(a) General.

(1) The contracting officer shall evaluate quotations or offers—

(i) In an impartial manner; and

(ii) Inclusive of transportation charges from the shipping point of the supplier to the delivery destination.

(2) Quotations or offers shall be evaluated on the basis established in the solicitation.

(3) All quotations or offers shall be considered (see paragraph (b) of this subsection).

(b) Evaluation procedures.

(1) The contracting officer has broad discretion in fashioning suitable evaluation procedures. The procedures prescribed in parts 14 and 15 are not mandatory. At the contracting officer's discretion, one or more, but not necessarily all, of the evaluation procedures in part 14 or 15 may be used.

(2) If telecommuting is not prohibited, agencies shall not unfavorably evaluate an offer because it includes telecommuting unless the contracting officer executes a written determination in accordance with FAR 7.108(b).

(3) If using price and other factors, ensure that quotations or offers can be evaluated in an efficient and minimally burdensome fashion. Formal evaluation plans and establishing a competitive range, conducting discussions, and scoring quotations or offers are not required. Contracting offices may conduct comparative evaluations of offers. Evaluation of other factors, such as past performance—

(i) Does not require the creation or existence of a formal data base; and

(ii) May be based on one or more of the following:

(A) The contracting officer's knowledge of and previous experience with the supply or service being acquired;

(B) Customer surveys, and past performance questionnaire replies;

(C) The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) at https://www.cpars.gov”; or

(D) Any other reasonable basis.

(4) For acquisitions conducted using a method that permits electronic response to the solicitation, the contracting officer may—

(i) After preliminary consideration of all quotations or offers, identify from all quotations or offers received one that is suitable to the user, such as the lowest priced brand name product, and quickly screen all lower priced quotations or offers based on readily discernible value indicators, such as past performance, warranty conditions, and maintenance availability; or

(ii) Where an evaluation is based only on price and past performance, make an award based on whether the lowest priced of the quotations or offers having the highest past performance rating possible represents the best value when compared to any lower priced quotation or offer.

[62 FR 64917, Dec. 9, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 58593, Oct. 30, 1998; 69 FR 59702, Oct. 5, 2004; 72 FR 63076, Nov. 7, 2007; 74 FR 31560, July 1, 2009; 84 FR 47866, Sept. 10, 2019]