“SUMMARY:
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 that requires providing public notices of determinations for substantial bundling and consolidation of contract requirements.
DATES:
Effective December 6, 2021…”
“I. Background
DoD, GSA, and NASA published a proposed rule at 85 FR 23299 on April 27, 2020, to implement section 863 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 (Pub. L. 114-92, codified at 15 U.S.C. 644(e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. 657q(c)(2)) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) implementing regulations. SBA published a final rule to implement section 863 on November 29, 2019, at 84 FR 65647.
Section 863 requires public notification of an agency’s determination to substantially bundle or consolidate contract requirements. Specifically, publication of a notice is required when the head of a contracting agency determines that an acquisition plan for a procurement involves substantial bundling of contract requirements. The head of the contracting agency must publish a notice on a public website that such determination has been made not later than 7 days after making the determination. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition plan may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. A justification for the determination must be published with the solicitation. The justification must address the specific benefits anticipated, any alternative approaches, impediments to participation by small business concerns as prime contractors, and actions designed to maximize participation of small business concerns as subcontractors (see 15 U.S.C. 644(e)(3)(A) through (C)).
Section 863 also requires publication of a notice when the senior procurement executive (SPE) or chief acquisition officer (CAO) makes a determination that an acquisition strategy involving consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and justified under 15 U.S.C. 657q(c)(2)(A). The SPE or CAO must publish a notice on a public website that such determination has been made not later than 7 days after making the determination. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition strategy may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. A justification for the determination must be published with the solicitation. The justification must include the information in 15 U.S.C. 657q(c)(1)(A) through (E).
As a result, this final rule amends FAR 7.107-5, Notifications, to require the publication on the Governmentwide Point of Entry of a notice of substantial bundling or of a notice of consolidation, as required in the SBA final rule. This section also contains references to the required content of the consolidation determination (at FAR 7.107-2) and the substantial bundling determination (at FAR 7.107-4)…” Read the complete rule here.
Source: Federal Acquisition Regulation: Consolidation and Substantial Bundling – November 4, 2021. Federal Register.
