Amendment_A0004_Questions and Answers.docx

The following answers are provided as revisions and clarifications to Questions posted in Amendment A0003. Some revisions are due to the contract type changing from a Hybrid Contract to a Time and Materials (T&M) Contract.

Reference: Amendment A0002, Q&A Response to Question 5

“Would the Government consider removing FAR 52.212-4 Alt1(i)(1)(ii)(D)(2) in order to allow offerors with Government-approved accounting systems to propose indirect costs at actual rates over the life of the contract? The Government could achieve lower overall costs by allowing offerors with approved indirect rates to propose at actual costs rather than fixed rates because the costs are Government-audited, and any cost savings would be passed on to the Government.”

To keep this as straightforward as possible, the fill-ins for the fixed amounts at FAR 52.212-4 Alt1(i)(1)(ii)(D)(1) and (2) will be “None.” For the Time and Materials portion of the contract, the government will pay for labor at the agreed upon fixed hourly rates, which should be prepared to include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses and profit for each category of labor (see FAR 16.601(b)(1)) and for materials at actual cost (see FAR 16.601(b)(2)). See FAR 31.205-26 for an explanation of what is included in material costs.

Based on the above information, items in the pricing template that refer to the indirect rate and the calculation are removed.

Reference: Attachment 2. Pricing Tables Reference: Amendment A0002, Q&A Response to Question 2

“The Government’s answer stating “The offeror should send the pricing template to the subcontractor and have them fill it out for their portion. The subcontractor’s pricing template can be added to the offeror’s pricing template for submission with the offeror’s proposal" alludes to a Cost-Plus contract type since the information that the teammate would complete would not include prime indirect burdens, fee, NMGRT, etc. as would be included in a T&M or FFP proposal. Please confirm that the intent is for any teammate workshare to be included in the RFP Price Template at the Prime level T&M/FFP LCAT rates which our proposed price will ultimately be based upon.”

This is not a cost-plus or cost reimbursement type contract. This is a Time and Materials contract. Offerors’ pricing templates should only include the labor rates for the offerors, not the various subcontractors. Per FAR 16.601(b)(1), the labor rates provided by the offerors should include wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses and profit for each category of labor. The evaluation of proposals will be based on these labor rates.

The contractor should also comply with FAR 52.216-31.

Reference: Amendment A0002, Q&A response to Question 1 FAR 52.229-10 does not apply to this contract since the contractor will not be performing a cost-reimbursement contract as specified in FAR 29.401-4(b). FAR 52.229-10 is not applicable in FFP and T&M contracts.

“As the government has removed confirmation that NMGRT is applicable to this contract, will the Government specifically confirm that NMGRT is not applicable to this contract and that the Government will be issuing NTTC Type 5 tax exempt certificates? Also, will the Government confirm that if NMGRT is ever applicable in execution for any reason that the offeror will be allowed to re-negotiate with the Government to add those allowable costs to contract?”

To clarify, the government is not providing an opinion as to whether the New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax applies to offerors under this contract. The previous response was only meant to inform offerors that the provision at FAR 52.229-10 will not be included. That provision, per the proscription at FAR 29.401-4(b), is only applicable when there is a cost –reimbursement contract (which this is not, it is a Time and Materials contract) and when the contract is issued by an agency listed in 29.401-4(c), which does not include DHS/CBP. Offerors should determine if the tax is applicable and prepare their proposals/labor rates accordingly.