COFC Ruling May Hasten Commercial Contracting's Decline

Washington, D.C.-based Government Contract Group partner, J. Chris Haile, discusses a recent Court of Federal Claims decision that exempts Federal Supply Schedule contracts from some streamlined commercial acquisition rules, which is causing some concern about the long-term relevance of commercial contracting rules. Because FAR Part 8.4 only provides that FAR Part 12 applies in three instances, it doesn't cover situations in which CMS deviated from commercial practices when making an order under the schedules. "The general presumption has been that the schedules are commercial item contracts, so that while they're subject to FAR Part 8, they're also subject to FAR Part 12," Haile said. "I think that the decision certainly could have come out differently."