Overview
FAR 9.204 outlines the specific obligations of agency activities when establishing and maintaining qualification requirements, such as Qualified Products Lists (QPLs). The section ensures transparency, promotes competition by seeking additional sources, and provides administrative procedures for managing qualified manufacturers and products.
Key Rules
- Publicity and Competition: If fewer than two manufacturers are expected to compete, the agency must post notices on the Governmentwide point of entry (GPE) to solicit new sources, unless national security prevents it.
- Small Business Support: Agencies may bear the cost of testing and evaluation for small businesses if it is determined that the resulting increased competition will likely provide cost savings that amortize the testing expenses.
- List Maintenance: Agencies are responsible for qualifying products, maintaining Qualified Products Lists (QPL), Qualified Manufacturers Lists (QML), or Qualified Bidders Lists (QBL), and providing these lists to the public upon request.
- Mandatory Disclaimers: When furnishing lists, agencies must advise that the list is not an endorsement, is subject to change without notice, and does not release the supplier from strictly complying with specifications.
- Reexamination Criteria: Agencies must reevaluate qualified products or manufacturers if the product is modified, the underlying specification is revised, or if necessary to ensure continued quality.
- Enforcement Flexibility: The technical activity may provide concurrence to a Contracting Officer’s decision to waive or not enforce a qualification requirement for a specific solicitation.
Practical Implications
- Barriers to Entry: Small businesses can leverage paragraph (a)(2) to seek government funding for expensive testing, reducing the financial barrier to entering specialized federal markets.
- Compliance Monitoring: Manufacturers must proactively notify the government of any changes to their materials or production processes, as these triggers a mandatory reexamination of their qualified status.
- Advertising Restrictions: While contractors can mention their qualified status in marketing, they are strictly prohibited from claiming the government "endorses" their product or that they are the "exclusive" qualified source.