AFFARS Part 5306

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PART 5306-COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS

As used in this part, "commencement of negotiations" means the following:
(a) For noncompetitive negotiations, the acquisition cycle may proceed up to, but not including, the start of discussions with offerors for the purpose of reaching agreement on all aspects of the proposal, including terms and conditions and the pricing arrangement. Audits and fact-finding necessary to evaluate the proposal and develop the Government's negotiation objectives may be conducted.
(b) For competitive negotiations, the acquisition cycle may proceed up to, but not including, competitive range determination if the competitive range determination will result in the elimination of an offeror; and may otherwise proceed up to, but not including, issuing the request for final proposal revision.

SUBPART 5306.2 FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION AFTER EXCLUSION OF SOURCES

(b) (1) The following officials are authorized (nondelegable) to sign the Determination and Findings (D&F) in support of proposed actions in FAR 6.202 (a):

SUBPART 5306.3 OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(c) Limitations. The use of this authority shall not in itself dictate the use of an Undefinitized Contractual Action (UCA), nor must this authority be cited in order to issue a UCA.

(c) Limitations.

(d) The contracting officer shall forward a copy of the approved J&A to SAF/AQCO for any contract action which is subject to the Trade Agreements Act (see FAR Subpart 25.4) and will be awarded using other than competitive procedures pursuant to FAR 6.302-3 (a)(2)(i) or FAR 6.302-7.
(e) If award must precede SPE approval, the contracting office shall submit the J&A to SAF/AQCS no later than 30 days after contract award.

(a) J&As must be stand-alone documents for approving contract actions that are specifically defined. Sufficient information must exist to make a determination that the contract requirements cannot be competed, or that less than full and open competition is the appropriate strategy. For example, use of general terms such as "special studies" and "modification upgrades," without a more detailed description is not sufficient for making a non-competitive determination. Contract actions must be sufficiently defined to provide clear limits to the J&A authority and to permit a clear relationship to be established between the action and the circumstances cited as requiring other than full and open competition.

(a) A justification for a proposed contract action requiring ASAF(A) approval shall contain a cover sheet entitled "Justification Review Document (JRD)."
(b) The JRD shall state the following information:

(c) The JRD shall include the typed names, titles, telephone numbers, and signatures of the following officials:

(d) For AFMC PEO actions, the Buying Office Contracting Official (BOCO) shall also sign the JRD. For AFMC DAC programs and Other Contracting within AFMC, the Senior Center Contracting Official shall also sign the JRD.
(e) All individuals listed on the JRD shall review the J&A and provide comments as appropriate. The contracting officer shall verify all coordinations have been obtained and all comments have been resolved before forwarding the JRD to the PEO, DAC, MAJCOM Director of Contracting, or HCA-designated official for signature. A record of the coordinations shall be maintained in the contract file.

For a summary of approval levels for J&As, see Attachment 5306-1. A requirement shall not be split for the purpose of reducing the justification approval level. Notwithstanding any other requirements of this AFFARS subpart, review and approval of justifications by the competition advocate for AFMC Special Access Programs may be accomplished by an official described in FAR 6.304 (a)(3).

(a) Class justifications and International Agreement Competitive Restrictions (IACR) documents may be used where identical justification is to be used only to support other than full and open competition procedures for a group of related contract actions for the same or related supplies or services. Each class J&A or IACR shall follow the same format in 5306.303-2 and must clearly establish for each contract:

NOTE: Information that is the same for multiple contracts need not be restated for each.
(b) Each contract action to be approved under a class J&A or IACR should be described as precisely as possible. For replenishment spares, a definite list of stock numbers or part numbers must be included or identified. Additional items cannot be acquired unless an amendment to the J&A or IACR is approved. If the NSN/part number changes due to an ECP, modification, etc. during the effective period of the J&A, reapproval is not required since these are not new items. The contracting office shall maintain a list of all approved items under the J&A or IACR. No parts should be included for which a planned competitive strategy will exist during the term of the J&A or IACR. The J&A should discuss potential for future competition for spare parts included in the list.
(c) When contracts under a class J&A or IACR will be based on demand generated requirements (e.g., indefinite-quantity and requirements contracts and level-of-effort contracts), use the best estimates of supplies and services. However, the J&A or IACR must state the maximum quantity that may be acquired.
(d) All contract actions within a class should fall within the same statutory authority. Where a different authority must be used for any contract action, a separate J&A should be prepared.

(a) General procedures.

(b) Specific procedures.

(c) Clearing FAAA exceptions. The contracting officer is responsible for clearing the exceptions. For AFMC PEO actions, the contracting officer shall afford the SCCO three work days to review/comment on the documentation necessary to clear the exception prior to submittal. The contracting officer submits the documentation through the PEO to SAF/AQCS. For AFMC DAC actions and Other Contracting, the contracting officer is responsible for obtaining the Senior Center Contracting Official's coordination and submitting the clearance documentation through the DAC or Center Commander to SAF/AQCS.

The following procedures are applicable to J&As that require ASAF (A) or PDASAF(A&M) approval. Procedures for processing changes to other J&As should be developed by each MAJCOM and should be consistent with these procedures.
(a) Before FAAA approval. Changes to the J&A may be initiated by the field contracting activity when requested by SAF/AQCS, or any Secretariat office during its review. These changes may be accomplished with change pages submitted to SAF/AQCS for inclusion in the final document. SAF/AQCS shall notify the PEO, DAC, or for Other Contracting the HCA-designated official of major issues affecting processing and approval of the J&A. Recoordination with the original signatures of the J&A necessitated by HQ or Secretariat review is not required.
(b) After FAAA approval but before award.

(c) After award.

(d) Scope.

(a) Pursuant to FAR 17.207, a NTE option is not considered a priced option. Therefore, a synopsis in accordance with FAR 5.201 and a J&A are required before a NTE option is exercised.
(b) For sole source procurements, a NTE option can be exercised without processing a new J&A provided it meets the following conditions:

The organizations listed below have been designated "procuring activities" pursuant to FAR 6.501:

ATTACHMENT 5306-1 APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS FOR JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A)

APPROVAL LEVELS****

Threshold

PEO.DAC
Program

AFMC
Other Contracting

Other MAJCOMs
Other Contracting

< $500K

CO

CO

CO

> $500K to < $10M

PEO*/DAC*

Comp Adv

Comp Adv***

> $10M to < $50M

PEO**/DAC**

AFMC/CC**

PDASAF(A&M)

> $50M

ASAF(A)

ASAF(A)

ASAF(A)


* Delegable to "Procuring Activity's" Competition Advocate (see note below)

** Delegable to an official meeting the criteria at FAR 6.304 (a)(3) (see note below)

*** Limited to less than $5M for the last five organizations listed in AFFARS 5306.501. SAF/AQC approves J&As between $5M and $10M.
****The procuring activity competition advocate shall review/coordinate on all J&As $500,000 and over.

Note: If a PEO does not meet the criteria of FAR 6.304 (a)(3) (general officer or civilian equivalent), justification approval authority is: (1) the Center competition advocate for efforts exceeding $500,000 but equal to or less than $10 million (nondelegable); (2) PDASAF(A&M) for efforts between $10 million and $50 million delegable to an individual meeting the FAR 6.304 (a)(3) criteria.

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