General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Removing the GSA Payments Clause for Non-Commercial Contracts, 55087-55088 [2024-14352]

Agencies

• General Services Administration

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55087-55088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14352]



[[Page 55087]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 532 and 552

[GSAR Case 2022-G513; Docket No. GSA-GSAR-2023-0008; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090-AK55


General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Removing 
the GSA Payments Clause for Non-Commercial Contracts

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

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The General Services Administration is amending the General 
Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to remove clause 
552.232-1 Payments. This clause requires the Government to pay a 
contractor without submission of an invoice or voucher for non-
commercial fixed price contracts for supplies or services.

DATES: Effective: August 2, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact 
Ms. Taylor McDaniels, Procurement Analyst; Mr. J. Curtis Hauschildt, 
Procurement Analyst; or Mr. Bryon Boyer, Procurement Analyst, at 
[email protected] or 817-850-5580. For information pertaining to 
status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat 
Division at [email protected] or 202-501-4755. Please cite GSAR Case 
2022-G513.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    This final rule amends the General Services Administration 
Acquisition Regulation to remove clause 552.232-1 Payments. The General 
Services Administration conducts routine reviews of its acquisition 
regulations to identify outdated content and to ensure there is no 
unnecessary duplication of or conflict with the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation (FAR), pursuant to FAR 1.304. Through one of these reviews 
in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, GSA identified that GSAR clause 552.232-1 
Payments conflicts with FAR clause 52.232-1 Payments and should be 
removed. As this GSAR clause is over 10 years old, GSA does not have 
any historical information that explains why the GSAR clause was 
initially created. This rule seeks to rectify the issue.

II. Discussion and Analysis

A. Summary of Significant Changes

    There are no changes from the proposed rule in this final rule.

B. Analysis of Public Comments

    A proposed rule was submitted for public comment on February 28, 
2023, and no comments were received by the closing date of May 1, 2023.

C. Expected Cost Impact to the Public

    This rule removes one conflicting GSAR clause regarding payments 
for non-commercial fixed price contracts for supplies or services. GSA 
believes the exception to invoicing in the GSAR clause is not currently 
followed, and applicable contractors are already following the invoice 
requirements of the FAR clause. However, GSA conducted the analysis 
below demonstrating that the expected impact of this rule is not 
significant.
    With this change, contractors with non-commercial, fixed-price, 
contracts for supplies or services will now have to submit proper 
invoices in order to receive payments in accordance with FAR 52.232-1 
Payments. Information generated from the System for Award Management 
(SAM.gov) for FY 2023 reflects approximately 142,120 GSA contracts were 
awarded for non-commercial fixed price contracts for supplies or 
services across approximately 735 separate contractors.
    Consistent with the methodology and analysis for the FAR clause 
information collection \1\, the affected contracts on average are 
estimated to have 6 invoices per contract per year, for a total of 
852,720 total responses. Each response is estimated to require 0.25 
hours, for a total of 213,180 hours of total burden. Applying a GS-12 
pay rate, the total cost is estimated to be $12,517,930 \2\, or 
approximately $17,031 per contractor which is not significant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Office of Management and Budget Control Number 9000-0073, 
Certain Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 32 Requirements.
    \2\ The hourly rate for GS-12 is $58.72 ($43.10 as a GS-12/step 
5 salary OPM 2023 pay scale Rest of US, with a 36.25% fringe factor 
pursuant to OMB memorandum M-08-13).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Executive Orders 12866, 13563 and 14904

    Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) 
directs agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available 
regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select 
regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential 
economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive 
impacts, and equity). E.O. 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory 
Review) emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and 
benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting 
flexibility. E.O. 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) supplements and 
reaffirms the principles, structures, and definitions governing 
contemporary regulatory review established in E.O. 12866 and E.O. 
13563. OIRA has determined this rule to not be a significant regulatory 
action and, therefore, is not subject to review under section 6(b) of 
E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993.

IV. Congressional Review Act

    OIRA has determined that this rule is not a major rule under 5 
U.S.C. 804(2). Subtitle E of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (codified at 5 U.S.C. 801-808), also known as the 
Congressional Review Act or CRA, generally provides that before a 
``major rule'' may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must 
submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House 
of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. 
The General Services Administration will submit a report containing 
this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. 
House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United 
States. A major rule under the CRA cannot take effect until 60 days 
after it is published in the Federal Register.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    GSA does not expect this rule to 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 this is a 
noncontroversial action that only impacts the agency's internal 
operating procedures, and GSA anticipates no significant adverse 
comments. Therefore, a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has not 
been prepared.

VI. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) does apply; 
however, these changes to the GSAR do not impose additional information 
collection requirements to the paperwork burden previously approved 
under the Office of Management and Budget Control Number 9000-0073, 
Certain Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 32 Requirements.

[[Page 55088]]

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 532 and 552

    Government procurement.

Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Government-wide Policy, General Services Administration.

    Therefore, GSA amends 48 CFR parts 532 and 552 as set forth below:

0
1. The authority citation for 48 CFR parts 532 and 552 continues to 
read as follows:

    Authority:  40 U.S.C. 121(c).

PART 532--CONTRACT FINANCING

0
2. Revise section 532.111 to read as follows:


532.111  Contract Clauses for non-commercial purchases.

    Construction contracts. Insert the clause at 552.232-5, Payments 
under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts, in solicitations and 
contracts when a fixed-price construction contract is contemplated.

PART 552--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES


552.232-1  [Removed and Reserved]

0
3. Remove and reserve section 552.232-1.


552.232-5  [Amended]

0
4. Amend section 552.232-5 by removing from the introductory text 
``552.111(b)'' and adding ``532.111'' in its place.

[FR Doc. 2024-14352 Filed 7-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-61-P