(a) General. Lowest Price Technically Acceptable is a source selection process that may be useful in acquisitions in which the Government, or the market, does not benefit from technical tradeoffs. A contracting officer should not use the lowest price technically acceptable source selection process without doing the following:

(1) Documentation requirements. The contracting officer shall include documentation as to why the lowest price technically acceptable source selection is being utilized. The rationale for why this method of source selection is being utilized should be clearly described in the acquisition plan (see FAR 7.105(b)(4)). The rationale should include a description as to why utilizing this methodology will not harm the Government.

(b) Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). Contracting officers shall ensure that FPDS is properly coded to include if lowest price technically acceptable is the source selection process used.