Procurement / Subcontracts
Contractors who subcontract work to lower tier vendors must operate in the same manner when procuring supplies and services as does the Federal Government. The operating mantra is always “fair and reasonable”. The path of least resistance is to design a procurement system that mirrors the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Why recreate the wheel?
The Contracting Officer (CO) may include requirements for subcontract consent in contracts that could include subcontracts when the CO determines that it is in the best interest of the government to review subcontracts in advance. The CO will consider the specific situation in determining if consent to subcontract is necessary. If subcontract consent will not be required, the CO may still specify that you, the contractor, provide the CO a subcontract notice prior to entering subcontracts. Some of the elements that could affect the decision to include the requirement for subcontract consent are:
(1) Approved purchasing system . Contractors or offerors that have approved purchasing systems should not require subcontractor consent because their purchasing systems have already been reviewed and determined acceptable under a contractor's procurement system review (CPSR ) . A CPSR is typically conducted on contractor's who are doing $80 million Annual Defense Volume in a fiscal year. However, the CO can request a CPSR be conducted for any contractor who potentially poses a risk to the government.
(2) Type of contract . The type of contract is also relevant to the consideration of subcontractor consent.