When utilizing the authority granted under the FAR Part 51 deviation, all of the following criteria must be met.
Items on the contract/order issued to the buying contractor from the Federal Government must be T&M/LH. The overall contract/order can be fixed price, but the items to be purchased under the FAR Part 51 authority must be structured on a T&M/LH basis. Commonly, this is accomplished by including an optional line item in the Request for Quote (RFQ)/proposal and a corresponding line item on the subsequent contract/order.
When GSA contractors place orders with MAS and GSA Global Supply™ under the FAR Part 51 deviation authority, the buying contractor who is purchasing the items is not permitted to add a fee or markup to the items. Items must be invoiced at the price for which they were procured from the selling contractor.
Supplies and/or services procured under the FAR Part 51 deviation authority must be ancillary in nature. The supplies and services shall not be the primary purpose of the work ordered, but an integral part of the total solution that is offered. Please note that there are different and additional requirements associated with Special Item Numbers (SINs) on numerous Schedules that contain Ancillary Repair and Alternations (R&A).
Buying contractors must follow the procedures outlined in FAR 8.405-1 when purchasing items from a Schedule contract. The procedures are used when ordering supplies and services that are listed in the Schedule contract at a fixed price for the performance of a specific task, where a statement of work is not required (e.g., installation, maintenance, and repair).
The authority does not extend to state and local ordering activities and is intended for use only by Federal Government Contracting Officers.