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GSA makes vendor participation in transactional data reporting pilot voluntary

September 7, 2017 By Andrew Smith

Last week, the US General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it will make participation in its Transactional Data Reporting pilot program (TDR Pilot) voluntary for all GSA contractors.

Previously, for Schedules and Special Item Numbers (SINs) included in the TDR Pilot, participation was voluntary for most existing contractors but mandatory for new offerors and those existing contractors approaching exercise of a five-year option period.

As discussed in the June 2016 LawFlash, as implemented, the TDR rule requires that government vendors electronically submit a monthly report containing line-item transactional data (e.g., part number, price paid) for direct sales to the government. GSA has previously opined that the TDR rule should significantly reduce burdens to contractors—in particular, by exempting participating contractors from the requirements of submitting Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) disclosures and complying with the tracking customer requirements of the Price Reductions Clause (PRC).

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=624718

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Federal Supply Schedule, GSA, GSA Schedule, multiple award contract, multiple award schedule, price reduction, transactional data, Transactional Data Reporting

Vendors could save millions with new GSA reporting requirement

July 13, 2016 By Andrew Smith

GSA logoThe General Services Administration (GSA) published a final rule on June 23, 2016 for what it’s calling the “most transformational changes to GSA’s Federal Supply Schedules Program in more than two decades.”

The Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) rule requires federal contractors to report data on individual task orders and purchases made on GSA schedules, including part numbers, quantities and prices paid. While this seems like an additional requirement for vendors, the new process will eliminate some older reporting requirements and is intended to streamline the process.

GSA procurement officials expect the new process will save millions a year in processing overhead, namely by eliminating commercial sales practices disclosures and the Price Reductions Clause.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/gsa-gwac/2016/06/22/transactional-data-rule/86247440/

See the new rule published in the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/23/2016-14728/general-services-administration-acquisition-regulation-gsar-transactional-data-reporting

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: commercial products, commercial sales, contract clauses, FSS, GSA, GSA Schedule, price reduction, reporting, Schedule, TDR, transactional data, Transactional Data Reporting

GSA proposed rule raises ‘significant concerns’ over competition

March 17, 2015 By ei2admin

On March 4, 2015, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a proposed rule, GSAR Case 2013-G504, Transactional Data Reporting. The proposed rule would establish a new requirement for GSA contractors, (IT GWAC contractors, Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Schedule contractors and other GSA contract programs, as applicable) to report transactional data at the order and Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) level to GSA. (Note: the VA Schedules are exempted.)

The proposed rule retains the Price Reduction Clause (PRC) but deletes the requirement to monitor a tracking customer for price reductions for FSS Schedule contractors required to report transaction data. The remainder of the PRC remains in effect. FSS Schedule contractors will still be required to submit Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) information — with the ongoing requirement to provide updates throughout the life of the contract. In addition the rule makes clear that GSA can ask for FSS Schedule contract price reductions at any time. Price reduction requests will likely be based on review of transactional data.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/445/3816136/GSA-proposed-rule-raises-significant-concerns-over-competition

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: BPA, CSP, FSS, GSA Schedule, GWAC, IDIQ, price reduction, proposed rule, reporting requirements, Schedule, Schedules, transactional data

GSA proposes price reporting requirements for Schedule, GWAC and IDIQ contracts; public comment due May 4th

March 9, 2015 By ei2admin

The General Services Administration (GSA) issued a proposed rule on March 4, 2015 that responds to the contracting concept of “category management” introduced December 4, 2014 by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP).  The OFPP concept shifts federal purchasing’s focus from managing purchases and prices individually on thousands of procurement actions by dozens of federal agencies to managing categories of purchases across the government.  To implement this concept, GSA’s proposed rule would require vendors on Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) and Governmentwide Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quality (IDIQ) contracts to report all government transactions, including prices paid.  GSA contends the new rule is needed because the government currently lacks a mechanism that facilitates examination of prices paid by agencies on individual contracts, and this has caused pricing disparities in contracts for similar products and services.

If the proposed rule is adopted, the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) would be amended to require that vendors report transaction data on individual FSS, GWAC and IDIQ contracts.  Details to be reported include unit of measure, quantity of items sold, universal product codes, prices paid per unit, and total price.  Such contracts accounted for about $39 billion in federal procurements in fiscal year 2014, according to the agency.  GSA says their existing price reduction-related monitoring requirements will be pared back to compensate for the additional reporting burden on contractors.  FSS contracts administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs would be exempt from the new rules.

