[Federal Register: March 20, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 54)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 13769-13770]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20mr98-57]


[[Page 13769]]

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Part VII

Department of Defense

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
_______________________________________________________________________



48 CFR Parts 31 and 46



Federal Acquisition Regulations; Mandatory Government Source 
Inspection; Civil Defense Costs; Proposed Rules


[[Page 13770]]



DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Part 46

[FAR Case 97-027]
RIN 9000-AH94

 
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Mandatory Government Source 
Inspection

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

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense 
Acquisition Regulations Council are proposing to amend the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to facilitate the elimination of 
unnecessary Government contract quality assurance requirements at 
source. This regulatory action was not subject to Office of Management 
and Budget review under Executive Order 12866, dated September 30, 
1993. This is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before May 19, 1998 to be 
considered in the formulation of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should submit written comments to: 
General Services Administration, FAR Secretariat (MVRS), 1800 F Street, 
NW, Room 4035, Washington, DC 20405.
E-mail comments submitted over Internet should be addressed to: 
farcase.97-027@gsa.gov. Please cite FAR case 97-027 in all 
correspondence related to this case.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The FAR Secretariat, Room 4035, GS Building, Washington, DC 20405, 
(202) 501-4755 for information pertaining to status or publication 
schedules. For clarification of content, contact Ms. Linda Klein, 
Procurement Analyst, at (202) 501-3775. Please cite FAR case 97-027.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    The Acting Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology), 
by memorandum dated March 20, 1997, tasked the Commander, Defense 
Contract Management Command, to establish a process action team (PAT) 
that would, in part, review and recommend steps to eliminate 
unnecessary Government source inspections for commercial and non-
commercial item micro-purchases. The Under Secretary of Defense 
(Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer), by memorandum dated May 29, 
1997, requested that the scope of the review be expanded to reassess 
all source acceptance policies and procedures, including a full 
accounting of all Government steps and costs in the source acceptance 
process; a comparison with alternate methods; and a determination of 
whether or not the existing 1.8 million stock items requiring source 
acceptance still merit that designation.
    The PAT's initial review found that contributors of unnecessary 
Government contract quality assurance at source are FAR 46.402(e), 
which requires mandatory contract quality assurance at source when 
higher-level quality requirements are invoked, and 46.402(g), which 
appears to discourage destination acceptance for overseas shipments. 
The proposed rule amends FAR 46.402 to delete these paragraphs.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The proposed changes may have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities within the meaning of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because both large 
and small entities will see a reduction in the administrative burden 
caused by the Government's in-plant presence to perform quality 
assurance at source when higher-level quality requirements have been 
included in Government contracts or when supplies requiring inspection 
are destined for points of embarkation for overseas shipment. An 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) has been prepared and 
will be provided to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy for the Small 
Business Administration. The IRFA is summarized as follows:

    There is no statistical data to support an estimate of the 
dollar value related to the reduction in the administrative burden 
associated with this rule. However, DOD administers the contracts of 
approximately 10,129 large and 18,329 small entities. Approximately 
30 percent have contracts that contain the clause at FAR 52.246-11, 
Higher-Level Contract Quality Requirement (Government 
Specification). It is anticipated that the proposed rule's reduction 
in the administrative burden may serve to motivate more small 
entities to do business with the Government. This rule imposes no 
additional reporting, recordkeeping, or compliance requirements on 
offerors or contractors. This rule does not duplicate, overlap, or 
conflict with any other Federal rules. Consideration was given to 
not making the revision to the FAR. It was determined that not 
making these revisions would be unacceptable because of the adverse 
impact on an efficient and effective acquisition process. 
Consideration also was given to making all of the requirements at 
FAR 46.402 discretionary, but it was decided that this would be 
premature since the PAT has not completed its review and made its 
final recommendations.

    A copy of the IRFA may be obtained from the FAR Secretariat. 
Comments are invited. Comments from small entities concerning the 
affected FAR subpart will be considered in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 
610. Such comments must be submitted separately and should cite 5 
U.S.C. 601, et seq. (FAR Case 97-027), in correspondence.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the proposed 
changes to the FAR do not impose recordkeeping or information 
collection requirements, or collections of information from offerors, 
contractors, or members of the public which require the approval of the 
Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 46

    Government procurement.

    Dated: March 17, 1998.
Edward C. Loeb,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division.

    Therefore, it is proposed that 48 CFR Part 46 amended as set forth 
below:

PART 46--QUALITY ASSURANCE

    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR Part 46 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 486(c); 10 U.S.C. chapter 137; and 42 
U.S.C. 2473(c).


46.402  [Amended]

    2. Section 46.402 is amended by removing paragraphs (e) and (g); 
redesignating paragraphs (f) and (h) as (e) and (f), respectively; and 
by adding ``or'' to the end of the newly designated paragraph (e).

[FR Doc. 98-7350 Filed 3-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-M