FAR Part 4 Overview
Administrative Matters
FAR 4.1 Contract Execution
• 4.101 Only contracting officers (CO) shall sign
contracts on behalf of the United States.
• CO signs the contract after the contractor has
signed.
• 4.102 Contractor signature may be provided by:
•
•
•
•
•
Individuals
Partnerships
Corporations
Joint Ventures
Agents
FAR 4.2 Contract Distribution
• 4.201 Contracting officers shall distribute
copies of contracts or modifications within 10
working days after execution by all parties.
• 4.203 Taxpayer Identification Information
(TIN)
– Contractor must provide TIN and type of
organization information
FAR 4.3 Paper Documents
• 4.300 Scope of subpart
– This subpart provides policies and procedures on
contractor-submitted paper documents.
FAR 4.4 Safeguarding Classified Information
Within Industry
• 4.402 Executive Order 12829, January 6, 1993
(58 FR 3479, January 8, 1993), entitled
“National Industrial Security Program” (NISP),
establishes a program to safeguard Federal
Government classified information that is
released to contractors, licensees, and
grantees of the United States Government.
FAR 4.4 Continued
The National Industrial Security Program
Operating Manual (NISPOM) incorporates the
requirements of the NISP Executive orders.
The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with
all affected agencies and with the concurrence
of the Secretary of Energy, the Chairman of
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the
Director of Central Intelligence, is responsible
for issuance and maintenance of this Manual.
FAR 4.4 Continued
• 4.403, 4.404
– CO shall review proposed solicitations and
determine security requirements.
– CO ensures acquisition is NISP compliant.
FAR 4.5 Electronic Commerce in
Contracting
• 4.502 The Federal Government shall use
electronic commerce whenever practicable or
cost effective.
FAR 4.6 Contract Reporting
Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS)
FPDS Purpose
– Provide database of information regarding
business types, types of contracts awarded,
products purchased and associated costs, from
which reports can be generated for the
Government or general public.
FAR 4.6 Continued
4.606 Reporting Data
Contract Actions agencies must report to FPDS
• Definitive contracts, including purchase orders and
imprest fund buys over the micro-purchase threshold
awarded by a contracting officer
• Indefinite delivery vehicles, including Task and Delivery
Order contracts, GSA Federal supply schedules, Blanket
Purchase Agreements, and any other agreement or
contract against which purchases can be placed
FAR 4.7 Contractor Records Retention
4.702 Applicable to contracts where FAR 52.214-26, Audit and
Records – Sealed Bidding or FAR 52.215-2, Audit and Records Negotiation have been incorporated into the contract
4.703 Contractors are required to have available: records (i.e.
books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and
other source data) for 3 years after final payment.
4.705 Financial and cost accounting records, pay administration,
acquisition and supply records – 2-4 years.
FAR 4.8 Government Contract Files
Contract files are kept for all contract actions.
– Files document complete history of the contract
– Files are readily accessible to principal users
– Include quotations, certifications, source selection
information, etc.
FAR 4.8 Continued
• 4.804 Closeout of Contract Files
– Simplified contracts closed upon CO receipt of evidence of
receipt of property and final payment
– FFP contracts should be closed within 6 months after CO
receipt of evidence of physical completion.
– Contracts requiring settlement of indirect cost rates should
be closed within 36 months after CO receipt of evidence of
physical completion.
– All others – within 20 months.
FAR 4.9 Taxpayer Identification
Number Information (TIN)
• Purpose of TIN
– Debt collection
– Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting
FAR 4.10 Contract Line Items
• Method utilized to identify items or services
being acquired.
FAR 4.11 Central Contractor
Registration CCR
On May 29, 2012, the Central Contractor
Registration (CCR) system is going away. CCR,
along with Federal Agency Registration
(FedReg), the Online Representations and
Certifications Application (ORCA), and the
Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), will be
migrated into the new System for Award
Management, or SAM.
FAR 4.11 Continued
• 4.11 CCR – Prior to contract award,
contractors are to be registered with CCR.
