Rule2023-14142
General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Remove Purchase Card Payment Clause
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
July 7, 2023
Effective
August 7, 2023
Issuing agencies
General Services Administration
Abstract
The General Services Administration is issuing this final rule as a technical amendment to remove clause 552.232-77 Payment by Government Charge Card in the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43256-43257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14142]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Parts 532 and 552
[GSAR Case 2023-G506; Docket No. GSA-GSAR-2023-0015; Sequence No. 1]
General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Remove
Purchase Card Payment Clause
AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration
(GSA).
ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.
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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration is issuing this final rule
as a technical amendment to remove clause 552.232-77 Payment by
Government Charge Card in the General Services Administration
Acquisition Regulation.
DATES: Effective August 7, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact
Ms. Daria Giannotti, Procurement Analyst, at 215-446-2878 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#276074667577484b4e445e6740544609404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="094e5a485b596665606a70496e7a68276e667f">[email protected]</span></a>. For information pertaining to status or publication
schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8ffebf9eadddfebdddbf8dfcbd996dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a9eefae8fbcccefacccae9cedac887cec6df">[email protected]</span></a> or 202-501-4755. Please cite GSAR Case 2023-G506.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The General Services Administration conducts routine reviews of its
acquisition regulations to identify outdated content and to ensure
there is no unnecessary duplication of or conflict with the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR), pursuant to FAR 1.304. As part of this
review, GSA identified:
<bullet> General Services Administration Regulation (GSAR) clause
552.232-77 Payment By Government Charge Card is redundant to FAR clause
52.232-36 Payment by Third Party and should be removed. As this GSAR
clause is over 10 years old, GSA does not have any historical
information that explains why the duplicative GSAR clause was initially
created. This rule rectified the issue.
<bullet> Additionally, language regarding internal solicitation
preparation instructions was identified that only addresses
responsibilities of contracting officers in preparing contract
documentation. As such, it is not regulatory material and removed from
the GSAR.
Overview of Editorial Updates
GSA identified that GSA Clause 552.232-77, Payment by Government
Charge Card, was redundant to FAR clause 52.232-36 Payment by Third
Party and was removed. Consequently, 532.7003 was revised to remove
instructions to use 552.232-77 for indefinite-delivery, indefinite-
quantity (IDIQ) contracts other than Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)
contracts.
<bullet> MAS, also known as the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) and
the GSA Schedule, is a long-term governmentwide contract with
commercial companies that provide access to millions of commercial
products and services at fair and reasonable prices to the Federal
Government.
Additionally, in GSAR subpart 532.70, 532.7002 only addresses
responsibilities of contracting officers in preparing contract
documentation regarding payment through the use of the Governmentwide
commercial purchase cards. As such, it is not regulatory material and
was moved from the GSAR to the non-regulatory GSAM.
II. Publication of This Final Rule for Public Comment Is Not Required
by Statute
The statute that applies to the publication of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is 41 U.S.C. 1707. Subsection (a)(1) of 41
U.S.C. 1707 requires that a procurement policy, regulation, procedure,
or form (including an amendment or modification thereof) must be
published for public comment if it relates to the expenditure of
appropriated funds, and has either a significant effect beyond the
internal operating procedures of the
[[Page 43257]]
agency issuing the policy, regulation, procedure, or form, or has a
significant cost or administrative impact on contractors or offerors.
This final rule is not required to be published for public comment
because the change is technical in nature and makes conforming updates
to the title and number of a referenced policy document.
III. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O.
13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits,
of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) has determined that this is not a
significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not subject to review
under Section 6(b) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and
Review, dated September 30, 1993.
IV. Congressional Review Act
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as amended by
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996,
generally provides that before a ``major rule'' may take effect, the
agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes
a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the
Comptroller General of the United States. The General Services
Administration will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States. A
major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in
the Federal Register.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in OMB has
determined that this is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.
V. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) does not
apply to this rule, because an opportunity for public comment is not
required to be given for this rule under 41 U.S.C. 1707(a)(1) (see
Section II. of this preamble). Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility
analysis is required and none has been prepared.
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the changes to
the GSAR do not impose recordkeeping or information collection
requirements, or the collection of information from offerors,
contractors, or members of the public that require the approval of the
Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.
List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 532 and 552
Government procurement.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of
Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration.
Therefore, GSA amends 48 CFR parts 532 and 552 as follows:
0
1. The authority citation for 48 CFR parts 532 and 552 continues to
read as follows:
Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c).
PART 532--CONTRACT FINANCING
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2. Revise section 538.7002 to read as follows:
532.7002 Solicitation requirements.
(a) In solicitations for supplies and services, except FSS schedule
solicitations, request offerors to indicate if they will accept payment
by Governmentwide commercial purchase card. Identify the card brand(s)
under the GSA SmartPay[supreg] program that may be used to make
payments under the contract, on the cover page or in Section L of the
solicitation.
(b) For FSS schedule contracts, identify the card brand(s) under
the GSA SmartPay[supreg] program that may be used to make payments
under the contract in the contract award letter.
(c) For orders placed by GSA, you may authorize payment by
Governmentwide commercial purchase card only for orders that do not
exceed $100,000 (see GSA Order, Guidance on Use of the Credit Card for
Purchases (CFO 4200.1)).
(d) Consider requesting offerors to designate different levels for
which they may accept payment by Governmentwide commercial purchase
card, for example:
``If awarded a contract under this solicitation, the offeror agrees
to accept payment by Governmentwide commercial purchase card for orders
of:
__ $2,500 or less
__ $25,000 or less
__ $50,000 or less
__ $100,000 or less]''
532.7003 [Amended]
0
3. Amend section 532.7003 by removing the first sentence.
PART 552--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES
552.232-77 [Removed and Reserved]
0
4. Remove and reserve section 552.232-77.
[FR Doc. 2023-14142 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-P
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