Only One Offer

215.371 Only one offer

215.371-1 Policy

It is DoD policy, if only one offer is received in response to a competitive solicitation—

(a) To take the required actions to promote competition (see 215.371-2); and

(b) To ensure that the price is fair and reasonable (see 215.371-3) and to comply with the statutory requirement for certified cost or pricing data (see FAR 15.403-4).

SEE SOLICITATION PROVISION....DFARS 252.215-7008 Only One Offer

FAR 15.403-4 Requiring Certified Cost or Pricing Data

(a)(1) The contracting officer shall obtain certified cost or pricing data only if the contracting officer concludes that none of the exceptions in 15.403-1(b) applies.

FAR 15.403-1(b) Exceptions

(b) Exceptions to certified cost or pricing data requirements. The contracting officer shall not require certified cost or pricing data to support any action (contracts, subcontracts, or modifications) (but may require data other than certified cost or pricing data as defined in FAR 2.101 to support a determination of a fair and reasonable price or cost realism)—

(1) When the contracting officer determines that prices agreed upon are based on adequate price competition (see standards in paragraph (c)(1) of this subsection);

FAR 15.403-1(c)(1)

(c) Standards for exceptions from certified cost or pricing data requirements—

(1) Adequate price competition. A price is based on adequate price competition if—

(i) Two or more responsible offerors, competing independently, submit priced offers that satisfy the Government’s expressed requirement and if—

(A) Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value (see 2.101) where price is a substantial factor in source selection; and

(B) There is no finding that the price of the otherwise successful offeror is unreasonable. Any finding that the price is unreasonable must be supported by a statement of the facts and approved at a level above the contracting officer;

(ii) There was a reasonable expectation, based on market research or other assessment, that two or more responsible offerors, competing independently, would submit priced offers in response to the solicitation’s expressed requirement, even though only one offer is received from a responsible offeror and if—

(A) Based on the offer received, the contracting officer can reasonably conclude that the offer was submitted with the expectation of competition, e.g., circumstances indicate that—

(1) The offeror believed that at least one other offeror was capable of submitting a meaningful offer; and

(2) The offeror had no reason to believe that other potential offerors did not intend to submit an offer; and

(B) The determination that the proposed price is based on adequate price competition and is reasonable has been approved at a level above the contracting officer; or

(iii) Price analysis clearly demonstrates that the proposed price is reasonable in comparison with current or recent prices for the same or similar items, adjusted to reflect changes in market conditions, economic conditions, quantities, or terms and conditions under contracts that resulted from adequate price competition.

215.371-2 Promote competition

Except as provided in sections 215.371-4 and 215.371-5, if only one offer is received when competitive procedures were used and the solicitation allowed fewer than 30 days for receipt of proposals, the contracting officer shall—

(a) Consult with the requiring activity as to whether the requirements document should be revised in order to promote more competition (see FAR 6.502(b) and 11.002); and

(b) Resolicit, allowing an additional period of at least 30 days for receipt of proposals.

FAR 6.502(b)

:(b) Agency advocates for competition shall—

(1) Review the contracting operations of the agency and identify and report to the agency senior procurement executive and the chief acquisition officer—

(i) Opportunities and actions taken to acquire commercial items to meet the needs of the agency;

(ii) Opportunities and actions taken to achieve full and open competition in the contracting operations of the agency;

(iii) Actions taken to challenge requirements that are not stated in terms of functions to be performed, performance required or essential physical characteristics;

(iv) Any condition or action that has the effect of unnecessarily restricting the acquisition of commercial items or competition in the contract actions of the agency;

(2) Prepare and submit an annual report to the agency senior procurement executive and the chief acquisition officer in accordance with agency procedures, describing—

(i) Such advocate’s activities under this subpart;

(ii) New initiatives required to increase the acquisition of commercial items;

(iii) New initiatives required to increase competition;

(iv) New initiatives to ensure requirements are stated in terms of functions to be performed, performance required or essential physical characteristics;

(v) Any barriers to the acquisition of commercial items or competition that remain;

(vi) Other ways in which the agency has emphasized the acquisition of commercial items and competition in areas such as acquisition training and research; and

(vii) Initiatives that ensure task and delivery orders over $1,000,000 issued under multiple award contracts are properly planned, issued, and comply with 8.405 and 16.505.

