AGENCY:

Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION:

Summary presentation of a final rule.

SUMMARY:

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-05. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC.

DATES:

For effective date see the separate document, which follows.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Mahruba Uddowla, Procurement Analyst, at 703-605-2868 or by email at mahruba.uddowla@gsa.gov for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202-501-4755. Please cite FAC 2020-05, FAR Case 2014-002.

ADDRESSES:

The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A summary for the FAR rule follows. For the actual revisions and/or amendments made by this FAR case, refer to the specific subject set forth in the document following this item summary. FAC 2020-05 amends the FAR as follows:

Set-Asides Under Multiple-Award Contracts (FAR Case 2014-002)

This final rule amends the FAR to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in its final rule at 78 FR 61114 on October 2, 2013. SBA's final rule implements the statutory requirements set forth at section 1331 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 644(r)). Section 1331 provided authority for three acquisition techniques to facilitate contracting with small businesses on multiple-award contracts:

(1) Setting aside part or parts of the requirement for small businesses.

(2) Reserving one or more contract awards for small business concerns under full and open multiple-award procurements.

(3) Setting aside orders placed against multiple-award contracts, notwithstanding the fair opportunity requirements of 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b) and 41 U.S.C. 4106(c).

This final rule provides contracting officers additional guidance on the use of partial set-asides, reserves, and set-asides of orders under multiple-award contracts. This final rule may have a positive economic impact on any small business entity that wishes to participate in the Federal marketplace. The section 1331 authorities are expected to provide small businesses greater access to multiple-award contracts, including orders issued against such contracts. There is an upward adjustment to the annual burden associated with an existing information collection, to account for size and socioeconomic status rerepresentations for individual task and delivery orders.

This rule also finalizes the interim rule published November 2, 2011, under FAR Case 2011-024.

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-05 is issued under the authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services, and the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Unless otherwise specified, all Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other directive material contained in FAC 2020-05 is effective February 27, 2020 except for FAR Case 2014-002, which is effective March 30, 2020.

Linda W. Neilson,

Director, Defense Acquisition Regulations, Department of Defense.

Jeffrey A. Koses,

Senior Procurement Executive/Deputy CAO, Office of Acquisition Policy, U.S. General Services Administration.

William G. Roets II,

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Procurement, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.