FCC FAR Part 15 Negotiated Acquisition 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: FAR 15.403-1 identifies circumstances where certified cost or pricing data are NOT required. Which scenario qualifies?
- Contract valued at $2.5 million for a new developmental item
- Contract modification increasing the price by $3 million
- Sole-source contract for commercial items (Correct answer)
- Task order under an IDIQ contract exceeding $2 million
Correct answer: Sole-source contract for commercial items
FAR 15.403-1(b)(3) exempts acquisitions of commercial items from the requirement for certified cost or pricing data.
Question 2: What is a 'should-cost' review under FAR 15.407-4?
- An independent estimate of what a contract should cost based on market rates
- A government analysis of what a contract should cost based on the contractor's operations (Correct answer)
- A comparison of the offeror's price to historical contract prices
- A review by the Defense Contract Audit Agency of actual costs
Correct answer: A government analysis of what a contract should cost based on the contractor's operations
FAR 15.407-4 defines a should-cost review as an evaluation of the economy and efficiency of a contractor's operations to determine what costs should be.
Question 3: Under FAR 15.503, when must an agency notify unsuccessful offerors in a negotiated procurement?
- Within 3 days of contract award
- Promptly after award (Correct answer)
- Within 10 days of contract award
- Before contract award is finalized
Correct answer: Promptly after award
FAR 15.503(b) requires the contracting officer to promptly notify offerors who are excluded from the competitive range or whose proposals are not selected.
Question 4: An offeror submits a proposal with a unit price that appears unrealistically low. The contracting officer suspects the offeror made an arithmetic error. Under FAR 15.306, what is the BEST course of action?
- Reject the proposal as defective
- Award at the offered price since it is the lowest
- Seek clarification from the offeror (Correct answer)
- Request a best and final offer from all offerors
Correct answer: Seek clarification from the offeror
FAR 15.306(a) permits clarifications to address apparent clerical mistakes or obvious errors without triggering discussions.
Question 5: Which FAR provision governs the debriefing rights of offerors who are not selected for award?
- FAR 15.305
- FAR 15.404
- FAR 15.505 and 15.506 (Correct answer)
- FAR 15.308
Correct answer: FAR 15.505 and 15.506
FAR 15.505 covers pre-award debriefings and FAR 15.506 covers post-award debriefings for unsuccessful offerors.
Question 6: Under FAR 15.204-5, which of the following is a required section in a Uniform Contract Format solicitation?
- Section Q – Sustainability Requirements
- Section H – Special Contract Requirements (Correct answer)
- Section R – Protest Procedures
- Section P – Performance Metrics
Correct answer: Section H – Special Contract Requirements
FAR 15.204-5 prescribes the Uniform Contract Format, which includes Section H for special contract requirements.
Question 7: What triggers the requirement for a written source selection plan under FAR 15.303?
- All negotiated acquisitions over the simplified acquisition threshold
- Acquisitions expected to exceed $10 million
- All competitive negotiated acquisitions (Correct answer)
- Sole-source acquisitions over $1 million
Correct answer: All competitive negotiated acquisitions
FAR 15.303(b) requires the SSA to approve the source selection plan for all competitive negotiated acquisitions.
FCC FAR Part 15 Negotiated Acquisition 3
FAR 15.403-1 identifies circumstances where certified cost or pricing data are NOT required.
Which scenario qualifies?