In introducing the proposed rule, GSA says: “The current lack of transparency on prices paid by government customers has led to significant price variation, sometimes 300 percent or more, for identical purchases by federal agencies from the same commercial vendor as well as the unnecessary duplication of contract vehicles.”

If the proposed rule is finalized, it will go into effect immediately as a pilot program for GWAC and IDIQ contracts.  For FSS contracts, the new rule would be implemented in phases, initially involving only certain products and services in order to test the usefulness of the collected data in eliminating contract duplications and price variations.

The proposed rule also would implement a web-based Common Acquisition Platform (CAP) that GSA says will identify best-in-class contracts, best practices, and similar information.  This online marketplace also would display commercial pricing for similar products.

The proposed rule could be seen to be at odds with recommendations that were first formulated by GSA’s own Multiple Award Schedules Advisory Panel.  In 2009, the MAS Advisory Panel made 20 recommendations on how GSA could improve the Schedules program.  Prominent among the recommendations were the outright removal of the price reduction clause (PRC) from contracts for products and services and establishment of a process for ordering activities to collect and report on their purchasing, including quantity, quality, and price.  Currently, the PRC clause is included in every Schedule contract in an effort to obtain contractors’ best prices.   If contractors do not abide by this contract requirement, they risk having a whistleblower, an inspector general, or the Justice Department filing a complaint or bringing charges pursuant to the False Claims Act.  In addition, GSA presently may request a price reduction at any time during the contract period when their market analysis indicates that lower prices are being offered or paid for the same items under similar conditions.  According to data collected by the Chief Acquisition Officer’s Council, contractors regard the PRC as one of the most complicated and burdensome requirements in federal contracting, and GSA’s own estimates suggest FSS contractors spend over 860,000 hours a year (at a cost of approximately $58.5 million) on compliance with this clause.

Already, there are concerns being voiced that if GSA’s primary motive behind the proposed rule is simply to obtain lower prices, the government runs the risk of losing quality contractors who will not agree to disclose pricing data due to its sensitivity, let alone bear the new cost and administrative burdens associated with disclosure.  While there are differences of opinion among government and business leaders, GSA states that it believes that use of the proposed transactional data reporting clause could be a good alternative to the PRC, contending that the new rule will reduce administrative burden on contractors and have the effect of lowering prices to the government.

In order to sort out the issues and seek public comment, GSA is holding a public meeting and requesting comment on its proposal to amend the GSAR to include clauses that would require vendors to report transactional data from orders and prices paid by ordering activities. Interested parties may offer oral and/or written comments at GSA’s public meeting to be held on Friday, April 17, 2015, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST.

In addition, as a part of the traditional public comment process that accompanies most proposed federal regulations, GSA is asking interested parties to submit written comments on or before Monday, May 4, 2015 to be considered in the formulation of a final rule.  Comments should be sent to: U.S. General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW., 2nd Floor, ATTN: Hada Flowers, Washington, DC 20405-0001, citing GSAR Case 2013-G504 in all correspondence. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business confidential information provided.

For the April 17th public meeting, attendees can attend the meeting in person at GSA’s Central Office or virtually through GSA’s Internet meeting platform, Adobe Connect.

  • In-person Attendance: Interested parties may attend the public meeting to be held in the GSA Auditorium at GSA Headquarters, located at 1800 F St. NW., Washington, DC 20405. The public is asked to pre-register by Wednesday April 1, 2015, due to security and seating limitations. To pre-register, use the following link: https://meet.gsa.gov/e5rpxxbrh14/event/event_info.html.  On-site registration check-in will begin at 8:00 a.m. EST on Friday, April 17, 2015, and the meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. EST.  Attendees must be prepared to present a form of government issued photo identification.
  • Virtual Attendance: Interested parties may also attend virtually through GSA’s Internet meeting platform, hosted by Adobe Connect. Virtual attendees must register in advance at https://meet.gsa.gov/e5rpxxbrh14/event/event_info.html.
  • Oral Public Comments: Parties wishing to make formal oral presentations at the public meeting should indicate so during the registration process. Presentations must be provided to Ms. Dana Munson by electronic mail at gsar@gsa.gov no later than Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Time allocations for oral presentations will be limited to fifteen minutes.
  • Written Comments: All formal comments, inluding oral public comments, should be followed-up in writing and submitted to www.regulations.gov not later than Monday, May 4, 2015.  Reference should be made to GSAR Case 2013-G504.

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: category management, False Claims Act, FSS, GSA, GSA Schedule, GWAC, IDIQ, OFPP, price reduction, proposed rule, public comment, reporting requirements, Schedule, Schedules, VA, whistleblower

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