Rule2021-16368
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-07; Small Entity Compliance Guide
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 11, 2021
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentGeneral Services AdministrationNational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Abstract
This document is issued under the joint authority of DoD, GSA, and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2021-07, which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2021-07, which precedes this document.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44255-44256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16368]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[Docket No. FAR-2021-0051, Sequence No. 4]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular
2021-07; Small Entity Compliance Guide
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide.
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SUMMARY: This document is issued under the joint authority of DoD, GSA,
and NASA. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in
accordance with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of the rules
appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2021-07, which amends
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
[[Page 44256]]
Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules
by referring to FAC 2021-07, which precedes this document.
DATES: August 11, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the internet
at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact
the analyst whose name appears in the table below. Please cite FAC
2021-07 and the FAR Case number. For information pertaining to status
or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division
at 202-501-4755 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ed9cddfccfbf9cdfbfddef9edffb0f9f1e8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d99e8a988bbcbe8abcba99beaab8f7beb6af">[email protected]</span></a>. An asterisk (*) next to a rule
indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared.
Rules Listed in FAC 2021-07
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Item Subject FAR Case Analyst
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* I.............................. Section 508-Based Standards 2017-011 Jackson.
in Information and
Communication Technology.
* II............................. Revision of Limitations on 2016-011 Uddowla.
Subcontracting.
III.............................. Scope of Review by 2020-012 Jones.
Procurement Center
Representatives.
* IV............................. Good Faith in Small Business 2019-004 Bowman.
Subcontracting.
V................................ Technical Amendments........
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SUPPLEM ENTARY INFORMATION: Summaries for each FAR rule follow. For the
actual revisions and/or amendments made by these FAR rules, refer to
the specific item numbers and subjects set forth in the documents
following these item summaries. FAC 2021-07 amends the FAR as follows:
Item I--Section 508-Based Standards in Information and Communication
Technology (FAR Case 2017-011)
This final rule amends the FAR to implement the Access Board's
final rule published January 17, 2017. Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires the FAR to incorporate revised
accessibility standards developed by the Access Board for information
and communication technology (ICT). The Access Board is also known as
the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. This
rule ensures that Federal employees with disabilities have comparable
access to, and use of, such information and data relative to other
Federal employees. Section 508 also requires Federal agencies to ensure
that members of the public with disabilities have comparable access to
publicly available information and data.
Item II--Revision of Limitations on Subcontracting (FAR Case 2016-011)
This rule amends the FAR to implement regulatory changes made by
the Small Business Administration (SBA) in its final rule published in
the Federal Register at 81 FR 34243, on May 31, 2016. SBA's final rule
implements the statutory requirements of section 1651 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Section 1651 revised
and standardized the limitations on subcontracting, including the
nonmanufacturer rule, that apply to small business concerns under FAR
part 19 procurements. Section 1651 shifts the limitations on
subcontracting from the concept of a required percentage of work to be
performed by a prime contractor to the concept of a limit on the
percentage of the overall award amount to be spent by the prime on
subcontractors. Significantly, section 1651 excludes from this
calculation the percentage of the award amount that the prime
contractor spends on subcontractors who are similarly situated
entities. This rule implements the revised and standardized limitations
on subcontracting through the use of a single FAR clause for every
small business program, instead of continuing to implement through
multiple FAR clauses that were specific to a particular small business
program. This rule also revises the FAR clause implementing the
nonmanufacturer rule to reflect the standardized requirements across
all the small business programs.
This rule may have a positive economic impact on small businesses.
Through the ability to meet the limitations by means of subcontracts
with similarly situated entities, this rule will make it possible for
small businesses to compete for larger contracts than they could in the
past.
Item III--Scope of Review by Procurement Center Representatives (FAR
Case 2020-012)
This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 1811 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114-
328), as implemented in the Small Business Administration (SBA) final
rule published at 84 FR 65647 on November 29, 2019. Section 1811 allows
SBA's procurement center representatives to review any solicitation for
a contract or task order, without regard to whether it is set aside for
small business concerns, or reserved in the case of a multiple-award
contract, or whether it would result in a bundled or consolidated
contract or order.
Item IV--Good Faith in Small Business Subcontracting (FAR Case 2019-
004)
This final rule amends the FAR to implement section 1821(c) of the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 (15
U.S.C 637 note, Pub. L. 114-328), as implemented in the Small Business
Administration (SBA) final rule published at 84 FR 65647, dated
November 29, 2019.
Specifically, the final FAR rule at FAR 19.705-7 includes examples
of a good faith effort to comply with the subcontracting plan, and
examples of a failure to make a good faith effort. Failure to make a
good faith effort to comply with the plan may result in assessment of
liquidated damages.
Additionally, the final rule amends the FAR to require that prime
contractors with a commercial subcontracting plan include indirect
costs in their subcontracting goals. Previously, prime contractors were
required to include indirect costs in the summary subcontract report
(SSR) but not in their subcontracting goals, which led to
inconsistencies when comparing the SSR to the goals in the commercial
subcontracting plan. Including indirect costs in both the SSR and
subcontracting goals established in the commercial subcontracting plan
will allow for consistency.
Item V--Technical Amendments
Editorial changes are made at FAR 42.709-1 through 42.709-7,
52.242-3, and 52.245-1.
William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-16368 Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P
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