Commercial Item | The Contracting Education Academy

September 24, 2018 By cs

Federal circuit court confirms agencies’ obligations to prioritize commercial solutions

Palantir USG v. United States may prove to be one of the most significant procurement precedents of the decade.

Affirming the Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit breathed new life into the government’s obligations under the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) to prioritize, to the maximum extent practicable, the acquisition of commercial and nondevelopmental solutions.

Weaning agencies off their historic preference for developmental solutions is critical now more than ever, as it is readily apparent that maintaining the United States’ technological and battlefield superiority depends on its ability to harness technologies from the commercial sector and become a more commercial-friendly business partner.

The decision will have the practical impact of requiring agencies to more carefully document their market research. Palantir will also provide useful leverage for companies seeking to eliminate (whether by negotiation or protest) solicitation provisions that are not accommodating to commercial vendors.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=737610

September 5, 2018 By cs

GSA to close down reverse auction platform after 5 years

Look back over the last say 25 years and see if you can remember the last time an agency publicly admitted defeat with a program or project and decided to move on.

Don’t think about a contract that failed or even an act of Congress ending a specific program, but focus on a service offering that just couldn’t make it.

It’s hard to find one. Right?

This is why the General Services Administration’s decision to shut down its reverse auction tool on Dec. 31 is significant.

GSA is pulling the plug after just over five years.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2018/08/gsa-to-close-down-reverse-auction-platform-after-5-years/

August 21, 2018 By cs

CAS Board clarifies commercial item exemption, but raises potential audit issue

After publishing a proposed rule more than five and a half years ago, the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board on July 17, 2018 issued a final rule revising the CAS exemption for contracts or subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial items.

The final rule clarifies that the current CAS exemption for commercial items extends to all contract types listed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.207. However, in doing so, it also creates a potential audit issue arising out of the conditions levied by FAR 12.207 on certain contract types.

FAR lists contract types the government may use to acquire commercial items, including firm-fixed-price (FFP) contracts in conjunction with award fee incentives or performance/delivery incentives, known as fixed-price incentive (FPI) contracts. The relevant CAS commercial item exemption states that certain types of contracts for the acquisition of commercial items are exempt from all CAS. CAS 9903.201-1(b)(6) lists various contract types, including FFP, fixed-priced with economic price adjustment, time-and-materials (T&M) and labor-hour (LH), but makes no mention of FPI contracts. This inconsistency is the result of various amendments over time by the FAR Council to FAR 12.207. The final rule amends the language in CAS 9903.201-1(b)(6) to exempt commercial item contracts and subcontracts authorized in FAR 12.207 from all CAS requirements. Look for this change to CAS 9903.201-1(b)(6) when the final rule becomes effective on August 16, 2018.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=726522

January 4, 2018 By cs

The 2018 NDAA in detail

On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, President Trump signed the fiscal year 2018 (FY18) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law (Pub. L. 115-91).

An annual defense policy bill, the NDAA is a critical piece of legislation for the contracting community because it provides the funding authority for programs and activities of the Department of Defense (DoD), the largest procurer of goods and services within the US government.

In addition, the NDAA is a vehicle for encouraging in some cases, and requiring in others, changes to both DoD and government-wide procurement practices. As the NDAA moved through the legislative process, Dentons and other commentators analyzed proposed provisions, some of which were adopted as written or in a revised form, and many of which were not included in the final bill.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/658624

December 12, 2017 By cs

Changes to supply chain management and commercial item contracting in FY 2018 NDAA

For Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions, the Conference Report for Fiscal Year 2018 NDAA includes provisions that simplify and others that complicate contractor responsibilities.

On November 8, 2017, the U.S. Senate and House Armed Services Committees announced that they had reached agreement to reconcile the different versions of the National Defense and Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 passed by the Senate and House earlier in the year.

The Senate unanimously approved the compromise legislation on November 16, sending it to President Trump to sign into law. The 2018 National Defense and Authorization Act Conference Report sent to the President includes proposed changes to supply chain management, to the definition of a “subcontractor” and to commercial item contracting that may impact your business.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=238f078d-5398-4cba-ba7b-8fdb3e308575

Palantir USG v. United States may prove to be one of the most significant procurement precedents of the decade.

Look back over the last say 25 years and see if you can remember the last time an agency publicly admitted defeat with a program or project and decided to move on.

After publishing a proposed rule more than five and a half years ago, the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board on July 17, 2018 issued a final rule revising the CAS exemption for contracts or subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial items.

On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, President Trump signed the fiscal year 2018 (FY18) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law (Pub. L. 115-91).

For Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions, the Conference Report for Fiscal Year 2018 NDAA includes provisions that simplify and others that complicate contractor responsibilities.

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