Sanswire ineligible for gov't contracts:
"Posted by: coastiretired Date: Saturday, August 01, 2009
1. As part of any new government contract award, the Contracting Officer must now evaluate all applicants to determine if the bidder is a "responsible prospective contractor."
2. The screening for this starts with a new certification the company must provide in a block called "Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters."
3. If the company answers yes to any of the certification clauses, the Contracting Officer is required to notify, "the agency official responsible for initiating debarment or suspension action." The company is then officially entered into the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS).
4. Contractors debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment are also excluded from conducting business with the Government as agents or representatives of other contractors.
5. Many of these requirements are new and came about after a 2007 GAO report which detailed how thousands of Federal Contractors were abusing the Federal Tax System and recent issues with some contract awards in support of Iraq and Afghanistan. (so yes, there are still examples of companies with liens and other issues that have received government contracts.)
6. Until the company can explain away or provide a negative response to all the clauses in the "Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters" block, Sanswire can't respond to any solicitations without getting officially placed in the EPLS.
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Subpart 9.1—Responsible Prospective Contractors
9.103 Policy.
(a) Purchases shall be made from, and contracts shall be awarded to, responsible prospective contractors only.
(b) No purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determination of responsibility. In the absence of information clearly indicating that the prospective contractor is responsible, the contracting officer shall make a determination of nonresponsibility. If the prospective contractor is a small business concern, the contracting officer shall comply with Subpart 19.6, Certificates of Competency and Determinations of Responsibility.
19.601 General.
(a) A Certificate of Competency (COC) is the certificate issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that the holder is responsible (with respect to all elements of responsibility, including, but not limited to, capability, competency, capacity, credit, integrity, perseverance, tenacity, and limitations on subcontracting) for the purpose of receiving and performing a specific Government contract.
9.104-5 Certification regarding responsibility matters.
(a) When an offeror provides an affirmative response in paragraph (a)(1) of the provision at 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters, or paragraph (h) of provision 52.212-3, the contracting officer shall—
(1) Promptly, upon receipt of offers, request such additional information from the offeror as the offeror deems necessary in order to demonstrate the offeror’s responsibility to the contracting officer (but see 9.405); and
(2) Notify, prior to proceeding with award, in accordance with agency procedures (see 9.406-3(a) and 9.407-3(a)), the agency official responsible for initiating debarment or suspension action, where an offeror indicates the existence of an indictment, charge, conviction, or civil judgment, or Federal tax delinquency in an amount that exceeds $3,000.
(b) Offerors who do not furnish the certification or such information as may be requested by the contracting officer shall be given an opportunity to remedy the deficiency. Failure to furnish the certification or such information may render the offeror nonresponsible.
9.104-6 Solicitation provision.
The contracting officer shall insert the provision at 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters, in solicitations where the contract value is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.
52.209-5 Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters.
As prescribed in 9.104-6, insert the following provision:
Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters (Dec 2008)
(a)(1) The Offeror certifies, to the best of its knowledge and belief, that—
(i) The Offeror and/or any of its Principals—
(A) Are o are not o presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for the award of contracts by any Federal agency;
(B) Have o have not o, within a three-year period preceding this offer, been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for: commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, state, or local) contract or subcontract; violation of Federal or state antitrust statutes relating to the submission of offers; or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, tax evasion, violating Federal criminal tax laws, or receiving stolen property;
(C) Are o are not o presently indicted for, or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity with, commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(B) of this provision;
(D) Have o, have not o, within a three-year period preceding this offer, been notified of any delinquent Federal taxes in an amount that exceeds $3,000 for which the liability remains unsatisfied.
(1) Federal taxes are considered delinquent if both of the following criteria apply:
(i) The tax liability is finally determined. The liability is finally determined if it has been assessed. A liability is not finally determined if there is a pending administrative or judicial challenge. In the case of a judicial challenge to the liability, the liability is not finally determined until all judicial appeal rights have been exhausted.
(ii) The taxpayer is delinquent in making payment. A taxpayer is delinquent if the taxpayer has failed to pay the tax liability when full payment was due and required. A taxpayer is not delinquent in cases where enforced collection action is precluded.
(2) Examples.
(i) The taxpayer has received a statutory notice of deficiency, under I.R.C. § 6212, which entitles the taxpayer to seek Tax Court review of a proposed tax deficiency. This is not a delinquent tax because it is not a final tax liability. Should the taxpayer seek Tax Court review, this will not be a final tax liability until the taxpayer has exercised all judicial appeal rights.
(ii) The IRS has filed a notice of Federal tax lien with respect to an assessed tax liability, and the taxpayer has been issued a notice under I.R.C. § 6320 entitling the taxpayer to request a hearing with the IRS Office of Appeals contesting the lien filing, and to further appeal to the Tax Court if the IRS determines to sustain the lien filing. In the course of the hearing, the taxpayer is entitled to contest the underlying tax liability because the taxpayer has had no prior opportunity to contest the liability. This is not a delinquent tax because it is not a final tax liability. Should the taxpayer seek tax court review, this will not be a final tax liability until the taxpayer has exercised all judicial appeal rights.
(iii) The taxpayer has entered into an installment agreement pursuant to I.R.C. § 6159. The taxpayer is making timely payments and is in full compliance with the agreement terms. The taxpayer is not delinquent because the taxpayer is not currently required to make full payment.
(iv) The taxpayer has filed for bankruptcy protection. The taxpayer is not delinquent because enforced collection action is stayed under 11 U.S.C. 362 (the Bankruptcy Code).
(ii) The Offeror has o has not o, within a three-year period preceding this offer, had one or more contracts terminated for default by any Federal agency.
(2) “Principal,” for the purposes of this certification, means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager; plant manager; head of a subsidiary, division, or business segment; and similar positions).
This Certification Concerns a Matter Within the Jurisdiction of an Agency of the United States and the Making of a False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Certification May Render the Maker Subject to Prosecution Under Section 1001, Title 18, United States Code. "
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