(a) The Government is not bound by agreements or contractual commitments made to prospective contractors by persons to whom contracting authority has not been delegated. Any unauthorized commitment may be in violation of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, other Federal laws, the FAR, the NRCAR, and good acquisition practice. Certain requirements of law and regulation necessary for the proper establishment of a contractual obligation may not be met under an unauthorized commitment; for example, the certification of the availability of funds, justification for other than full and open competition, competition of sources, determination of contractor responsibility, certification of current pricing data, price/cost analysis, administrative approvals, and negotiation of appropriate contract clauses.
(b) The execution of otherwise proper contracts made by individuals without contracting authority, or by contracting officers in excess of the limits of their delegated authority, may later be ratified. To be effective, the ratification must be in the form of a written procurement document clearly stating that ratification of a previously unauthorized commitment is intended. All ratifications of procurement actions valued at $2,500 or less may be approved by the appropriate regional administrator or Headquarters contracting officer. For any such action, all other terms of subpart 2001.6 are applicable. All ratification actions exceeding $2,500 shall be approved by the Competition Advocate.
(c) Requests received by contracting officers for ratification of commitments made by personnel lacking contracting authority must be processed as follows:
(1) The Designating Official that is responsible for the office request shall furnish the contracting officer all records and documents concerning the commitment and a complete written statement of facts, including, but not limited to:
(i) A written statement consistent with the complexity and size of the action as to why the contracting office was not used including the name of the employee who made the commitment;
(ii) A statement as to why the proposed contractor was selected;
(iii) A list of other sources considered;
(iv) A description of work performed, or to be performed, or products to be furnished;
(v) The estimated or agreed upon contract price;
(vi) A certification of the appropriated funds available;
(vii) A description of how unauthorized commitments in similar circumstances will be avoided in the future.
(2) The contracting officer shall review the written statement of facts for a determination of approval of all actions valued at $2,500 or less. For actions greater than $2,500, the contracting officer shall forward the written statement of facts to the Competition Advocate through the Director, Division of Contracts and Property Management with any comments or information that should be considered in evaluating the request for ratification.
(3) The NRC legal advisor may be asked for an opinion, advice, or concurrence if there is concern regarding the propriety of the funding source, appropriateness of the expense, or when some other legal issue is involved.