– Provides the federal government a database of
information on contractors.
– Allows the Government to identifying and assist in
paying contractors.
– Registering requires: DUNS number, Cage Code,
and proper Orca Filings.
FAR 4.12 Representations and
Certifications
4.1200 Online Representations and
Certifications Application (ORCA) (also
migrating to SAM on 5/29/12)
• Allows contractors to provide “representations
and certifications” where they can be
accessed by numerous contracting and
procurement offices
FAR 4.13 Personal Identity Verification
4.1301 Applicable when contractor and/or
subcontractor personnel are performing
services routinely at Federally-controlled
facilities and/or have routine access to an
information system that is Federally
controlled.
4.1302 Personal Identity Verification is also
applicable to the acquisition of products and
services.
FAR 4.14 Reporting Executive Compensation and
First-Tier Subcontract Awards
4.1401 Applicable to contracts awarded at $25k or
higher, the exception being classified contracts
and contracts awarded to individuals.
• Contractors is required to report its five most
highly compensated executives and of its first tier
subcontractors.
• Exception – contractors and subcontract whose
gross income in the prior tax year was under
$300k.
FAR 4.15 American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act – Reporting Requirements
Applicable for contracts or mods that are funded
the the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act.
Information to be included in reporting:
–
–
–
–
Dollar amount of contractor invoices
Supplies and services provided
Status report on work progress
Estimate of the number of jobs created and/or
retained due to the Recovery Act funding
– Executive compensation for contractor and first tier
subcontractors.
FAR 4.16 Unique Procurement
Instrument Identifiers (PIID)
PIID is a standardized method by which the
Government identifies contract actions
Management Services
Division
UNITED STATES OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Washington, DC 20415
Contracting Policy No. 4.602(e)
Procurement Instrument Identifier (PIID)
Purpose: This Contracting Policy provides guidance on the assignment of Procurement Instrument Identifiers
(PIIDs) to U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) contractual actions.
Effective Date: Immediately
Expiration Date: None (may only be cancelled or superseded.)
Background:
Paragraph 4.601 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires executive agencies to establish and maintain for a
period of 5 years a computer file, by fiscal year, containing various types of information on most contractual
actions. The computer file in question must be accessible to the public using the Federal Procurement Data
System—Next Generation (FPDS-NG). In other words, we must input to FPDS-NG most of the contractual actions
that we issue. (Please refer to Contracting Policy No. 4.602(a) for guidance on input to FPDS-NG.)
Paragraph 4.602(e) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires that each FPDS-reporting agency “assign a
unique identifier to every contract, purchase order, BOA, Basic Agreement, and BPA,” and provides the following
guidance as to the structure of this unique procurement instrument identifier (PIID):
The PIID shall consist of alpha characters in the first positions to indicate the agency, followed by alphanumeric
characters identifying bureau, offices, or other administrative subdivisions. The last portion of the PIID shall be
numbered sequentially. The PIID may include other elements, as appropriate, such as fiscal year.
Delivery orders, task orders, and call numbers must be unique in combination with the basic reference contract vehicle
identifier.
When the basic reference contract is available for multi-agency use (GWAC, Federal Supply Schedule contract, etc.), an
ordering agency shall use the same agency identification prefix for its delivery orders, task orders, and call numbers
as it uses for its contractual instruments.
Although the current OPM system for numbering contractual documents contains many common-use or standardized
elements, there is still some variation in the actual application of
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Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce
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the system. We must therefore establish a system which is standardized in all elements, and use it without variation.
The Policy:
All OPM PIIDs must be structured according to the guidance that follows. Once assigned, the PIID must be retained
unchanged for the life of the instrument.
1. Basic PIID number
(a) Elements of a PIID. The OPM PIID consists of four fields, each of which is a group
of alpha and/or numeric characters, identifying the organizational component, fiscal year of the action, type of action,
and number of the action. These fields are separated by hyphens.
(1) Characters 1 through 6. The first six positions identify OPM and the organizational component issuing the instrument.
