(a) The following officials may authorize a deviation for an IA acquisition:
| For a proposed contract action . . . | The following official may authorize a deviation . . . |
|---|---|
| Exceeding $25,000 but not exceeding $550,000 | The CCO (or the IA Procurement Chief, absent a CCO). |
| Exceeding $550,000 but not exceeding $11.5 million | IA Competition Advocate. |
| Exceeding $11.5 million but not exceeding $57 million | The head of the procuring activity, or a designee who is a civilian serving in a position in a grade above GS-15 under the General Schedule or in a comparable or higher position under another schedule. |
| Exceeding $57 million | Department of the Interior Senior Procurement Executive. |
(b) Deviations may be authorized prior to issuing the solicitation when IA makes the following determinations and the appropriate official takes the following actions:
| Acquisition type | Basis for deviation | Necessary actions |
|---|---|---|
| In pursuit of a simplified or commercial item acquisition in accordance with FAR Parts 12 or 13 and DIAR 1413 | IA determines after a market survey that there is no reasonable expectation of obtaining offers that will be competitive in terms of market price, quality, and delivery from two or more responsible ISBEEs (or at least from one such enterprise, if the purchase does not exceed the dollar threshold described in FAR 13.003) | The official must: (1) Document the reasons for the deviation in the file; (2) Ascertain the availability of small business suppliers through market research; and (3) If appropriate, compete the purchase using an unrestricted small business set-aside as prescribed in FAR 19.502-2. |
| In pursuit of all other acquisitions | IA determines that there is no reasonable expectation that offers will be received from two or more responsible IEEs at a reasonable and fair market price | The official must: (1) Provide a written determination in the contract file stating there is no reasonable expectation of receiving offers from two or more responsible IEEs and that award cannot be made at a reasonable and fair market price; and (2) Proceed with the acquisition using the order of precedence established in FAR 8.001. |
(c) Deviations may be authorized after issuing solicitations when IA makes the following determinations and the appropriate official takes the following actions:
| Acquisition type | Basis for deviation | Necessary actions |
|---|---|---|
| In pursuit of a simplified or commercial item acquisition in accordance with FAR Parts 12 or 13 and DIAR 1413 | Only one offer is received from a responsible ISBEE and the price is unreasonable or no offers are received from a responsible ISBEE | The official must: (1) Document the reasons for the deviation in the file; (2) Ascertain the availability of small business suppliers through market research; and (3) If appropriate, compete the purchase using an unrestricted small business set-aside as prescribed in FAR 19.502-2. |
| In pursuit of all other acquisitions | The Indian tribe justifies a deviation under 1480.504-1(b)(2) | IA must proceed under PL 93-638. |
| (1) All otherwise acceptable offers received from IEEs are unreasonable; (2) Only one offer is received from an IEE and the CO determines the price to be unreasonable; or (3) No responsive offers have been received from IEEs. |
The official must: (1) Cancel the solicitation; (2) Reject all offers in writing in accordance with FAR 14.404-3; and (3) Complete the acquisition by either: (i) Using negotiation, provided the CO has obtained the approval required by FAR 14.404-1; or (ii) If negotiation with the offerors responding to the canceled solicitation is not authorized, the CO must proceed with a new acquisition using the order of precedence in FAR 8.001. |
(d) In response to a set-aside acquisition, when using competitive proposals, proposals may be rejected by a written determination by the CCO that a reasonable price cannot be negotiated.