Many contractors admit they will be unable to immediately comply with a rule, taking effect by March 2014, that would require contractors to either develop a new system for detecting counterfeit electronic parts or forego payment.
The Pentagon is under pressure to address congressional concerns about the risk of weapons systems failing if adversaries or sloppy suppliers slip in unauthorized components. That’s because the deadline for carrying out a 2011 defense authorization law calling for anti-counterfeit regulations was almost two years ago.
But the military sector is unprepared for all the pending requirements, partly because the Defense Department has not offered an explanation for what an acceptable system must do. Industry members told Pentagon officials as much earlier this summer during meetings and in written comments on a draft rule. Officials say they are reviewing company concerns but still plan to release the mandates during the first quarter of calendar year 2014.
“The rule will take effect when the final rule is published,” Defense spokesman Mark Wright said in an email on Aug. 8, 2013.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2013/08/defense-sector-not-ready-comply-2014-anti-counterfeit-rule/68378
