SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

FAR 16.203, Fixed-price contracts with economic price adjustment, and associated clauses at 52.216-2, 52.216-3, and 52.216-4 provide for upward and downward revision of the stated contract price upon occurrence of specified contingencies. In order for the contracting officer to be aware of price changes, the firm must provide pertinent information to the Government. The information is used to determine the proper amount of price adjustments required under the contract.

B. Discussion and Analysis

One respondent submitted public comments on the extension of the previously approved information collection. The analysis of the public comments is summarized as follows:

Comment: The respondent commented that the extension of the information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act because of the burden it puts on the entity submitting the information and the agency collecting the information. The respondent opposes granting the extension of the information collection requirement.

Response: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), agencies can request an OMB approval of an existing information collection. The PRA requires that agencies use the Federal Register notice and comment process, to extend the OMB's approval, at least every three years. This extension, to a previously approved information collection, pertains to FAR 16.203, Fixed-price contracts with economic price adjustment, and associated clauses at 52.216-2, 52.216-3, and 52.216-4 which provide for upward and downward revision of the stated contract price upon occurrence of specified contingencies. In order for the contracting officer to be aware of price changes, the firm must provide pertinent information to the Government. The information is used to determine the proper amount of price adjustments required under the contract. Not granting this extension would consequently eliminate FAR clauses that provide a benefit to the public and the agency collecting the information.

Comment: The respondent commented that the agency did not ( printed page 12319) accurately estimate the public burden challenging that the agency's methodology for calculating it is insufficient and inadequate and does not reflect the total burden. The respondent indicated that .25 hours or 15 minutes per response for the level of effort involved under the relevant clauses is unrealistically low. For this reason, the respondent provided that the agency should reassess the estimated total burden hours and revise the estimate upwards to be more accurate, as was done in FAR Case 2007-006. The same respondent also provided that the burden of compliance with the information collection requirement greatly exceeds the agency's estimate and outweighs any potential utility of the extension.

Response: Serious consideration is given, during the open comment period, to all comments received and adjustments are made to the paperwork burden estimate based on reasonable considerations provided by the public. This is evidenced, as the respondent notes, in FAR Case 2007-006 where an adjustment was made from the total preparation hours from three to 60. This change was made considering particularly the hours that would be required for review within the company, prior to release to the Government.

The burden is prepared taking into consideration the necessary criteria in OMB guidance for estimating the paperwork burden put on the entity submitting the information. For example, consideration is given to an entity reviewing instructions; using technology to collect, process, and disclose information; adjusting existing practices to comply with requirements; searching data sources; completing and reviewing the response; and transmitting or disclosing information. The estimated burden hours for a collection are based on an average between the hours that a simple disclosure by a very small business might require and the much higher numbers that might be required for a very complex disclosure by a major corporation. Also, the estimated burden hours should only include projected hours for those actions which a company would not undertake in the normal course of business. Careful consideration went into assessing the burden for this collection, and although the respondent did not provide a specific recommendation for an increase of time per response, an adjustment is made to the estimated total burden. At any point, members of the public may submit comments for further consideration, and are encouraged to provide data to support their request for an adjustment.

C. Annual Reporting Burden

The estimated annual reporting burden is being adjusted upward since published in the Federal Register at 74 FR 64085, on December 7, 2009. The upward adjustment is based on a revised number of respondents obtained from the Federal Procurement Data System—Next Generation (FPDS-NG) data for fixed-price contracts with economic price adjustments, and consideration of the public comment.

Respondents: 11,945.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 11,945.

Hours per Response: 1.5.

Total Burden Hours: 17,918.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information collection documents from the General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB Control No. 9000-0068, Economic Price Adjustment, in all correspondence.