Overview
FAR 4.1001 establishes the requirement for procurement instruments to use distinct line items and subline items to ensure the accuracy, traceability, and usability of federal procurement data.
Key Rules
- Mandatory Identification: All procurement instruments must identify supplies or services as separately identified line items and, when necessary, subline items.
- Line Item Purpose: Line items define specific deliverables and must include essential characteristics such as pricing, delivery information, and funding details.
- Subline Item Function: Subline items are used to break down line items for easier administration, typically to differentiate variations in characteristics like color, size, delivery dates, or destinations.
- Informational Parent Items: If a line item contains subline items that are deliverables, the parent line item becomes "informational" rather than a standalone deliverable.
Practical Implications
- Granular Tracking: Contracting Officers and contractors must structure contracts to allow for precise financial and performance tracking, which prevents the bundling of unrelated costs.
- Invoicing and Audit: This structure ensures that invoicing and payment systems can map specific funds to specific deliverables, facilitating cleaner audits and more accurate government-wide data reporting.