Overview
FAR Part 20 is currently designated as "Reserved" within the Federal Acquisition Regulation. It contains no active regulatory language, serving primarily as a structural placeholder to maintain the numerical sequence and organization of the FAR.
Key Rules
- No Active Regulations: There are currently no codified rules, clauses, or provisions within this part.
- Structural Integrity: The part is held open to ensure that the numbering system remains consistent across the FAR, allowing for future expansion or acknowledging the removal of previous content.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: No specific duties or compliance checks are required under this part.
- Program Managers: No programmatic requirements are derived from this section.
- Contractors: There are no compliance obligations or reporting requirements associated with FAR Part 20.
Practical Implications
- Skip During Research: When navigating the FAR for guidance on a specific acquisition topic, practitioners should skip Part 20 and proceed to the next relevant active part (e.g., Part 19 for Small Business Programs or Part 22 for Labor Laws).
- Future Use: The "Reserved" status allows the FAR Council to introduce significant new regulatory categories in the future without renumbering the entire regulation, which would cause chaos in existing contract references.
- Historical Context: In some legal or regulatory systems, a part becomes "Reserved" after its previous contents have been repealed or relocated to another section.