Notice2025-04002

Submission for OMB Review; Subcontract Consent and Contractors' Purchasing System Review

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
March 13, 2025

Issuing agencies

Defense DepartmentGeneral Services AdministrationNational Aeronautics and Space Administration

Abstract

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding subcontract consent and contractors' purchasing system review.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 48 (Thursday, March 13, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 48 (Thursday, March 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11978-11979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04002]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0149; Docket No. 2024-0053; Sequence No. 17]


Submission for OMB Review; Subcontract Consent and Contractors' 
Purchasing System Review

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an 
extension of a previously approved information collection requirement 
regarding subcontract consent and contractors' purchasing system 
review.

DATES: Submit comments on or before April 14, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for this information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for Public 
Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fabcbba8aa9596939983ba9d899bd49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="682e293a380704010b11280f1b09460f071e">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or call 202-969-
4075.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. OMB Control Number, Title, and Any Associated Form(s)

    9000-0149, Subcontract Consent and Contractors' Purchasing System 
Review.

B. Need and Uses

    This clearance covers the information that contractors must submit 
to comply with the requirements in the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR) clause at 52.244-2, Subcontracts, regarding consent to 
subcontract, advance notification, and contractors' purchasing system 
review as follows:
    1. Consent to subcontract. This is the contracting officer's 
written consent for the prime contractor to enter into a particular 
subcontract. In order for the contracting officer responsible for 
consent to make an informed decision, the prime contractor must submit 
adequate information to ensure that the proposed subcontract is 
appropriate for the risks involved and consistent with current policy 
and sound business judgment. Paragraph (e)(1) of the FAR clause at 
52.244-2, requires prime contractors to submit the following 
information:
    (i) A description of the supplies or services to be subcontracted.
    (ii) Identification of the type of subcontract to be used.
    (iii) Identification of the proposed subcontractor.
    (iv) The proposed subcontract price.
    (v) The subcontractor's current, complete, and accurate certified 
cost or pricing data and Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data, 
if required by other contract provisions.
    (vi) The subcontractor's Disclosure Statement or Certificate 
relating to Cost Accounting Standards when such data are required by 
other provisions of the contract.
    (vii) A negotiation memorandum reflecting--
    (A) The principal elements of the subcontract price negotiations;
    (B) The most significant considerations controlling establishment 
of initial or revised prices;
    (C) The reason certified cost or pricing data were or were not 
required;
    (D) The extent, if any, to which the Contractor did not rely on the 
subcontractor's certified cost or pricing

[[Page 11979]]

data in determining the price objective and in negotiating the final 
price;
    (E) The extent to which it was recognized in the negotiation that 
the subcontractor's certified cost or pricing data were not accurate, 
complete, or current; the action taken by the Contractor and the 
subcontractor; and the effect of any such defective data on the total 
price negotiated;
    (F) The reasons for any significant difference between the 
Contractor's price objective and the price negotiated; and
    (G) A complete explanation of the incentive fee or profit plan when 
incentives are used. The explanation shall identify each critical 
performance element, management decisions used to quantify each 
incentive element, reasons for the incentives, and a summary of all 
trade-off possibilities considered.
    If the contractor has an approved purchasing system, consent is 
required for subcontracts specifically identified by the contracting 
officer in paragraph (d) of the FAR clause at 52.244-2. The contracting 
officer may require consent to subcontract if the contracting officer 
has determined that an individual consent action is required to protect 
the Government adequately because of the subcontract type, complexity, 
or value, or because the subcontract needs special surveillance. These 
can be subcontracts for critical systems, subsystems, components, or 
services.
    If the contractor does not have an approved purchasing system, 
consent to subcontract is required for cost-reimbursement, time-and-
materials, labor-hour, or letter contracts, and also for unpriced 
actions under fixed-price contracts that exceed the simplified 
acquisition threshold.
    Contracting Officers use the information to ensure contractors' 
compliance with Government policy when subcontracting.
    2. Advance notification. Paragraph (e)(1) of the FAR clause at 
52.244-2 requires contractors to notify the contracting officer 
reasonably in advance of placing any subcontract or modification 
thereof for which consent is required under paragraph (b), (c), or (d) 
of the clause.
    Contracting Officers use the information to ensure compliance with 
the statutory requirements in 10 U.S.C. 3322(c) and 41 U.S.C. 3905.
    3. Contractors' Purchasing System Review. Paragraph (i) of FAR 
clause 52.244-2 specifies that the Government reserves the right to 
review the contractor's purchasing system as set forth in FAR subpart 
44.3. This clause is the mechanism through which the requirements of 
FAR subpart 44.3 are applied to contractors.
    FAR 44.302 requires the administrative contracting officer (ACO) to 
determine the need for a Contractors' Purchasing System Review (CPSR) 
based on, but not limited to, the past performance of the contractor, 
and the volume, complexity and dollar value of subcontracts. If a 
contractor's sales to the Government (excluding competitively awarded 
firm-fixed-price and competitively awarded fixed-price with economic 
price adjustment contracts and sales of commercial products and 
commercial services pursuant to part 12) are expected to exceed $25 
million during the next 12 months, the ACO will perform a review to 
determine if a CPSR is needed. Sales include those represented by prime 
contracts, subcontracts under Government prime contracts, and 
modifications. Generally, a CPSR is not performed for a specific 
contract. Rather, CPSRs are conducted on contractors based on the 
factors identified above. For example, the Defense Contract Management 
Agency Contractor Purchasing System Review Group is a group dedicated 
to conducting CPSRs for the Department of Defense. The head of the 
agency responsible for contract administration may raise or lower the 
$25 million review level if it is considered to be in the Government's 
best interest. Once an initial determination has been made to conduct a 
review, at least every three years the ACO shall determine whether a 
purchasing system review is necessary. If necessary, the cognizant 
contract administration office will conduct a purchasing system review.
    The cognizant ACO is responsible for granting, withholding, or 
withdrawing approval of a contractor's purchasing system and for 
promptly notifying the contractor of same (FAR 44.305-1). Related 
administrative requirements are as follows:
    <bullet> FAR 44.305-2(c) requires that when recommendations are 
made for improvement of an approved system, the contractor shall be 
requested to reply within 15 days with a position regarding the 
recommendations.
    <bullet> FAR 44.305-3(b) requires when approval of the contractor's 
purchasing system is withheld or withdrawn, the ACO shall within 10 
days after completing the in-plant review (1) inform the contractor in 
writing, (2) specify the deficiencies that must be corrected to qualify 
the system for approval, and (3) request the contractor to furnish 
within 15 days a plan for accomplishing the necessary actions. If the 
plan is accepted, the ACO shall make a follow-up review as soon as the 
contractor notifies the ACO that the deficiencies have been corrected.
    Contracting Officers use the information to evaluate the efficiency 
and effectiveness with which a contractor spends Government funds.

C. Annual Burden

    Respondents: 2,515.
    Total Annual Responses: 7,065.
    Total Burden Hours: 49,635.

D. Public Comment

    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register at 89 FR 
93291, on November 26, 2024. No comments were received.
    Obtaining Copies: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information 
collection documents from the GSA Regulatory Secretariat Division by 
calling 202-501-4755 or emailing <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#abecf8eaf9ceccf8cec8ebccd8ca85ccc4dd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bcfbeffdeed9dbefd9dffcdbcfdd92dbd3ca">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Please cite OMB 
Control No. 9000-0149, Subcontract Consent and Contractors' Purchasing 
System Review.

Janet Fry,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of Governmentwide 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2025-04002 Filed 3-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on March 13, 2025.

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