AFFARS PART 5301Federal Acquisition Regulations System

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PART 5301
Federal Acquisition Regulations System

[Revised 18 AUG 2005]

 

SUBPART 5301.1 — PURPOSE, AUTHORITY, ISSUANCE


5301.101 Purpose.

The Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS) establishes uniform policies and procedures for the Air Force implementing and supplementing the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Department of Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS), and other Department of Defense publications concerning contracting.

5301.102-90 Statement of guiding principles for the Air Force acquisition system.

(a) The Air Force relies on its acquisition system to acquire the weapons, equipment, supplies and services essential to its daily operations and warfighting mission. The Air Force acquisition mission is directly related to and supportive of the Air Force’s warfighting mission. The Air Force acquisition mission begins with a thorough understanding of customers and their mission needs. The success of Air Force acquisition is measured by the success of its customers.

(b) Every member of the Air Force acquisition community will be trained, knowledgeable, and skilled in the use of acquisition methods and tools that deliver the best value weapons, equipment, supplies and services to its customers in terms of quality, timeliness and price.

(c) Air Force contracting officers and other members of the acquisition team are empowered to make fast and effective decisions. Flexible and responsive acquisition policies provide an environment that encourages innovation and reasonable risk-taking. Whenever necessary, established policies, processes and methods for accomplishing the acquisition mission shall be challenged, analyzed, and replaced by creative methods that meet customers’ needs in an ever-changing business environment.

(d) Contracting officers, must possess: an understanding of the product or service being purchased; an extensive knowledge of the marketplace and market conditions; research and analytical skills; and the ability to exercise effective leadership, sound business judgment, and risk management techniques.

(e) All members of the Air Force acquisition team shall strive to achieve a cooperative atmosphere and “partnered” relationship with its contractors. Such partnerships must be established, nurtured, and focused on mission success.

(f) Open communications between the Air Force and contractors contribute to the success of an acquisition. Early industry involvement and open communications are the cornerstones of the Air Force's enhanced cooperative relationship with industry. Timely release of information to potential offerors is essential to maximize the value of their inputs to the planning, requirements generation, and acquisition processes.

(g) The acquisition mission will be greatly enhanced, and the acquisition workforce will be deeply enriched by deliberately cross-feeding new and innovative procedures/strategies among acquisition professionals Air Force-wide in order to facilitate continuous improvement. Discussions and sharing must be highly encouraged up, down, and across organizational boundaries with superiors, subordinates, and peers. Innovations and best practices do little good until they are shared among acquisition teams.

(h) MAJCOM and DRU commanders, PEOs, and acquisition managers and supervisors shall establish procedures to encourage and reward acquisition teams and/or individuals who effectively implement these principles.

5301.105 Issuance. (No Text)

5301.105-1 Publication and code arrangement.

(a) The AFFARS is published on the World Wide Web at the FARSite (http://farsite.hill.af.mil/) by the Contracting Laboratory, Hill AFB. MAJCOMs and DRUs shall publish their FAR Supplement on the World Wide Web at the FAR Site by sending an electronic copy of their FAR Supplement and any subsequent changes to the Contracting Laboratory.

SUBPART 5301.2 — ADMINISTRATION


5301.201 Maintenance of the FAR. (No Text)

5301.201-1 The two councils.

(d)(i) Proposed revisions to the FAR, DFARS, or AFFARS shall be submitted to SAF/AQCP.

5301.201-1-90 Maintenance of the AFFARS.

The AFFARS is prepared and maintained by the Chief, Contract Policy & Implementation Division, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting) (SAF/AQCP).

SUBPART 5301.3 — AGENCY ACQUISITION REGULATIONS


5301.301 Policy.

The AFFARS is issued by the DAS(C) based on the authority granted by Secretary of the Air Force Order (SAFO) 101.1 dated 5 Jun 99 and ASAF(A) memorandum regarding “Delegation of Contract and Agreement Authority” dated 30 Nov 99. MAJCOMs and DRUs are authorized to issue FAR Supplements if essential to their particular needs.

5301.303 Publication and codification.

(a) (i) The Air Force is assigned Chapter 53 of Title 48 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Air Force activities shall insert the number 53 before the primary citation in their FAR supplements. If the primary citation is to a single-digit part number, Air Force activities shall also insert a zero.

