I've read some previous discussions regarding the background of TINA and Certified Cost and Pricing Data but I'm not sure my question has been answered. It appears I'm approaching the 'gray area'! The scenario - Under single award IDIQ A/E contract, when issuing task orders valued over $650k, is a certificate of current cost and pricing data required?

Since the basis of a task order is generally agreement to a number of hours, as the labor rates have been negotiated for the basic contract and a certificate was obtained prior to negotiating, I would tend to think no new certification is needed.

However, if additional items are necessary for the task order, (increase to ODC's or new labor categories) it could be argued that a certificate is required if the threshold is met.

I've read FAR 15.403-4 Requiring Cost and Pricing Data which applies to any negotiated "contract", "subcontract" or "modification". While we tend to think of a 'task order' as a mini contract, by definition a task order (FAR 2.101) is "an order for services placed against an established CONTRACT or with Government sources".

So - is this the gray area I think it is? Would a task order based on established, negotiated labor rates not be subject to a certificate, while an order containing items 'other than the negotiated rates' qualify for a new certificate if it meets the threshold?

Under single award IDIQ A/E contract, when issuing task orders valued over $650k, is a certificate of current cost and pricing data required?

The answer depends on how the contract and the orders issued thereunder are "priced." If the contract includes only hourly rates, but the tasks will require completion of a job as a condition of payment, then the government is not buying hours and the establishment of contract hourly rates did not "price" any task order, because the parties have to agree on hours in order to establish how much the contractor is entitled to be paid upon completion. In my opinion, if such an order exceeds the TINA threshold and no exception applies, then the CO must require the submission and certification of cost or pricing data. See FAR 16.505((3).

If, on the other hand, a task order buys only 3 hours at this rate or 100 hour of that rate, without requiring completion of a task, then the rates are prices and the task order was "priced" at the time of award. Thus, cost or pricing data would not be required for such task orders.

I agree with Vern's observation, and I'd add that the same would apply to a non-competitive task order issued under an multiple-award A/E ID/IQ contract, where the rates are established (and have been determined to be fair and reasonable) in the basic contract and you're negotiating with the contractor only to establish the appropriate number of priced hours of work to accomplish the task at hand (and maybe some travel-related expense). This is another instance where obtaining a CCPD certificate would seem to serve no useful purpose, since generally (at least in our experience) there is precious little data to certify, but no exception applies.

If, on the other hand, a task order buys only 3 hours at this rate or 100 hour of that rate, without requiring completion of a task, then the rates are prices and the task order was "priced" at the time of award. Thus, cost or pricing data would not be required for such task orders.

The above was a reply to the following Q: Under single award IDIQ A/E contract, when issuing task orders valued over $650k, is a certificate of current cost and pricing data required?

Mine is a similar situation, but with additional details that leave me uncertain as to whether I need to collect Certificates of Current Cost or Pricing Data from my subcontractors. The prime contract is CPAF and was a single award following full and open competition. Services (primarily) are procured via LOE task orders, using the contractual labor categories from our competitive proposal. Those rates were derived via blending prime and subs' rates. The award fee is based on the (fixed) contract rates, but being cost-reimburseable, of course the prime bills actuals. There are 15 subcontractors whose rates were submitted with the original proposal - some are T&M subs and some CR subs. The T&M'ers bill at their negotiated, subcontract rates, and the CR'ers bill at their actual cost. There are also additional subcontractors who were NOT part of the original team proposed - all T&M'ers.

My two questions:

(1) When the Government customer requests our proposal for a new LOE task, under what if any circumstances would the prime be asked to certify Current Accurate Complete?

(2) If/when we need to certify, do we ever need our T&M subcontractors to certify? (Remember there are two categories of T&M subs: original, and added post-award, but it could be that none of the 'new' subs are proposed on a new task order.)

What matters is what your customer says when it asks for a task order proposal. However, if I were the CO, and based on your description of the contract, I would require that you submit and certify cost or pricing data with every task order proposal in excess of the threshold for submission at FAR 15.403-4.

As for your T&M subs--unless they submitted and certified cost or pricing data when they submitted their proposals for their subcontracts, I would require that you obtain, submit, and certify cost or pricing data from each of your T&M subcontractors whose proposals exceed the threshold.

Good question, but it is a grey area. Just sign them and provide them. They mean nothing. Whether a customer has them or not, you are bound by all the same stuff anyway. No worries.