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evergreen

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  1. Thanks for the link to the Commercial Item Handbook - its a tool I have been using in this ongoing disagreement and supports my position. The services we offer are helicopter transport services - nothing complicated. We pick up people and supplies and move them from point A to point B. We do that for government contracts and for commercial contracts. We operate under FAA Part 135 - which is commercial. So - I think you are correct - teh real question is what can be done to correct the non-commercial determination by this Prime contractor? We will continue to work it... Now if you have a link to a site that would clearly explain the relationship between Cost Accounting Standards and Certified Cost and Pricing Data, I would be even more grateful than I am already!! Thanks so much -
  2. Thanks for taking time to reply - I appreciate it greatly. A couple of questions: 1) Is it possible to provide the same service to different agencies and have one agency (TRANSCOM) determine it is a commercial service and have another group (NAVFAC) decide it is not? I am really stumped on this one, especially after performing on this contract since 2004 with the understanding it is a commercial service, with no previous requirement for certified cost & pricing data. 2) I understand the difference between Cost & Pricing Data and Cost Accounting Standards... but I must admit that I thought cost & pricing data could not be "certified" unless the data was produced under Cost Accounting Standards. Perhaps that is the root of my inability to understand this request from the Prime? 3) Assuming that I am not understanding this correctly, when can certified cost & pricing data be required? This contract is well over the simplied acquisition threshold, but I do strongly believe we provide a commercial item. These services are advertised on our website and have been offered and sold to the general public since 1960. Thanks again...
  3. This is a common problem. Often contractors believe that they have commercial prices, when they don't. It appears that you may be confusing two terms, Cost or Pricing Data and Cost Accounting Standards. Cost accounting standards do not apply to all businesses. For example, small businesses are exempt. However, Cost or Pricing data is the factual information that the company used to develop the proposal (there are better definitions posted here and in the FAR). Your answer may reside in the FAR provision below. 15.403-1 Prohibition on obtaining cost or pricing data (10 U.S.C. 2306a and 41 U.S.C. 254b). (a) Cost or pricing data shall not be obtained for acquisitions at or below the simplified acquisition threshold. ( Exceptions to cost or pricing data requirements. The contracting officer shall not require submission of cost or pricing data to support any action (contracts, subcontracts, or modifications) (but may require information other than cost or pricing data to support a determination of price reasonableness or cost realism)? (1) When the contracting officer determines that prices agreed upon are based on adequate price competition (see standards in paragraph ?(1) of this subsection); (2) When the contracting officer determines that prices agreed upon are based on prices set by law or regulation (see standards in paragraph ?(2) of this subsection); (3) When a commercial item is being acquired (see standards in paragraph ?(3) of this subsection); (4) When a waiver has been granted (see standards in paragraph ?(4) of this subsection); or (5) When modifying a contract or subcontract for commercial items (see standards in paragraph ?(3) of this subsection).
  4. My company has a FFP subcontract with a Prime contractor under a government contract for services which our other government contracts all have determined are commercial. We provided the original proposal for the subject subcontract to the Prime without a requirement for such a certification. The Prime recognized then that such a certification was not a requirement. Since then we have submitted numerous proposals for modifications to the Prime under this contract, all without certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data. Now the contracting staff for the Prime has changed. We were told previously that the proposal currently under consideration had been submitted to the government, which would have been done without such a certification. Now the Prime states that it won't be submitted unless such a certification is provided and that we must provide such by the end of this week or risk losing any chance of recovering monies due to the unilateral action by the Prime not to pay. Given that the Prime has had our proposal since December 2008, this new action is at best unreasonable. We have provided the Prime with all of the FAR references we beleive clearly demonstrate that this contract does not fall under CAS requirements. Now the Prime is saying this is a TINA requirement. I can find nothing in TINA that supports this. My company does not have certified cost accounting standards in place and while we recognize the value and intend to move in this direction, this is not something we can do overnight and not something we want to be bullied into. Does anyone have any advice, thoughts or guidance?
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