(3) Recommend goals and plans for increasing competition on a fiscal year basis to the agency senior procurement executive and the chief acquisition officer; and

(4) Recommend to the agency senior procurement executive and the chief acquisition officer a system of personal and organizational accountability for competition, which may include the use of recognition and awards to motivate program managers, contracting officers, and others in authority to promote competition in acquisition.

FAR 11.002

:11.002 Policy. (a) In fulfilling requirements of 10 U.S.C. 2305(a)(1), 10 U.S.C. 2377, 41 U.S.C. 3306(a), and 41 U.S.C. 3307, agencies shall—

(1) Specify needs using market research in a manner designed to—

(i) Promote full and open competition (see Part 6), or maximum practicable competition when using simplified acquisition procedures, with due regard to the nature of the supplies or services to be acquired; and

(ii) Only include restrictive provisions or conditions to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the agency or as authorized by law.

(2) To the maximum extent practicable, ensure that acquisition officials—

(i) State requirements with respect to an acquisition of supplies or services in terms of—

(A) Functions to be performed;

(B) Performance required; or

(C) Essential physical characteristics;

(ii) Define requirements in terms that enable and encourage offerors to supply commercial items, or, to the extent that commercial items suitable to meet the agency’s needs are not available, nondevelopmental items, in response to the agency solicitations;

(iii) Provide offerors of commercial items and nondevelopmental items an opportunity to compete in any acquisition to fill such requirements;

(iv) Require prime contractors and subcontractors at all tiers under the agency contracts to incorporate commercial items or nondevelopmental items as components of items supplied to the agency; and

(v) Modify requirements in appropriate cases to ensure that the requirements can be met by commercial items or, to the extent that commercial items suitable to meet the agency’s needs are not available, nondevelopmental items.

(b) The Metric Conversion Act of 1975, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 205a, et seq.), designates the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce, and it requires that each agency use the metric system of measurement in its acquisitions, except to the extent that such use is impracticable or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to United States firms. Requiring activities are responsible for establishing guidance implementing this policy in formulating their requirements for acquisitions.

(c) To the extent practicable and consistent with Subpart 9.5, potential offerors should be given an opportunity to comment on agency requirements or to recommend application and tailoring of requirements documents and alternative approaches. Requiring agencies should apply specifications, standards, and related documents initially for guidance only, making final decisions on the application and tailoring of these documents as a product of the design and development process. Requiring agencies should not dictate detailed design solutions prematurely (see 7.101 and 7.105(a)(8)).

(d)

(1) When agencies acquire products and services, various statutes and executive orders (identified in part 23) require consideration of sustainable acquisition (see subpart 23.1) including—

(i) Energy-efficient and water-efficient services and products (including products containing energy-efficient standby power devices) (subpart 23.2);

(ii) Products and services that utilize renewable energy technologies (subpart 23.2);

(iii) Products containing recovered materials (subpart 23.4);

(iv) Biobased products (subpart 23.4);

(v) Environmentally preferable products and services, including EPEAT®-registered electronic products and non-toxic or low-toxic alternatives (subpart 23.7); and

(vi) Non-ozone depleting substances (subpart 23.8).

(2) Unless an exception applies and is documented by the requiring activity, Executive agencies shall, to the maximum practicable, require the use of products and services listed in paragraph (d)(1) of this section when—

(i) Developing, reviewing, or revising Federal and military specifications, product descriptions (including commercial item descriptions) and standards;

(ii) Describing Government requirements for products and services; and

(iii) Developing source-selection factors.

(e) Some or all of the performance levels or performance specifications in a solicitation may be identified as targets rather than as fixed or minimum requirements.

(f) In accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), requiring activities must prepare requirements documents for electronic and information technology that comply with the applicable accessibility standards issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board at 36 CFR Part 1194 (see Subpart 39.2).

(g) Unless the agency Chief Information Officer waives the requirement, when acquiring information technology using Internet Protocol, the requirements documents must include reference to the appropriate technical capabilities defined in the USGv6 Profile (NIST Special Publication 500-267) and the corresponding declarations of conformance defined in the USGv6 Test Program. The applicability of IPv6 to agency networks, infrastructure, and applications specific to individual acquisitions will be in accordance with the agency's Enterprise Architecture (see OMB Memorandum M-05-22 dated August 2, 2005).

