(a)

(i) Commercial item determination. When using FAR part 12 procedures for acquisitions exceeding $1 million in value, except for acquisitions made pursuant to FAR 12.102(f)(1), the contracting officer shall—

(A) Determine in writing that the acquisition meets the commercial item definition in FAR 2.101;

(B) Include the written determination in the contract file; and

(C) Obtain approval at one level above the contracting officer when a commercial item determination relies on subsections (1)(ii), (3), (4), or (6) of the “commercial item” definition at FAR 2.101.

(D) Follow the procedures and guidance at PGI 212.102(a)(i) regarding file documentation and commercial item determinations.

(ii) Prior commercial item determination. This section implements 10 U.S.C. 2306a(b)(4) and 10 U.S.C. 2380(b).

(A) The contracting officer may presume that a prior commercial item determination made by a military department, a defense agency, or another component of DoD shall serve as a determination for subsequent procurements of such item. See PGI 212.102(a)(ii) for information about items that the Department has historically acquired as military unique, noncommercial items.

(B) If the contracting officer does not make the presumption that a prior commercial item determination is valid, and instead chooses to proceed with a procurement of an item previously determined to be a commercial item using procedures other than the procedures authorized for the procurement of a commercial item, the contracting officer shall request a review of the commercial item determination by the head of the contracting activity that will conduct the procurement. Not later than 30 days after receiving a request for review of a commercial item determination, the head of a contracting activity shall—

(1) Confirm that the prior determination was appropriate and still applicable; or

(2) Issue a determination that the prior use of FAR part 12 procedures was improper or that it is no longer appropriate to acquire the item using FAR part 12 procedures, with a written explanation of the basis for the determination (see 212.70).

(iii) Nontraditional defense contractors. In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2380a, contracting officers—

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(iii)(B) of this section, may treat supplies and services provided by nontraditional defense contractors as commercial items. This permissive authority is intended to enhance defense innovation and investment, enable DoD to acquire items that otherwise might not have been available, and create incentives for nontraditional defense contractors to do business with DoD. It is not intended to recategorize current noncommercial items; however, when appropriate, contracting officers may consider applying commercial item procedures to the procurement of supplies and services from business segments that meet the definition of “nontraditional defense contractor” even though they have been established under traditional defense contractors. The decision to apply commercial item procedures to the procurement of supplies and services from nontraditional defense contractors does not require a commercial item determination and does not mean the item is commercial;

(B) Shall treat services provided by a business unit that is a nontraditional defense contractor as commercial items, to the extent that such services use the same pool of employees as used for commercial customers and are priced using methodology similar to methodology used for commercial pricing; and

(C) Shall document the file when treating supplies or services from a nontraditional defense contractor as commercial items in accordance with paragraph (a)(iii)(A) or (B) of this section.

[77 FR 14480, Mar. 12, 2012, as amended at 80 FR 10390, Feb. 26, 2015; 81 FR 65563, Sept. 23, 2016; 83 FR 4442, Jan. 31, 2018; 85 FR 60921, Sept. 29, 2020]