A new amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, announced last week, will affect about 65,000 small businesses and organizations, both private and public.
The DoD issued a Final Rule aimed at detecting and avoiding counterfeit electronic parts in the DoD supply chain. The Final Rule imposes a strong preference on the acquisition and use of electronic parts from original or authorized manufacturers or their resellers.
“This rule enhances DOD's ability to strengthen the integrity of the process for acquisition of electronic parts and benefits both the Government and contractors,” the Federal Register says are reported by Jeremey Snow on Fedscoop. “The avoidance of the proliferation of counterfeit electronic parts in the DOD supply chain reduces the risk of critical failure of fielded systems such as aircraft, ships, and other weapon systems, thus protecting troops' lives and safety.”
In the event the contractor cannot identify any trusted source for the supply of electronic parts, the contractor may rely on non-trusted sources – including subcontractors unwilling to accept a flow-down of the clause – subject to certain conditions, explained Barron Avery of BakerHostelter. One condition states that the contractor must notify the contracting officer in writing when it intends to supply items from non-trusted sources, and must thoroughly document its inspection and testing results when authenticating such parts to provide to the government upon request.
The clause also includes a traceability requirement for contractors who do not manufacture their electronic parts, requiring contractors to either trace the origin of the part to its original manufacturer or take responsibility for inspecting, testing and authentication of the part.