(h) Agencies shall not include in a solicitation a requirement that prohibits an offeror from permitting its employees to telecommute unless the contracting officer executes a written determination in accordance with FAR 7.108(a).

215.371-3 Fair and reasonable price

(a) If there was “reasonable expectation…that two or more offerors, competing independently, would submit priced offers” but only one offer is received, this circumstance does not constitute adequate price competition unless an official at a level above the contracting officer approves the determination that the price is reasonable (see FAR 15.403-1(c)(1)(ii)).

FAR 15.403-1(c)(1)(ii)

(c) Standards for exceptions from certified cost or pricing data requirements—

(1) Adequate price competition

A price is based on adequate price competition if—

(i) Two or more responsible offerors, competing independently, submit priced offers that satisfy the Government’s expressed requirement and if—

(A) Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value (see 2.101) where price is a substantial factor in source selection; and

(B) There is no finding that the price of the otherwise successful offeror is unreasonable. Any finding that the price is unreasonable must be supported by a statement of the facts and approved at a level above the contracting officer;

(ii) There was a reasonable expectation, based on market research or other assessment, that two or more responsible offerors, competing independently, would submit priced offers in response to the solicitation’s expressed requirement, even though only one offer is received from a responsible offeror and if—

(A) Based on the offer received, the contracting officer can reasonably conclude that the offer was submitted with the expectation of competition, e.g., circumstances indicate that—

(1) The offeror believed that at least one other offeror was capable of submitting a meaningful offer; and

(2) The offeror had no reason to believe that other potential offerors did not intend to submit an offer; and

(B) The determination that the proposed price is based on adequate price competition and is reasonable has been approved at a level above the contracting officer; or

(iii) Price analysis clearly demonstrates that the proposed price is reasonable in comparison with current or recent prices for the same or similar items, adjusted to reflect changes in market conditions, economic conditions, quantities, or terms and conditions under contracts that resulted from adequate price competition.

(b) Except as provided in section 215.371-4(a), if only one offer is received when competitive procedures were used and the solicitation allowed at least 30 days for receipt of proposals (unless the 30-day requirement is not applicable in accordance with 215.371-4(a)(3) or has been waived in accordance with section 215.371-5), the contracting officer shall—

(1) Determine through cost or price analysis that the offered price is fair and reasonable and that adequate price competition exists (with approval of the determination at a level above the contracting officer) or another exception to the requirement for certified cost or pricing data applies (see FAR 15.403-1(c) and 15.403-4). In these circumstances, no further cost or pricing data is required; or

(2)(i) Obtain from the offeror cost or pricing data necessary to determine a fair and reasonable price and comply with the requirement for certified cost or pricing data at FAR 15.403-4. For acquisitions that exceed the cost or pricing data threshold, if no exception at FAR 15.403-1(b) applies, the cost or pricing data shall be certified; and

(ii) Enter into negotiations with the offeror as necessary to establish a fair and reasonable price. The negotiated price should not exceed the offered price.

215.371-4 Exceptions

(a) The requirements at section 215.371-2 do not apply to—

(1) Acquisitions at or below the simplified acquisition threshold;

(2) Acquisitions in support of contingency, humanitarian or peacekeeping operations, or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack;

(3) Small business set-asides under FAR subpart 19.5, set asides offered and accepted into the 8(a) Program under FAR subpart 19.8, or set-asides under the HUBZone Program (see FAR 19.1305(c)), the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Procurement Program (see FAR 19.1405(c)), or the Women-Owned Small Business Program (see FAR 19.1505(d));

(4) Acquisitions of basic or applied research or development, as specified in FAR 35.016(a), that use a broad agency announcement; or

(5) Acquisitions of architect-engineer services (see FAR 36.601-2).

(b) The applicability of an exception in paragraph (a) of this section does not eliminate the need for the contracting officer to seek maximum practicable competition and to ensure that the price is fair and reasonable.

215.371-5 Waiver

(a) The head of the contracting activity is authorized to waive the requirement at 215.371-2 to resolicit for an additional period of at least 30 days.

(b) This waiver authority cannot be delegated below one level above the contracting officer.

215.371-6 Solicitation provision

Use the provision at 252.215-7007, Notice of Intent to Resolicit, in competitive solicitations, including solicitations using FAR part 12 procedures for the acquisition of commercial items, that will be solicited for fewer than 30 days, unless an exception at 215.371-4 applies or the requirement is waived in accordance with 215.371-5.