This field will always begin with the letters “OPM”, and continue with the number of the issuing organization. For
example, OPM049 indicates OPM and the Contracting Group.
(2) Characters 7 through 8. The seventh and eighth positions are the last two digits of the fiscal year in which the PIID
number is assigned.
(3) Character 9. Indicate the type of instrument by entering one of the following upper case letters in this field: A
Blanket purchase agreements
B
Invitations for bids
C
Contracts of all types except indefinite delivery contracts, facilities contracts, sales contracts, and contracts placed
with or through other Government departments or agencies or against contracts placed by such departments or
agencies outside OPM
D Indefinite delivery contracts
E
Facilities contracts
F
Contracting actions placed with or through other Government departments or agencies or against contracts
placed by such departments or agencies outside the DoD (including actions with theNational Industries for the
Blind (NIB), the National Industries for thSeverely Handicapped (NISH), and the Federal Prison Industries
(UNICOR))
G Basic ordering agreements
H Agreements, including basic agreements and loan agreements, but excluding blanket purchase agreements, basic
ordering agreements, and leases
I
Do not use
J
Do not use
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Short form research contract
Lease agreement
Purchase orders—manual (assign W when numbering capacity of M is exhausted during the fiscal year)
Notice of intent to purchase
Do not use
Purchase order—automated (assign V when numbering capacity of P is exhausted during a fiscal year)
Request for quotation—open market
Request for proposal
Sales contract
Request for quotation—GSA schedule (assign U when numbering capacity of T is exhausted during a fiscal year)
See T
See P
See M
Not used
Imprest fund
Not used
(4) Characters 10 through 13. Enter the number of the action in these positions. A separate series of action numbers will
be used for each type of instrument listed in the table above. Assign such series of action numbers sequentially.
(b) Illustration of PIID number. The following is an illustration of a properly configured PIID number: OPM049-05-A-0001.
The meaning of the various fields of the number is shown below Field
Description
OPM049
The action was issued by OPM Contracting Group.
05 The action was issued in FY 2005.
A
The action is a BPA.
0001
This BPA is the first one in the series.
2. Supplementary PIID numbers
(a) A supplementary PIID number is a field of four alphanumeric characters added to the basic PIID number, separated
from it by a hyphen.
(b) Use supplementary numbers with the basic PIID number, to identify:
(i) Amendments to solicitations. Number amendments to solicitations sequentially, starting with supplementary PIID
number M001. For example, OPM049-05-R-0001-M001 means amendment 0001 to RFP no. 0001 issued in FY 2005
by the OPM Contracting Group.
(ii) Modifications to contracts and agreements, including provisioned item orders. Number modifications to contracts
and agreements sequentially, also starting with supplementary PIID number M001. For example, OPM049-05-A0001-M001 identifies the first modification to the BPA used in the example in paragraph 1(b) above.
(iii) Calls or orders under contracts, basic ordering agreements, or blanket purchase agreements established by CG.
Number modification to contracts and agreements sequentially, starting with supplementary PIID number W001.
For example, OPM049-05-A-00001-W001 identifies the call order placed against the BPA used in the example in
paragraph 1(a) above.
3. When assigning PIID numbers:
(a) Use only the alpha-numeric characters, in the groups and format as described above.
(b) If it is necessary to provide additional identification on the solicitation, contract, or other related instrument forms,
enter it in such a location so as to separate it clearly from the PIID number.
(c) Enter the basic PIID number, including Federal supply contract numbers and any supplementary numbers, in the
spaces provided on the solicitation, contract, or related instrument forms. If there is no space provided on the
form, enter the number in the upper right corner of the form and identify what it is (e.g., BPA Number OPM04905-A-0001).
Point Of Contact:
Please direct questions concerning this CP to Tina B. McGuire, Chief, Contracting Group, by telephone at 202-606-4591
or by email at tina.mcguire@opm.gov.
Approved By:
_______/S/_______________
Ronald C. Flom
Senior Procurement Executive
SEP 12 2005
Date