Hello, 

I am having a disagreement with people in my office regarding BPA orders off of a BPA off of a GSA contract. So we established a BPA off of a GSA  contract (Using Part 8). The orders placed against that BPA are sometimes for services for a 3 year period. Like a report that takes 3 years to compile. In accordance with FAR Part 17 do you have to have options on a BPA order? Or have approval for a multi-year contract?

Thank you! 

It depends on what kind services you're buying, severable or nonseverable, and what kind of funds you have, annual or multiple year..

Mr. Edwards. The legend himself. This is using multiple year money and the service is nonseverable. With those attributes does that mean you don't have to do options or get multiyear approval? 

If the services are nonseverable, then whether you have annual funds or multiple year, if you have enough money for the three year period of performance you do not need options or multiyear approval.

Why would this not have to follow FAR Subpart 17.1 Multi-Year Contracting? 

Because multiyear contracting is a procedure in which the government makes a contractual commitment in advance of appropriations. See FAR 17.104(a):

Quote

Multi-year contracting is a special contracting method to acquire known requirements in quantities and total cost not over planned requirements for up to 5 years unless otherwise authorized by statute, even though the total funds ultimately to be obligated may not be available at the time of contract award.

See also the definition in FAR 17.103.

Okay. So because the money is no year money I can do it, but if I had 1 year money I could not and it would be considered a multi-year contract? 

No, that's not correct. You are buying a nonseverable service, which is a single job with a beginning and an ending. If the job is the bona fide need of FY2016, and begins in FY2016 but ends three years later, in FY2019, and if you have enough one-year FY2016 (annual) money to pay for the entire job, then you could obligate FY2016 funds to cover the entire job, all three years of performance. You would not be conducting a multiyear procurement.

Now, listen, CPH, I'm no genius. This is all fairly basic fiscal law, covered in the GAO's Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, Vol. I, Ch. 5. I suggest that you and your colleagues study that material. If you're in DOD the topic is covered in the Financial Management Regulation.

Thank you Mr. Edwards. I hope you have a great Holiday. Thank you for your continued input into this forum and I will bring up the cited reading to my colleagues. 

All the best,

CPH 

The issues are discussed extensively in the DOD FMR Vol. 11A, Ch. 18.

Edited December 20, 20168 yr by Vern Edwards
Corrected chapter number.