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The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) was established to codify uniform policies for
acquisition of supplies and services by executive agencies.
The Federal Acquisition Regulations are issued and
maintained jointly, pursuant to the OFPP Reauthorization Act, under the
statutory authorities granted to the Secretary of Defense, Administrator of
General Services and the Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. Statutory authorities to issue and revise the FAR have been
delegated to the Procurement Executives in DOD, GSA and NASA.
GSA FAR Secretariat Publishes the FAR on behalf of all three FAR issuing
agencies. The GSA Federal Acquisition Policy Division maintains the FAR
Secretariat to act as the publication and administrative support arm of the
FAR.
The purpose of the FAR is to provide "uniform policies and procedures for
acquisition." FAR 1.101. Among its guiding principles is to have an
acquisition system that (1) satisfies customer's needs in terms of cost,
quality, and timeliness; (2) minimize administrative operating costs; (3)
conduct business with integrity, fairness, and openness; and (4) fulfill
other public policy objectives. FAR 1.102(b).
The FAR also includes socioeconomic requirements, such as for certain items
to be required to be purchased from United States firms only and for large
organizations to use smaller businesses (specifically small disadvantaged
businesses, those being woman-owned and/or minority-owned) as subcontractors.
When a government agency issues a contract or a proposal, it will specify a
list of FAR provisions that apply to that contract, which may be numerous.
In order to be awarded a contract, a bidder must either comply with the
provisions, demonstrate that it will be able to comply with them at the time
of award, and/or claim an exemption from them. As an example, Part 30 (which
references Cost Accounting Standards) allows for small businesses to be
exempt from those requirements; if the bidder can demonstrate that it meets
the small business criteria, Part 30 would then not apply.
In many cases, a contract award can be challenged and set aside if a
challenger can prove that either the contracting agency and/or the
successful bidder did not comply with the contract solicitation
requirements, usually so that the challenger can either be awarded the
contract in lieu of the original bidder's award of the contract or get
another shot at a bid.
Many have suggested that the complexity of complying with
the FAR discourages competition, especially by small companies
Federal Acquisition Regulation: The Rulebook for
Government Contracts
Most often referred to as the “FAR”, the Federal Acquisition
Regulation is a resource guide for government rules and procedures. The FAR
is like the Bible for government contracting rules, processes, plus contract
forms and clauses. If you’re doing business with the federal government or
looking into it, you should have a basic understanding of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation is comprised of over 1,000 pages and
divided into 53 parts. Separate aspects of the acquisition process are
featured in each part.
General government acquisition matters are explained in the
first six parts,
and acquisition planning is featured in the next six parts.
The remaining Federal Acquisition Regulations cover a range
of topics, such as labor laws, simplified acquisitions (small purchases),
contract administration, large dollar value buys, and applicable clauses and
forms.
Although the FAR is the primary resource for acquisition regulations, each
government agency may submit supplements to the Federal Acquisition
Regulation. These Federal Acquisition Regulation supplements, although they
can add up more than 1,000 pages, aren’t meant to be stand-alones.
Be sure to read the supplements in conjunction with the FAR
so you know the full scope of the regulations. Unfortunately, only a very
small portion of the FAR supplements may apply to the contract at hand. This
is why it’s important to ask the contracting officer which Federal
Acquisition Regulations govern their acquisition procedure for the contract
–it is critical to verify this before you bid or quote.
Never assume anything — it could cost you the contract!
If you’re new to government contracting or a small business, you’ll want to
read part 19 and part 52 of the FAR. These parts cover the standard terms
and conditions contained in a government contract.
Interested in working with the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)? They have
their own set of Federal Acquisitions Regulations, granted by congress.
Although many provisions in the FAA are like the FAR, be careful and don’t
assume that the FAA is very similar to the FAR.
Getting a Copy of the Federal Acquisition Regulation
You can obtain a copy of the Federal Acquisition Regulation from the
Government Printing Office (GPO) by paying a fee. Make sure that if you
place an order with the GPO for a copy of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, the price includes any updates so you’ll have full details
before you send in your bid or quote.
If you’d rather read the FAR online, visit http://farsite.hill.af.mil. Be
sure to check when the webpage was last updated to make sure you’re getting
the most current FAR supplement information.
http://farsite.hill.af.mil/
http://www.arnet.gov/far/
FEDERAL ACQUISITION CIRCULARS
http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/fac.html. |