Overview
FAR Subpart 8.1 establishes the policy that federal agencies must utilize excess personal property as their primary source of supply. The regulation mandates that agencies exhaust all possibilities of using existing government-owned surplus—including property that requires adaptation—before committing taxpayer funds to new procurement actions.
Key Rules
- First Source of Supply: Agencies are legally required to treat excess personal property as the first priority before initiating a new contract.
- Cost-Reimbursement Contractors: The requirement to use excess property extends to cost-reimbursement contractors working on behalf of the government.
- Mandatory Search: Agency personnel must demonstrate "positive efforts" to satisfy requirements via excess property, including looking for items that can be substituted or adapted for the current need.
- Nonreportable Property: For items not listed in standard reports (per 41 CFR 102-36.220), agencies are still encouraged to work with GSA Personal Property Management offices to locate available assets.
- Information Access: Availability must be verified through GSAXcess® or through direct coordination with the General Services Administration (GSA).
Responsibilities
- Agency Personnel (Requirements Owners/Program Managers): Responsible for conducting the initial search for excess property and determining if available items can be adapted to meet their technical needs before submitting a purchase request.
- Contracting Officers: Must ensure that the "positive effort" to locate excess property has been made before initiating a contract action, effectively acting as a gatekeeper for new spending.
- General Services Administration (GSA): Responsible for maintaining the GSAXcess® system and providing assistance to agencies in locating both reportable and nonreportable excess property.
- Holding Activities: Responsible for reporting their excess property and coordinating with interested agencies for the transfer of assets.
Practical Implications
- Pre-Solicitation Diligence: In a real-world scenario, a Contracting Officer should check for a "Certification of Non-Availability" or evidence of a GSAXcess search in the procurement package. Proceeding to a full solicitation without checking the excess property inventory could result in an audit finding or a violation of FAR Part 8 priorities.
- Budgetary Savings: Using excess property allows agencies to stretch their budgets further, as the property is typically transferred at little to no cost (often only covering transportation).
- Contractor Compliance: When managing cost-reimbursement contracts, the government can provide "Government Furnished Property" (GFP) sourced from excess inventory to the contractor, thereby reducing the total reimbursable costs of the contract.
- Sustainability: This subpart functions as the government’s internal "reuse" program, aligning federal procurement with environmental and sustainability goals by reducing the manufacturing demand for new goods.