5301.304 Agency control and compliance procedures.

MAJCOMs and DRUs shall ensure that their FAR Supplements comply with the control and compliance procedures established in FAR 1.3, as supplemented, and do not restrain the flexibilities found in the FAR, DFARS and/or AFFARS. MAJCOMs and DRUs shall submit procurement policies, regulations, procedures, clauses, and forms that require approval by USD(AT&L)DP to SAF/AQCP. The request shall include a detailed justification using the format in DFARS 201.201-1. SAF/AQCP will arrange for publication in the Federal Register, if necessary. The requesting activity is responsible for evaluating public comments and preparing the final package for SAF/AQCP to submit to USD(AT&L)DP.

SUBPART 5301.4 — DEVIATIONS FROM THE FAR


5301.402 Policy.

5301.403 Individual deviations.

HCAs and those designees identified in 5301.601(a)(i)(C) are authorized to approve individual deviations except as restricted by DFARS 201.4. Individual deviation approval authority shall not be delegated outside contracting channels and shall not be delegated lower than the SCCO.

5301.404 Class deviations.

(b) (ii) HCAs are authorized to approve class deviations except as restricted by DFARS 201.4. Class deviation approval authority shall not be delegated outside contracting channels and shall not be delegated lower than the MAJCOM headquarters staff official with overall responsibility for contracting.

SUBPART 5301.6 — CAREER DEVELOPMENT, CONTRACTING AUTHORITY, AND RESPONSIBILITIES


5301.601 General.

(a) (i) Heads of Contracting Activities (HCAs) Responsibilities.

(a) (ii) General Contracting Authority,

5301.601-90 Contracting Assessment Program (CAP).

SAF/AQC conducts annual assessments of the Air Force’s contracting system. A principal element of this program is a Procurement Management Assessment (PMA) having three primary objectives:

(a) Review contracting operations in order to: (1) evaluate leadership practices; (2) assess customer support/satisfaction; (3) assess the degree of sound business judgment exercised; (4) determine if SAF/AQC policy emphasis areas are managed and executed properly; and (5) ensure contracting standards, policies, and procedures, conform to Federal, DoD, and Air Force expectations.

(b) Collect feedback on the effectiveness and efficiency of current contracting policy.

(c) Collect and share MAJCOM best practices within the Air Force.

Additional CAP information and past PMA results are posted on SAF/AQC’s CAP website.

5301.602 Contracting officers. (No Text)

5301.602-1 Authority.

Contracting officers are authorized to enter into and execute contracts funded either partially or completely with non-appropriated funds.

5301.602-2 Responsibilities.

(c) Contracting officers shall obtain legal advice when there is doubt or controversy about the interpretation or application of statutes, directives, and regulations or when a protest or claim is likely. Contracting officers should seek legal advice during all phases of major acquisitions, particularly during the formative stages or when using or applying unique or unusual contract provisions. The contracting officer’s use of legal support shall be governed by the following:

5301.602-3 Ratification of unauthorized commitments.

(b) Policy.


5301.603 Selection, appointment, and termination of appointment. (No Text)

5301.603-1 General.

The MAJCOM or DRU headquarters staff official with overall responsibility for contracting is authorized to appoint contracting officers and shall establish procedures for the selection, appointment, and termination of contracting officers.

5301.603-2-90 Selection.

(a) Contracting officer appointments shall be limited to military personnel in Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs) 64PX or 6C0X1 and civilians in the GS-1102 occupational series possessing a level 1 or higher Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) certification in contracting who occupy a manning authorization listed under these specialty codes, except as otherwise authorized below.

(b) Military personnel in AFSCs 64PX or 6C0X1 and civilians in the GS-1102 occupational series who occupy a manning authorization listed under these specialty codes but do not possess a level I APDP certification in contracting may only be issued limited warrants for amounts less than or equal to the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT).

(c) Non-contracting personnel, such as transportation personnel, medical supply personnel, librarians, and chiefs of construction management, may only be issued limited warrants for amounts less than or equal to the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) provided:

SUBPART 5301.90 — CLEARANCE

5301.9000 Scope and definitions.

(a) This subpart establishes clearance requirements for the contract actions identified below:

(b) Excluded from business or contract clearances are: (1) actions that create a UCA, undefinitized change order, undefinitized long lead contract; or (2) orders issued against existing contracts in accordance with the terms and conditions of the basic contract.

