General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Submission for OMB Review; Price Reductions Clause, 58380-58381 [2012-23137]

Agencies

• General Services Administration

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 183 (Thursday, September 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58380-58381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23137]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 3090-0235; Docket No.2011-0016; Sequence 10]


General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; 
Submission for OMB Review; Price Reductions Clause

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration 
(GSA).

ACTION: Notice of request for comments regarding an extension to an 
existing OMB clearance.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a 
previously approved information collection requirement regarding the 
GSAR Price Reductions Clause. A notice was published in the Federal 
Register at 76 FR 89141, on December 29, 2011. One respondent submitted 
comments.
    Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this 
collection of information is necessary and whether it will have 
practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this 
collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions 
and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected.

DATES: Submit comments on or before: October 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 3090-
0235, Price Reduction Clause, by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching the 
OMB control number. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that 
corresponds with ``Information Collection 3090-0235, Price Reduction 
Clause''. Follow the instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' 
screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and 
``Information Collection 3090-0235, Price Reduction Clause'' on your 
attached document.
     Fax: 202-501-4067.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN: 
Hada Flowers/IC 3090-0235, Price Reduction Clause.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 3090-0235, Price Reduction Clause, in all correspondence 
related to this collection. All comments received will be posted 
without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dana Munson, Procurement Analyst, 
General Services Acquisition Policy Division, GSA, (202) 357-9652 or 
email Dana.Munson@gsa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

    The clause at GSAR 552.238-75, Price Reductions, used in multiple 
award schedule contracts ensures that the Government maintains its 
relationship with the contractor's customer or category of customers, 
upon which the contract is predicated. The reason for the burden 
increase is based on the results of comments received.

B. Discussion and Analysis

    The Coalition for Government Procurement provided comments on 
behalf of its members. The comments are insightful and provide a 
foundation on which to counter-estimate annual burden hours.
    The comments provided included an analysis of the practical utility 
of the Price Reductions Clause (PRC); the perceived limitations placed 
on MAS contractors in the commercial market due to the PRC; an estimate 
of the PRC reporting burden; and the results of the Coalition survey 
issued to its members on the burden hours of training, compliance 
systems, contract negotiations, and audit preparation.
    GSA appreciates the comments provided and agrees that the reporting 
burden was underestimated. The PRC is included in the retrospective 
analysis and review under Executive Order 13563, as part of GSA's 
modernization effort.
    Using the results of the contractor survey conducted by the 
Coalition relative to the burden hours associated with collection of 
information on the PRC, GSA has reevaluated and revised the total 
annual burden. An analysis of the evaluation is as follows:
    Training--GSA believes that costs and hours allocated to training 
have a direct link to the size, business structure and product 
offerings of the company. Further, the investment of hours for design 
and development of a training program far exceed those aligned with 
conducting the training itself. We estimate that training activity for 
design and development of this type of training can be accomplished in 
approximately 80 hours, with an additional 5 hours to

[[Page 58381]]

administer the training on an annual basis. The estimated burden hours 
for developing and design of training are:
    Number of Respondents: 16,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 16,000.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 4 (80 hours/20 yrs).
    Total Burden Hours: 64,000.
    The estimated burden hours to administer training:
    Number of Respondents: 16,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 16,000.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 5.
    Total Burden Hours: 80,000.
    Compliance systems--Reduced expenditures should occur after the 
initial investment. The average dollar investment and the number of 
hours invested to set-up and monitor a compliance system will vary per 
vendor based on offerings, basis of award, participation in government 
or commercial marketplace, and the company's business structure. As a 
result, compliance system burden hours are broken down to address the 
diverse MAS vendor base. We estimate approximately 20% of the 16,000 
MAS vendors have all invested more heavily in the federal marketplace 
and therefore may require more burden hours to set up and monitor PRC 
compliance. The remaining estimated 80% have fewer offerings and less 
complex business structures resulting in reduced burden hours to setup 
and monitor compliance. Additionally, compliance systems are used to 
monitor other requirements in addition to the PRC. Therefore, the 
average number of hours invested to set up and monitor the system, as 
well as the cost of the system must be distributed over a larger base 
than just the PRC.
    The estimated burden hours for vendors with heavier investments in 
the federal marketplace are as follows:
    Number of Respondents: 3,200 (20% of 16,000).
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 3,200.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 55 hours (1100 hrs/20 yrs).
    Total Burden Hours: 176,000.
    The estimated burden hours for vendors with less heavy investments 
in the federal marketplace are as follows:
    Number of Respondents: 12,800 (80% of 16,000).
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 12,800.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 30 hours (600 hrs/20 yrs).
    Total Burden Hours: 384,000.
    Negotiations--The PRC is one of many areas negotiated with MAS 
contractors. We attribute pricing data to constitute over \1/2\ of the 
negotiations, with administrative and technical data comprising the 
remainder. Based on industry experience, it is estimated that no more 
than 140 hours are expended on PRC negotiations. Thus, the estimated 
272 hours is reduced to 140 hours over 20-year lifespan of the contract 
(140hrs/20) to an annual burden hours of 7.
    Number of Respondents: 19,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 19,000.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 7 (140 hrs/20 yrs).
    Total Burden Hours: 133,000.
    Audits--Over the past three years (FY10, FY11, FY12) an average of 
70 FSS contracts were audited by the IG each year. The respondent 
estimated that approximately 440-470 hours were spent preparing for 
audits involving the PRC. Thus, GSA took the average of the 
respondent's estimate (445) and multiplied it by 70, which is the 
consistent number of contracts audited during the last three fiscal 
years, to reach the sum of 31,150 hours expended preparing for audits.
    Number of Respondents: 70.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 70.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 445.
    Total Burden Hours: 31,150.

C. Annual Reporting Burden

    Number of Respondents: 19,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 19,000.
    Average Burden Hours per Response: 45.7 hours.
    Total Burden Hours: 868,150.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the 
information collection documents from the General Services 
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1275 First 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite 
OMB Control No. 3090-0235, Price Reductions Clause, in all 
correspondence.

    Dated: September 14, 2012.
Joseph A. Neurauter,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy, Senior Procurement Executive.
[FR Doc. 2012-23137 Filed 9-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-P