IRS contracting officers shall not proceed with award, at any dollar value, until a tax check has been performed on the apparent successful offeror. See IRS Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI) 9.1.

(a) The contracting officer, regardless of an offeror's response in paragraph (a)(1) of the provision 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters, paragraph (b)(1) of the provision at FAR 52.209-11, or paragraphs (h) and (q)(2)(i) of the provision at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 9.104-5(b)), shall request a tax check through the IRS designated point of contact. The request shall include only the information required for purposes of conducting the tax check.

(b) If the result of the tax check demonstrates the offeror as having a delinquent Federal tax liability, the contracting officer shall—

(1) Confirm the offer includes a signed and dated consent to disclosure (see 1052.209-70, Notice and Consent to Disclose and Use of Taxpayer Return Information), the absence of which may remove the offeror from eligibility to receive an award under the solicitation because taxpayer return information of the offeror may not be disclosed.

(2) If the consent to disclosure is completed in the offer, notify the authorized representative(s) of the offeror that a delinquent Federal tax liability exists and therefore the offeror is ineligible for award.

(i) If upon notification the offeror provides the contracting officer with documentation, within the timeframe specified by the contracting officer, that demonstrates the offeror's tax status as being paid-in-full or that an approved payment agreement is in place, the contracting officer will coordinate with the appropriate office within IRS to validate the tax status. If the offeror is found to be tax compliant, the contracting officer will notify the offeror of such. Assuming the offeror meets all other standards of responsibility, the offeror is eligible for award.

(3) Notify, in accordance with IRS PGI 9.1, the Department of the Treasury official responsible for suspension and debarment for purposes of requesting a determination in accordance with FAR 9.104-5(a)(2) and FAR 9.104-5(b)(3) respectively before an award to that contractor can be made.

(c) If the result of the tax check demonstrates the offeror as tax compliant then the offeror is eligible for award, assuming all other standards of responsibility have been met.

(d) The contracting officer shall include in the contract file documentation that verifies the tax check was conducted and if the results confirm a delinquent Federal tax liability existed at the time of award, confirmation that the offeror was notified of such.