Overview
FAR 17.101 establishes the statutory legal basis for multi-year contracting, citing specific authorities for both civilian and defense agencies. It serves as the formal introduction to the policies and procedures governing long-term contractual commitments that exceed one year.
Key Rules
- Statutory Implementation (Civilian): Implements 41 U.S.C. 3903, which governs multi-year procurement for civilian executive agencies.
- Statutory Implementation (Defense): Implements 10 U.S.C. 3501, which governs multi-year procurement for the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Coast Guard.
- Regulatory Scope: Explicitly states that the subpart provides the mandatory policy and procedural framework that agencies must follow to exercise these legal authorities.
Practical Implications
- This section provides the legal "hook" that allows Contracting Officers to bypass the usual "bona fide need" rule, permitting them to enter into contracts for more than one year's requirements without having to wait for future years' appropriations.
- It distinguishes formal "multi-year contracting" (which carries specific cancellation ceiling liabilities) from "multiple-year contracting" (which typically uses standard one-year terms with options).