By Government Contracts & Construction

On May 30, 2014, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to shorten the time period for a contractor to respond to agency past performance evaluations from thirty (30) days to fourteen (14) days. 79 Fed. Reg. 31197 (May 30, 2014). The new rule will go into effect July 1, 2014.

The new rule amends FAR 42.1503 to state that “Contractors shall be afforded up to 14 calendar days from the date of notification of availability of the past performance evaluation to submit comments, rebutting statements, or additional information.” If a contractor misses the 14-day deadline, the rule instructs the Government to update the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) with any contractor comments provided after the 14 days.

The new rule implements the 14-day requirement for contractor comments outlined in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. While the intent of the statute is to make timely, relevant past performance information available to source selection officials without delay, contractors should prepare to accommodate the expedited timetable for comments. The risk to contractors is that past performance evaluations will be automatically transmitted to PPIRS and made available to source selection officials with or without contractor comments after the expiration of the 14-day period.

This Client Alert has been provided by Terry Murphy and Karla Soloria of the Government Contracts and Construction Practice Group, Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., who can be reached at (757) 624-3139 or tmurphy@kaufcan.com and (757) 624-3015 or kjsoloria@kaufcan.com for more information.

The contents of this publication are intended for general information only and should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion on specific facts and circumstances. Copyright 2024.