(c) “Business Clearance” means:

(d) “Begin negotiations” means, for the purpose of noncompetitive contract actions using traditional or commercial pricing, starting discussions with an offeror for the purpose of reaching agreement on all aspects of the proposal. Initiation of audits and fact-finding necessary to evaluate the proposal and develop the Government’s negotiation objective do not constitute negotiations.

(e) “Contract Clearance” means:

(f) “Traditional Pricing” means, for the purpose of noncompetitive actions, the serial process of the Government (1) defining the requirements; (2) requesting and receiving a proposal; and (3) reviewing and evaluating the proposal in order to establish an objective in preparation for negotiations.

(g) “IPT/One Pass pricing” means the process of concurrent requirements refinement, proposal development, fact-finding, and preliminary agreement between the Government and contractor in a noncompetitive acquisition. In this process, the Government and contractor IPT members communicate in an ongoing, structured manner from early planning stages through repetitive model contract development and review of related cost or pricing data.

5301.9001 Policy, thresholds, and approvals.

(a) The objectives of the business and contract clearance process are to ensure that:

(b) The clearance approval authority shall ensure that the clearance process meets the objectives in paragraph (a) above.

(c) The clearance approval authority must seek legal advice (See 5301.602-2) and ensure that counsel has coordinated on any clearance briefings or presentations, and that counsel’s comments are included in the briefing or presentation.

(d) At the discretion of the clearance approval authority, contract clearances involving non-competitive, traditionally or commercially priced acquisitions are not required when the negotiation team stays within a pre-set negotiation range and meets the parameters approved at the business clearance.

(e) The Source Selection Authority (SSA) shall not be the clearance approval authority.

(f) Business clearance is not required for actions using IPT pricing.

(g) Contract actions meeting the contract value thresholds set below shall not be awarded without obtaining the required business and contract clearance approval(s). Except for PEO programs supported by SMC and contract actions supported by AFMC, MAJCOM HCAs and DRU senior contracting officials shall establish clearance thresholds and approval levels within their units. Clearance approval authority may not be delegated.

(1) For PEO programs supported by SMC, PEO programs supported by AFMC and AFMC Other Contracting (excluding Operational)

Contract Value*

Clearance Approval Authority

>$50M

SCCO

$25M - $50M

Wing level PK/A7K/MSK/SPO Chief of Contracts for SMC PEO Programs/or Deputy

$5M - $25M

Group level PK/A7K/MSK or Deputy/at least one level above the CO for SMC PEO Programs

(2) AFMC Operational Contracting

Contract Value*

Clearance Approval Authority

>$10M

SCCO

$1M – $10M

SQ/CC or DBO

$500K - $1M

At least one level above the CO

* Note: Contract value is determined by applying the sum of the value of the basic portion of the instant acquisition, plus any options, sums reserved for provisioning, and the value of any contingencies, such as ceiling, award fees, and performance incentives.

SUBPART 5301.91--OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM

5301.9101 Purpose.

The purpose of the Air Force ombudsman program is to foster communication between government and industry. The primary function of the ombudsman is to hear concerns about specific issues in acquisitions, to communicate these concerns to senior management personnel responsible for oversight and to assist in the resolution of the concerns.

5301.9102 Policy.

(a) MAJCOM and DRU commanders shall appoint an experienced senior official who is independent of the contracting officer and program manager as the ombudsman at their MAJCOM/DRU. For AFMC and AFSPC Centers, an ombudsman is required at each Center, instead of at the MAJCOM.

(b) The ombudsman will have the authority to call upon other resources of the activity to assist in resolving acquisition issues or concerns (e.g. administrative support, independent review teams).

(c) Contracting officers shall identify the ombudsman in the initial announcement of the acquisition as well as in the draft and final RFP.

(d) The ombudsman shall:

(e) The Ombudsman Program does not replace the agency level protest, GAO bid protest or disputes processes.

(f) The Air Force ombudsman is the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), who may take action to assist in resolving issues, concerns, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the MAJCOM/DRU level, or for those having Air Force wide implications.

(g) Government personnel may use the Ombudsman Program as a way to express concerns about an acquisition.

5301.9103 Solicitation provision and contract clause.

Insert a clause substantially the same as the clause at 5352.201-9101, Ombudsman, in all solicitations (including draft solicitations) and contracts.

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