Overview
This section establishes excess personal property as the mandatory primary source of supply for federal agencies and their cost-reimbursement contractors. It requires agencies to proactively seek out and utilize existing government-owned surplus before spending funds on new procurement actions.
Key Rules
- Priority of Supply: Excess personal property must be treated as the "first source of supply" whenever practicable.
- Applicability: The policy applies to both direct agency requirements and requirements fulfilled by cost-reimbursement contractors.
- Affirmative Obligation: Agency personnel are required to make "positive efforts" to locate and acquire excess property.
- Adaptation and Substitution: The search is not limited to exact matches; personnel must consider property that can be adapted or substituted to meet the requirement.
- Timing: Verification of the availability of excess property must occur prior to initiating a new contract action.
Practical Implications
- Contracting Officers and program managers must conduct market research through systems like GSAXcess to ensure items are not already available within the federal inventory before soliciting new bids.
- Failure to document the consideration of excess property can lead to audit findings or delays in procurement approvals, as using existing assets is a key mechanism for federal cost avoidance.