New Limits On Use Of "Of A Type" Commercial Services

Implementing statutory requirements, FAR has been amended with interim rules (74 Fed. Reg. 52852 (Oct. 14, 2009)) providing that, when purchasing services that are not offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace but are "of a type" offered in the commercial marketplace, the services may be considered commercial items exempt from the cost or pricing data requirements of the Truth in Negotiations Act only if the contracting officer determines in writing that the offeror has submitted sufficient information to evaluate, through price analysis, the reasonableness of the price of such services. In order to make the determination required by the new regulation, the contracting officer may request the offeror to submit prices paid for the same or similar commercial items under comparable terms and conditions by both Government and commercial customers and if the contracting officer determines that such comparable information is not sufficient to determine the reasonableness of price, the contracting officer may request other relevant information regarding the basis for price or cost, including information on labor costs, material costs, and overhead rates.