The Department of Defense, General Services Administration and NASA have jointly released a proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require contracting officers to provide explanations to unsuccessful offerors on certain contracts.
A Federal Register notice posted Wednesday states that the rule implements a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020 mandating that the FAR be revised to include the post-award explanation requirements.
Unsuccessful awardees on task orders or delivery orders issued under an indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract may submit a written request for an explanation as to why they did not win the award.
The explanation must be concise and include a summary of the rationale for the award and an evaluation of the significant deficient factors in the offeror’s offer.
The rule covers offers on task orders or delivery orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold but not greater than $6 million.
Interested parties have until Oct. 10 to comment on the proposed rule.