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DOE Class Deviation Softens FAR Requirement for Continuous SAM Registration

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.19.23

On September 6, 2023, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Class Deviation removing the FAR 52.204-7 requirement that a contractor maintain its System for Award Management (SAM) registration for the entire time from proposal submission until contract award, without any lapse.  As background, FAR 52.204-7 has since 2018 provided that “[a]n Offeror is required to be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quotation and shall continue to be registered until time of award . . . .”  As we discussed here, the Court of Federal Claims has strictly enforced this language, holding that it unambiguously requires a contractor to maintain its SAM registration throughout the entire proposal and evaluation process, and that an agency lacks the authority to waive that requirement.

The DOE Class Deviation, effective immediately for all DOE procurements, makes the flowing changes:

    • Removes the “shall continue to be registered until time of award” language; and
    • Adds the following language: “A failure to register in SAM or a lapse in SAMs [sic] registration may be treated by the Contracting Officer as a correctable matter of responsibility.”

While this class deviation applies only to DOE procurements, companies should watch for whether other federal agencies follow suit and issue similar class deviations.  Companies also should begin proactively updating existing registrations well in advance of expiration.  Even though the SAM initial registration and update processes have improved over the past year since the original change to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) assignment and accompanying entity validation steps, potential delays in the entity validation and Defense Logistics Agency CAGE Code processing steps still caution early registrations and early updates to ensure registration timeliness and continuity.

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Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.08.26

CAS Board Publishes Final Rule Rescinding CAS 404, 408, 409, and 4117

As part of its ongoing effort to conform the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the CAS Board published a final rule rescinding CAS 408 (Accounting for costs of compensated personal absence) and CAS 411 (Accounting for acquisition costs of material).  The CAS Board also rescinded CAS 404 (Capitalization of tangible assets) and CAS 409 (Depreciation of tangible capital assets) but retained certain requirements of CAS 404 and 409, which will be located in new paragraphs of CAS 405 (Accounting for unallowable costs).  Specifically, the CAS Board retained the requirements currently located at CAS 404-50(d)(1), CAS 409-50(e)(5), CAS 409-50(j)(1), and CAS 409-50(j)(4), which the CAS Board explained are necessary to protect the Government’s interests.  Otherwise, the CAS Board determined that the requirements of CAS 404, 408, 409, and 411 overlapped with GAAP such that GAAP “may be applied reasonably as a substitute for CAS to support contract cost and pricing.”...

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