US LAWS, STATUTES & CODES ON-LINE

To anyone receiving this proposal or proposal abstract:

(1) This proposal must be used and disclosed for evaluation purposes only.

(2) You must apply a copy of this Government notice to any reproduction or abstract of this proposal.

(3) You must comply strictly with any authorized restrictive notices which the submitter places on this proposal.

(4) You must not disclose this proposal outside the Government for evaluation purposes except to the extent authorized by, and in accordance with, the procedures in 48 CFR 515.305–71.

(1) The Government intends to disclose proposals received in response to this solicitation to nongovernment evaluators.

(2) Each evaluator will sign and provide to GSA a “Conflict of Interest Acknowledgment and Nondisclosure Agreement.”

For proposals submitted in response to GAS solicitation no. ____, I agree to the following:

(a) To the best of my knowledge and belief, no conflict of interest exists that may either:

(1) Diminish my capacity to impartially review the proposals submitted.

(2) Or result in a biased opinion or unfair advantage.

(b) In making the above statement, I have considered all the following factors that might place me in a position of conflict, real or apparent, with the evaluation proceedings:

(1) All my stocks, bonds, other outstanding financial interests or commitments.

(2) All my employment arrangements (past, present, and under consideration).

(3) As far as I know, all financial interests and employment arrangements of my spouse, minor children, and other members of my immediate household.

(c) I have read and understand the requirements of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 CFR Part 2635) and Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the General Service Administration (5 CFR Part 6701).

(d) I have a continuing obligation to disclose any circumstances that may create an actual or apparent conflict of interest. If I learn of any such conflict, I will report it immediately to the Contracting Officer. I will perform no more duties related to evaluating proposals until I receive instructions on the matter.

(e) I will use proposal information for evaluation purposes only. I understand that any authorized restriction on disclosure placed on the proposal by the prospective contractor, prospective subcontractor, or the Government applies to any reproduction or abstracted information of the proposal.

(f) I will use my best efforts to safeguard proposal information physically. I will not disclose the contents of, nor release any information about, the proposals to anyone other than:

(1) The Source Selection Evaluation Board or other panel assembled to evaluate proposals submitted in response to the solicitation identified above.

(2) Other individuals designed by the contracting Officer.

(g) After completing evaluation, I will return to the Government all copies of the proposals and any abstracts.

(h) GSA Appropriations Act restriction: These restrictions are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by Executive Order No. 12958; section 7211 of title 5, United States Code (governing disclosure of Congress); section 1034 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act (governing disclosure to Congress by members of the military); section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States Codes, as amended by the Whistleblower Protection Act (governing disclosures of illegality, waste, fraud, abuse or public health or safety threats); the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 U.S.C. 421 et seq.) (governing disclosures that could expose confidential Government agents); and the statutes which protect against disclosure that may compromise the national security, including sections 641, 793, 794, 798, and 952 of title 18, United States Code, and section 4(b) of the Subversive Activities Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 783(b). The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by said Executive order and listed statutes are incorporated into this agreement and are controlling.

(Enter name of evaluator and organization)

Date

(a) You should use Alternative IV of the FAR provision at 52.215–20, Requirements for Cost or Pricing Data or Information Other than Cost or Pricing Data, for MAS contracts to provide the format for submission of information other than cost or pricing data for MAS contracts. To provide uniformity in request under the MAS program, you should insert the following in paragraph (b) of the provision:

(1) An offer prepared and submitted in accordance with the clause at 552.212–70, Preparation of Offer (Multuiple Award Schedule).

(2) Commercial sales practices. The Offeror shall submit information in the format provided in this solicitation in accordance with the instructions at Figure 515.4 of the GSA Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR 515–2), or submit information in the Offeror's own format.

(3) Any additional supporting information requested by the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may require additional supporting information, but only to the extent necessary to determine whether the price(s) offered is fair and reasonable.

(4) By submission of an offer in response to this solicitation, the Offeror grants the Contracting Officer or an authorized representative the right to examine, at any time before initial award, books, records, documents, papers, and other directly pertinent records to verify the pricing, sales and other data related to the supplies or services proposed in order to determine the reasonableness of price(s). Access does not extend to Offeror's cost or profit information of other data relevant solely to the Offeror's determination of the prices to be offered in the catalog or marketplace.

(b) Insert the following format for commercial sales practices in the exhibits or attachments section of the solicitation and resulting contract (see FAR 12.303).

Commercial Sales Practices Format

Name of Offeror _____ SIN(s) ___

Note: Please refer to Clause 552.212–70, Preparation of Offer (Multiple Award Schedule), for additional information concerning your offer. Provide the following information for each SIN (or group of SINs or SubSIN for which information is the same).

(1) Provide the dollar value of sales to the general public at or based on an established catalog or market price during the previous 12-month period or the offerors last fiscal year: $____. State beginning and ending of the 12 month period. Beginning ____ ending ____. In the event that a dollar value is not an appropriate measure of the sales, provide and describe your own measure of the sales of the item(s).

