Part 513 - Simplified Acquisition Procedures

(a) Usage. The term “urgency”, as used in FAR 13.106-1, includes situations which, if not corrected immediately, will result in unnecessary expenditure of funds, property damage, personal injury, or interruption of agency functions.

File documentation and retention. Contracting officers may use GSA Form 2010, Small Purchase Tabulation Source List/Abstract, to document written and oral quotations. If a lower-priced offer was not evaluated, the contracting officer should document the basis for its rejection, e.g., offeror is debarred or suspended, offer is not responsive to the requirement, offer is a large business (and the acquisition is set aside).

Where the supplies or services are offered under a commercial supplier agreement,as defined in 502.101, see 532.706-3 for applicable clauses.

(a) GSA Form 300, Order for Supplies and Services, is a multipurpose form that may be used for purchases of supplies or services, orders under existing contracts or agreements, and orders from required sources of supplies and services. Terms and conditions applicable to the order, which are not included in the underlying contract, shall be incorporated in the order.

(1)  Use GSA Form 300, when making purchases payable through PEGASYS.

(2)  Use GSA Form 300-A, Order for Supplies or Services–Continuation, if additional space is needed.

(b)  Use GSA Form 1458, Motor Vehicle Maintenance, Repair and Service Purchase Order, or GSA Form 300 when making purchases in connection with the maintenance, servicing, or repair of GSA fleet management vehicles.

(c)  Use GSA Form 300, or GSA Form 3186, Order for Supplies or Services, or GSA Form 3186-B, Order for Supplies or Services (EDI), when making simplified acquisitions or placing orders against established contracts.

(1)  Use GSA Form 3186 for mail orders placed against established contracts.

(2)  Document the file for a delivery order, task order, or purchase order transmitted to contractors electronically using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) procedures by generating a GSA Form 3186-B or GSA Form 300.

(d)  Use GSA Form 8002B, Motor Vehicle Delivery Order, to order fleet management vehicles. Do not use this form as a purchase order for simplified acquisitions.

(e) Use GSA Form 8002A, Motor Vehicle Requisition Status, to notify the consignee of the status of motor vehicle requisitions.

(f) The GSA Order providing the policy on the management and use of the GSA SmartPay® Purchase Card (OAS 4200.1) prescribes the forms required for purchase card actions (see 513.301).

The GSA Form 300 or SF 1449 may be used to prepare a BPA.

(a) Description of agreement. Describe limitations, if any, on the geographic area to be served.

(b) Delivery tickets. Instruct the contractor to include the name of the individual placing the order on the delivery ticket. The individual receiving the product or service must sign and date the delivery or service ticket. Both the supplier and the receiving office must retain a copy of the delivery ticket.

(c) Invoices. If the contracting officer has exhausted all efforts to get a supplier to accept one of the invoicing statements outlined in FAR 13.303-3(a)(6), the contracting officer may deviate in order to permit the submission and payment of invoices for each delivery under the BPA. The contracting officer shall document their efforts and the contractor’s refusal.

(d) Processing invoices. The designated billing office must time-stamp invoices to indicate the date of receipt. The ordering office must forward an invoice to the appropriate Finance Division within 5 workdays of its receipt or acceptance of the supplies or services. An exception applies if the BPA provides for the accumulation of invoices for a specified period. If this exception applies, the ordering office must forward the accumulated invoices within 5 workdays after the specified period for accumulation. Mark all invoices to indicate that purchases were made under a BPA.

If advantageous to the Government, the contracting officer may acquire supplies or services on the open market from suppliers using a vendor’s invoice instead of a purchase order.

(a)  Purchases are subject to FAR part 13, and part  513 and these limitations:

(1)  The amount of any one purchase must not exceed the micro-purchase threshold.

(2)  Neither the supplier nor the Government require a purchase order.

(3)  The individual making the purchase does not have a Governmentwide commercial purchase card or the card is not accepted by the supplier.

(b)  If the contracting officer uses certified invoice procedures, the contracting officer must:

(1) Verify price reasonableness using the conditions contained in FAR 13.203.

(2)  Certify that the quality and quantity of supplies/services furnished comply with the verbal agreement made with the supplier.

(c) Authorized individuals without warrants may solicit quotations. Although FAR 1.601(a) states that contracts may be entered into and signed on behalf of the Government only by contracting officers, a non-warranted Government employee may place a micro-purchase when a contracting officer approves in advance the placement of an order. Approval must be in writing on GSA Form 2010, Simplified Acquisition Tabulation Source List/Abstract, or other documentation unless the geographic distance makes it impracticable. In those cases, the contracting officer may provide approval by telephone or e-mail. The authorized individual must document the file accordingly.

(a)  If the contracting officer uses these procedures, s/he must require the suppliers to immediately submit properly prepared itemized invoices.

(b)  Upon receipt of the invoice, the receiving office must take all the following actions:

(1)  Time-stamp the invoice to indicate the date the invoice is received.

(2)  Verify the accuracy of the invoiced amount.

(3)  Verify that the supplies or services have been received and accepted. Whenever possible, require that inspection and acceptance or rejection occur within 7 calendar days of delivery or completion.

(c)  Before certifying the invoice and forwarding it to the appropriate office, the contracting officer or a designated representative must obtain a certification of receipt and acceptance from the individual who actually inspected and accepted the supplies or services.

(d)  Within 5 workdays after receipt of the invoice or acceptance of the supplies or services, whichever is later, forward the invoice stamped with the Certified Invoice Stamp.

(1)  Complete the accounting information, received and accepted dates, taxpayer identification number (TIN), type of business (e.g., corporation, sole proprietorship/partnership, or other), certification, and PEGASYS Document Number (PDN).

(2)  If a Certified Invoice Stamp is not available, place the following statement on the invoice along with the PDN number, accounting information, TIN, and type of business. (Note: In some organizations, the PDN number is determined by a budget or executive office within the service or staff office.)