributed as follows: (1) The signed original and one signed copy together with the original and one copy of the SF-1036 (see §§ 6-2.407-7 and 6-3.250) shall be forwarded to the Department by operations memorandum, Subject: Buildings. The transmittal shall specify the appropriation against which the contract will be paid and shall refer to the Departmental authority, if any, by which the contract was entered into. (2) One signed copy shall be furnished to the contractor. (3) One signed copy shall be retained in the contract file. (c) Department's Washington series. Written contracts numbered in the Department's Washington series under § 6-1.351-3(c) shall be distributed as follows: (1) The signed original together with the original of the SF-1036, if required shall be forwarded to the Department's Office of Finance. (2) One signed copy shall be furnished to the contractor. (3) One signed copy shall be retained in the contract file. (d) Where the law of a foreign country requires that the original of a written contract be retained in the country, a signed copy shall be forwarded to the Department in lieu of the original. [29 F.R. 12070, Aug. 25, 1964] § 6-1.353 English language translations. If any part of a contract is not written in the English language, an accurate translation of such part shall be attached to the original and each copy of the contract whenever such action is determined to be feasible by the contracting officer. [28 F.R. 7779, July 31, 1963] Subpart 6-1.4-Procurement SOURCE: The provisions of this Subpart 6-1.4 appear at 33 F.R. 10516, July 24, 1968, unless otherwise noted. § 6-1.400 Scope of subpart. This subpart sets forth the procurement responsibility and authority of the chief officer responsible for procurement and contracting officers, and treats the selection and designation of contracting officers to enter into and administer contracts, interagency agreements, purchase orders, grants, and other contractual arrangements, hereinafter referred to as "contracts" unless otherwise stated. § 6-1.401 Responsibility of the head of the procuring activity. The Chief, Supply and Transportation Division, is designated the chief officer responsible for procurement and as such shall provide policy direction and prescribe standards, procedures, and regulations for the award and administration of contracts, both within and outside the United States, except for procurements by the Office of Foreign Buildings and those procurements outside the United States by the Office of Refugee and Migration Affairs. § 6-1.402 Authority of contracting officers. The authority of the Secretary of State to enter into and administer contracts, purchase orders, grants, and other agreements for the expenditure of funds involved in the acquisition of property or nonpersonal services and for the sale of personal property is delegated to those officials designated in § 6-1.404-2 and to any official designated to act for one of those enumerated during the absence or incapacity of the latter, subject to specific limitations stated in this subpart. When exercising the authority contained in this subpart, the designated official is a contracting officer. § 6-1.403 Requirements to be met before entering into contracts. Contracting officers are responsible for the legal, technical, and administrative sufficiency of the contracts they enter into. To this end they shall obtain such available legal, technical, and financial advice as necessary for the proper execution of their duties. in may designate, by delegation of authority, one or more of their subordinates engaged in procurement activities to enter into and administer contracts. Designations will be in writing and will specifically state the scope and limitations of the designee's contractual authority which must be within the scope of authority possessed by the designating contracting officer. The signed original of such delegations of authority shall be retained in the files for examination. (b) A contracting officer may designate technically qualified personnel as his authorized representatives to assist in the administration of contracts. Such designation shall be in writing and shall define the scope and limitations of the designee's authority. The designation shall be addressed to the designee with a copy given to the contractor. An appropriate contract clause is contained in § 6-7.151-11 of this chapter. (c) The authority described in § 6-1.402 is delegated as follows: (1) General delegation-Supply and Transportation Division. (i) The authority to enter into and administer contracts for the expenditure of funds involved in the acquisition of personal property and nonpersonal services, and for the sale of personal property, is delegated to the Chief, Supply and Transportation Division. (ii) The authority to authorize the publication of paid advertisements, notices, and proposals within the United States is delegated to the Chief, Supply and Transportation Division. This authority may not be redelegated. (2) Library. The authority to enter into and administer contracts (except grants) is delegated to the Librarian, Principal Acquisition Librarian, and Chief, Technical Services, for the acquisition of newspapers, books, maps, and periodicals, and for the acquisition of publication binding and repair services whenever the acquisition of such services is authorized by the Public Printer pursuant to the provisions of section 12 of the Act of January 12, 1895, 28 Stat. 602, as amended (44 U.S.C. 14). (3) Office of Foreign Buildings. The authority to enter into and administer contracts is delegated to the Director, Office of Foreign Buildings, for transactions chargeable to funds available under the Foreign Service Buildings Act, 1926, as amended, or in other appropriations made available for foreign buildings operations. (4) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The authority to enter into and administer contracts involving funds available for international educational and cultural activities is delegated to the Executive Director, the Chief, Division of Financial Management, and the Chief, Contract and Transportation Division. (5) Diplomatic and consular posts located outside the United States. The authority to enter into and administer contracts for the expenditure of funds involved in the acquisition of supplies, equipment, publications, and nonpersonal services; to sell personal property; and to authorize the publication of paid advertisements, notices and proposals, is delegated to the Principal Officer, Administrative Officer and General Services Officer. (1) This authority, with the exception of that pertaining to paid advertising, may be redelegated to employees of the Foreign Service who are citizens of the United States and, in the case of joint or consolidated administrative operations, to employees of U.S. Government agencies who are citizens of the United States. (ii) Direct transactions with vendors within the United States shall not exceed $2,500 per transaction unless such transaction is under a contract executed by the Department of State, the General Services Administration or other U.S. Government agency. (iii) No authority is delegated to enter into cost-reimbursement or fixed-price incentive contracts. (iv) When expressly authorized by a U.S. Government agency which does not have an authorized contracting officer at the post, the officers named above in this subparagraph may enter into contracts for and on behalf of that agency. The exercise of this authority is subject to the provisions of the regulatory or other contracting officer designation issued by the contracting agency and any relevant administrative support or other interagency agreement. Statutory authorities and regulations of the contracting agency are applicable to contracts entered into pursuant to this authority and the contracting agency is responsible for informing the individual it has designated to act as its contracting officer of pertinent statutes and regulations which supplement, implement or deviate from Chapter 1 of this title. In view of the con tracting officer's responsibility for the legal, technical, and administrative sufficiency of the contracts he enters into, questions regarding the propriety of procurement actions that the post is requested to take pursuant to this authority may be referred to the Department for resolution with the headquarters of the agency concerned. (6) Language Services Division. The authority to enter into and administer contracts (except grants) with individuals to serve as translators or interpreters and for related linguistic and escort services is delegated to the Chief, Assistant Chief and Staff Assistant. (7) Office of Communications. The authority to enter into and administer contracts (except grants) for leasing wire service circuits is delegated to the Executive Officer and the Chief, Systems and Facilities Division. (8) Foreign Service Institute. The authority to enter into and administer contracts for planning and conducting seminars; for guest lecturers, instructors, language tutors, area chairmen, and related professional services; and for tuition, books, and tutorial and other related training services, is delegated to the Director, Deputy Director for Management and Executive Officer. (9) Office of Overseas Schools. The authority to enter into and administer contracts for the overseas schools assistance activities of the Department is delegated to the Director. [28 F.R. 7779, July 31, 1963, as amended at 34 F.R. 11143, July 2, 1969] § 6-1.404-3 Termination of designa tion. initiated by any Contracting Officer of the Department. (b) The recommendation for debarment together with a statement of the causes or conditions (§ 1-1.605 of this title), the suggested term of debarment, and documentary evidence to support the recommendation will be submitted to the Chief, Supply and Transportation Division. If concurred in, the recommendation will be forwarded through the legal adviser to the Assistant Secretary for Administration for final decision and return to the Chief, Supply and Transportation Division. [31 F.R. 6623, May 4, 1966, as amended at 36 F.R. 20512, Oct. 23, 1971] Subpart 6-1.8-Labor Surplus Area Concerns Division will be displayed for prospective contractors and subcontractors. § 6-1.1003 Synopses of proposed pro curements. § 6-1.1003-1 Department of Commerce Synopsis. As provided in FPR 1-1.1003–2(a) (9) procurements by the Foreign Service posts outside the United States are exempted from the provisions of this section. § 6-1.1003-2 General requirements. (a) Except as provided in FPR 1-1.1003-2(a) all proposed Department procurement actions of $5,000 and above shall be synopsized in the Commerce Business Daily. (b) Preparation and transmittal of synopses of proposed procurements of the Supply and Transportation Division will be prepared by the Procurement Branch in accordance with the procedures set out in FPR 1-1.1003-7. (c) Those offices to whom contracting authority has been delegated as enumerated in § 6-1.404-2 of this title are responsible for publicizing proposed procurement actions as required by FRP 1-1.10. PART 6-2-PROCUREMENT BY Subpart 6-1.10-Publicizing SOURCE: The provisions of this Subpart 6-1.10 appear at 36 F.R. 4377, Mar. 5, 1971, unless otherwise noted. § 6-1.1001 General policy. To obtain full competition and provide information to the public FPR 1-1.1001 requires that prospective prime contractors and subcontractors be informed of proposed Government procurements or procurements it has awarded. § 6-1.1002 Availability of invitations for bids and requests for proposals. A copy of all unclassified invitations for bids and requests for proposals issued by the Supply and Transportation The policy set forth in FPR 1-2.102 that procurement shall be made by formal advertising whenever such method is feasible and practicable shall apply to procurement made within the United States. [30 F.R. 7247, May 29, 1965] Subpart 6-2.2—Solicitation of Bids § 6-2.201 Preparation of invitations for bids. Forms used in inviting bids for procurement by the Department outside the United States are prescribed in Subpart 6-16.1. (a) The place selected for the opening of bids shall be, if posible, large enough to permit the attendance of any bidder who desires to be present at the opening. [29 F.R. 12071, Aug. 25, 1964, as amended at 31 FR. 10193, July 28, 1966] § 6-2.202 Miscellaneous rules for solicitation of bids. § 6-2.202-1 Bidding time. Any request for a procurement which does not provide for the minimum bidding time required under FPR 1-2.2021(c) must be justified in writing and approved by the Contracting Officer. § 6-2.202-50 Grouping of items in a single invitation for bids. (a) It is basic Government policy that procurement shall be effected by formal advertising, except as provided in Subpart 1-3.2. Consequently, requirements aggregating more than $2,500 shall not be broken down into several purchases or contracts of less than $2,500 merely for the purpose of utilizing negotiation. See § 1-3.602. In order to minimize the administrative costs to the Government adherent in procurement by formal advertising, and still gain the benefits of formal advertising to the greatest extent possible, each invitation for bids shall include all items suitable for procurement by the procuring activity at the time the invitation is being prepared which are customarily provided by the prospective bidders. (b) For example, hardware products, spare parts for vehicles, and office supplies would not be listed on a single invitation, unless in a particular circumstance the prospective bidders customarily handled items from all three of these categories, But a wide variety of items in any one of these categories could normally be listed on a single invitation because prospective bidders would normally carry a full line of the products within their specialized field. § 6-2.202-51 Grouping of items to fa cilitate award. |