(2) Show your total projected annual sales to the Government under this contract for the contract term, excluding options, for each SIN offered. If you currently hold a Federal Supply Schedule contract for the SIN the total projected annual sales should be based on your mostrecent 12 months of sales under that contract.

SIN ______  $______

SIN ______  $______

SIN ______  $______

(3) Based on your written discounting policies (standard commercial sales practices in the event you do not have written discounting policies), are the discounts and any concessions which you offer the Government equal to or better than your best price (discount and concessions in any combination) offered to any customer acquiring the same items regardless of quantity or terms and conditions? YES__ NO__ (See definition of “concession” and “discount” in 552.212–70.)

(4)(a) Based on your written discounting policies (standard commercial sales practices in the event you do not have written discounting policies), provide information as requested for each SIN (or group of SINs for which the information is the same) in accordance with the instructions at Figure 515.4, which is provided in this solicitation for your convenience. The information should be provided in the chart below or in an equivalent format developed by the offeror. Rows should be added to accommodate as many customers as required.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                      Column 3 Quantity/                           Column 5        Column 1 Customer          Column 2 Discount        Volume         Column 4 FOB Term      Concessions----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) Do any deviations from your written policies or standard commercial sales practices disclosed in the above chart ever result in better discounts (lower prices) or concessions than indicated? YES_ NO_. If YES, explain deviations in accordance with the instructions at Figure 515.4, which is provided in this solicitation for your convenience. (5) If you are a dealer/reseller without significant sales to the general public, you should provide manufacturers' information required by paragraphs (1) through (4) above for each item/SINoffered, if the manufacturer's sales under any resulting contract are expected to exceed $500,000. You must also obtain written authorization from the manufacturer(s) for Government access, at any time before award or before agreeing to a modification, to the manufacturer's sales records for the purpose of verifying the information submitted by the manufacturer. The information is required in order to enable the Government to make a determination that the offered price is fair and reasonable. To expedite the review and processing of offers, you should advise the manufacturer(s) of this requirement. The contracting officer may require the information be submitted on electronic media with commercially available spreadsheet(s). The information may be provided by the manufacturer directly to the Government. If the manufacturer's item(s) is being offered by multiple dealers/resellers, only one copy of the requested information should be submitted to the Government. In addition, you must submit the following information along with a listing of contact information regarding each of the manufacturers whose products and/or services are included in the offer (include the manufacturer's name, address, the manufacturer's contact point, telephone number, and FAX number) for each model offered by SIN: (a) Manufacturer's Name. (b) Manufacturer's Part Number. (c) Dealer's/Reseller's Part Number. (d) Product Description. (e) Manufacturer's List Price. (f) Dealer's/Reseller's percentage discount from list price or net prices. (End of format) (c) Include the instructions for completing the commercial sales practices format in Figure 515.4 in solicitations issued under the MAS program. Figure 515.4—Instructions for Commercial Sales Practices Format If you responded “yes” to question (3), on the Commercial Sales Practices Format in paragraph (b) of this section, complete the chart in question (4)(a) for the customer(s) who receive your best discount. If you responded “no”, complete the chart in question (4)(a) showing your written policies or standard sales practices for all customers or customer categories to whom you sell at a price (discounts and concessions in combination) that is equal to or better than the price(s) offered to the Government under this solicitation or with which the Offeror has a current agreement to sell at a discount which equals or exceeds the discount(s) offered under this solicitation. Such agreement shall be in effect on the date the offer is submitted or contain an effective date during the proposed multiple award schedule contract period. If your offer is lower than your price to other customers or customers categories, you will be aligned with the customer or category of customer that receives your best price for purposes of the Price Reductions clause at 552.238–75. The Government expects you to provide information required by the format in accordance with these instructions that is, to the best of your knowledge and belief, current, accurate, and complete as of 14 calender days prior to its submission. You must also disclose any changes in your price list(s), discounts and/or discounting policies which occur after the offer is submitted, but before the close of negotiations. If your discount practices vary by model or product line, the discount information should be by model or product line as appropriate. You may limit the number of models or product lines reported to those which exceed 75% of actual historical Government sales (commercial sales may be substituted if Government sales are unavailable) value of the special item number (SIN). Column 1—Identify the Applicable Customer or Category of Customer A “customer” is any entity, except the Federal Government, which acquires supplies or services from the Offeror. The term customer includes, but is not limited to original equipment manufacturers, value added resellers, state and local Governments, distributors, educational institutions (an elementary, junior high, or degree granting school which maintains a regular faculty and established curriculum and an organized body of students), dealers, national accounts, and end users. In any instance where the Offeror is asked to disclose information for a customer, the Offeror may disclose information by category of customer if the Offeror's discount policies or practices are the same for all customers in the category. (Use a separate line for each customer or category of customer.) Column 2—Identify the Discount The term “discount” is as defined in solicitation clause 552.212–70, Preparation of Offer (Multiple Award Schedule). Indicate the best discount (based on your written discounting policies or standard commercial discounting practices if you do not have written discounting policies) at which you sell to the customer or category of customer identified in column 1, without regard to quantity; terms and conditions of the agreements under which the discounts are given; and whether the agreements are written or oral. Net prices or discounts off of other price lists should be expressed as percentage discounts from the price list which is the basis of your offer. If the discount disclosed is a combination of various discounts (prompt payment, quantity, etc.), the percentage should be broken out for each type of discount. If the price lists which are the basis of the discounts given to the customers identified in the chart are different than the price list submitted upon which your offer is based, identify the type or title and date of each price list. The contracting officer may require submission of these price lists. To expedite evaluation, offerors may provide these price lists at the time of submission. Column 3—Identify the Quantity or Volume of Sales Insert the minimum quantity or sales volume which the identified customer or category of customer must either purchase/order, per order or within a specified period, to earn a discount indicate the time period. Column 4—Indicate the FOB Delivery Term for Each Identified Customer See FAR 47.3 for an explanation of FOB delivery terms. Column 5—Indicate Concessions Regardless of Quantity Granted to the Identified Customer or Category of Customer Concessions are defined in solicitation clause 552.12–70, Preparation of Offers (Multiple Award Schedule). If the space provided is inadequate, the disclosure should be made on a separate sheet by reference. If you respond “yes” to question 4(b) in the Commercial Sales Practices Format, provide an explanation of the circumstances under which you deviate from your written policies or standard commercial sales practices disclosed in the chart on the Commercial Sales Practices Format and explain how often they occur. Your explanation should include a discussion of situations that lead to deviations from standard practice, an explanation of how often they occur, and the controls you employ to assure the integrity of your pricing. Examples of typical deviations may include, but are not limited to, one time goodwill discounts to charity organizations or to compensate an otherwise disgruntled customer; a limited sale of obsolete or damaged goods; the sale of sample goods to a new customer, or the sales of prototype goods for testing purposes. If deviations from your written policies or standard commercial sales practices disclosed in the chart on the Commercial Sales Practices Format are so significant and/or frequent that the Contracting Officer cannot establish whether the price(s) offered is fair and reasonable, then you may be asked to provide additional information. The Contracting Officer may ask for information to demonstrate that you have made substantial sales of the item(s) in the commercial market consistent with the information reflected on the chart on the Commercial Sales Practices Format, a description of the conditions surrounding those sales deviations, or other information that may be necessary in order for the Contracting Officer to determine whether your offered price(s) is fair and reasonable. In cases where additional information is requested the Contracting Officer will target the request in order to limit the submission of data to that needed to establish the reasonableness of the offered price. (End of figure) (d) Insert the clause at 552.215–72, Price Adjustment—Failure to Provide Accurate Information, in solicitations and contracts under the MAS program. (e) You should use Alternate IV of FAR 52.215–21, Requirements for Cost or Pricing Data or Information Other Than Cost or Pricing Data—Modifications, to provide for submission of information other than cost or pricing data for MAS contracts. To provide for uniformity in requests under the MAS program, you should insert the following in paragraph (b) of the clause: (1) Information required by the clause at 552.243–72, Modifications (Multiple Award Schedule). (2) Any additional supporting information requested by the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may require additional supporting information, but only to the extent necessary to determine whether the price(s) offered is fair and reasonable. (3) By submitting a request for modification, the Contractor grants the Contracting Officer or an authorized representative the right to examine, at any time before agreeing to a modification, books, record, documents, papers, and other directly pertinent records to verify the pricing, sales and other data related to the supplies or services proposed in order to determine the reasonableness of price(s). Access does not extent to Contractor's cost or profit information or other data related solely to the Contractor's determination of the prices to be offered in the catalog or marketplace. [64 FR 37214, July 9, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 11247, Mar. 2, 2000] Subpart 515.5—Preaward, Award, and Postaward Notifications, Protests, and Mistakes top 515.506   Postaward debriefing of offerors. top For purposes of determining the date of receipt of a request for a post award debriefing, GSA's hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Request received after 4:30 p.m. will be considered received the following business day. Subpart 515.70—Use of Samples top 515.7002   Procedures. top (a) Unsolicited samples. The reference to FAR 14.404–2(d) in FAR 14.202–4(g) does not apply. However, qualifications in the proposal that are at variance with the Government's requirements, constitute deficiencies. Resolve these as provided in FAR 15.306. (b) Solicitation requirements. (1) Use the clause at FR 52.214–20. The second sentence in paragraph (c) of the clause does not apply. Substitute a sentence substantially as follows: Failure of the bid samples to conform to all the required characteristics listed in the solicitation constitutes a deficiency in the proposal (see FAR 15.306). (2) In addition to listing subjective characteristics that you cannot adequately describe in the specification, you may list and evaluate objective characteristics. To include objective characteristics, you must determine that examination of such characteristics is essential to the acquisition of any acceptable product. Base your determination on past experience or other valid considerations. (c) FAR 52.215–1(c)(3) applies to samples received after the time set for receipt of offers. 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