National Aeronautics and Space Administration April 19, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-09 which amend the FAR. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-09 which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at https://www.acqnet.gov/far.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) by revising fast payment procedures. The revision permits, but does not require, fast payment when invoices and/or outer shipping containers are not marked ``Fast Pay'' provided the contract includes the ``Fast Payment Procedure'' clause. As highlighted in the clause, if the clause is in the contract, the invoices will no longer be rejected, as is the current practice. Instead, they will be paid using either fast payment or normal payment procedures. In addition, the revision deletes the requirement for marking invoices ``No Receiving Report Prepared.''

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to remove the sanctions against certain European Union (EU) countries.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to adopt as final without change, the interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify that prime contractors must confirm that a subcontractor representing itself as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business concern is certified, consistent with the requirements of 15 U.S.C. 632 et. seq., as amended.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed to convert to a final rule without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to revise the definition of ``Information technology'' to reflect the changes to the definition resulting from the enactment of Public Law 108-199, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004. Section 535(b) of Division F of Public Law 108-199 permanently revises the term ``Information technology'', which is defined at 40 U.S.C. 11101, to add ``analysis and evaluation'' and to clarify the term ``ancillary equipment.''

This document summarizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council in this Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-09. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), follows this FAC. The FAC, including the SECG, is available via the Internet at https://www.acqnet.gov/far.