CSS_75N95023Q00226.pdf

Solicitation No. 75N95023Q00226

Title: Three Computer Workstation To Study Microtubules and Associated proteins

1. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

2. The solicitation number is 75N95023Q00226 and the solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) on unrestricted basis, as a full and open competition.

This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures;

and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Items, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. A fixed-price type of purchase order is contemplated for this requirement.

3. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04, dated June 2, 2023.

4. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is

334111 –Electronic Computer Manufacturing. This requirement shall be solicited using full and open competitive commercial procedures.

5. The Government requires the following brand name or equal items / component parts / and warranty services:

NINDS requires three (3) brand name or equal computers workstations in order to study microtubules and microtubule associated proteins. Please refer to Attachment 1 – Purchase Description for the in-depth description and details for this requirement.

6. Please refer to Attachment 1 – Purchase Description for details and information describing the brand name or equal salient characteristics and requirements.

7. Deliveries: Deliveries shall be made no later than 60 days after receipt of order to the following address:

Jeffrey Spector, NIDA/NINDS

35A Convent Drive., PNRC I, NIHBC 35

Room 3B-207 Bethesda, MD 20892

8. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023) is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation.

9. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial

Services (NOV 2021) is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation.

A tradeoff process shall be used for this acquisition because it has been determined to be in the best interest of the Government to consider award to other than the lowest priced Offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are more important than cost or price. For this acquisition, the following considerations will be part of the trade-off process: Technical Evaluation Factors including Past Performance, and Price.

The evaluation will be based on the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective Offerors in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the solicitation. The merits of each quote will be evaluated carefully.

The Government may request clarifying information from the Contractor, as it relates to its quote. If an award will be made without conducting discussions, Contractors may be given the opportunity to clarify certain aspects of their quote (e.g., the relevance of the contract, the Contractor's past performance information, and adverse past performance information to which the Contractor has not previously had an opportunity to respond) or to resolve minor or clerical errors. Discussions will not be held with any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable.

The Government reserves the right to make a single award, multiple awards, or no award at all as a result of the solicitation. In addition, the solicitation may be amended or canceled as necessary to meet the Government’s requirements.

TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

The evaluation factors are used by the technical evaluation committee when reviewing the technical quotes. The factors below are listed in order of its relative importance for evaluation purposes.

a. Technical Capability and Functionality – The Government shall evaluate the offeror’s technical approach for overall capability and functionality in relation to the General Requirement, Salient Characteristics, Quantity and Deliverables as described in the Purchase Description.

b. Contract Management and Customer Support – The Government shall evaluate the offeror’s ability to provide a high level of customer service, particularly in the area of initial responsiveness and resolution of device and service problems. Specifically, the Government will evaluate the Offeror’s capability based on its description of any applicable warranty and customer support process.

c. Speed of Delivery, Installation and Set-up – The Government shall evaluate the offeror’s technical approach for completeness, feasibility, soundness and practicality of the proposed approach and work plan for accomplishing the requirements of the Purchase Description.

PAST PERFORMANCE

Offerors will be evaluated based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror, other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government, and any information supplied by the offeror concerning problems encountered on the identified contracts and corrective action taken. Furthermore, the Government will assess the relative risks associated with each offeror. Performance risks are those associated with an offeror's likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror's record of past performance. The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be the product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an offeror's performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers all available and relevant information.

The Offeror should provide past performance information. Past performance information shall cover a minimum of one (1) year in relevant services and deliveries of comparable systems. The Offeror should provide at least one reference for any project identified under the experience factor that has a performance period within the past three (3) years. For each reference, the offeror should provide the following: (1) Organization or contracting partner's name; (2) Point of contact's (POCs) name and contact information (i.e., current phone numbers and valid email addresses); and (3) a description that precisely explains the general scope and specific requirements of the contract.

PRICE EVALUATION

Offerors price quote will be evaluated for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through cost and price analysis techniques. Price evaluation will not be conducted on any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable.

10. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -

Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), is applicable and incorporated by reference into this solicitation.

11. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial

Products and Commercial Services (DEC 2022), applies to this acquisition. See Attachment 2.

12. The provision of FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to

Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Products and Commercial Services (MAR 2023), applies to this acquisition. See Attachment 3.

13. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition.

14. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is not applicable to this requirement.

15. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the Offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the government requirements stated in this solicitation.

Basic cost and price information in the Offeror’s proposal must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the reasonableness of the Offeror to supply the required goods/services. Any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision may include such factors as: past performance;

special features required for effective service coverage; trade-in considerations; warranty considerations; maintenance and service coverage availability; serial, product or catalog number(s); product description; delivery terms, and prompt payment discount terms.

The Contractor shall submit its quote electronically.

Offerors MUST verify the valid certifications, registrations, and Representation and Certifications from the System of Award Management (SAM) applications at www.SAM.gov, which may be indicated on the Offeror’s cover sheet.

In addition the vendor Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All Offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

16. All responses must be received no later than July 27, 2023 at 3:00 PM EST. Late responses may not be accepted. All responses must reference solicitation number 75N95023Q00226. Responses must be submitted electronically to Andrew Varley, Contract Specialist Andrew.Varley@nih.gov and Joshua Lazarus josh.lazarus@nih.gov. For information regarding this solicitation, please contact Andrew Varley, Contract Specialist Andrew.Varley@nih.gov.

17. DATE QUESTIONS DUE: Questions and requests for clarification must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist, Andrew Varley, Contract Specialist Andrew.Varley@nih.gov on or before July 25, 2023 at 1:00 PM EST. Fax responses will NOT be accepted.

Version 11-30-2016-1 FAR Part 11—Describing Agency Needs

RFQ No. 75N95023Q00226 Attachment #1- Purchase Description

PURCHASE DESCRIPTION

1. Statement of Need and Purpose: The CBBU at NINDS would like to acquire three

(3) new computers to replace instrument computers that were damaged during a recent flooding event. The CBBU performs state of the art single molecule, reflection and confocal imaging. These instruments require current state of the art computers to drive them, including SSD hard drives and large amounts of RAM. These computers are necessary to the continutaiton of science in the CBBU.

2. Background Information and Objective: The CBBU at NINDS studies microtubules(MTs) and microtubule associated proteins(MAPs) and their interactions.

Tubulin is one of the most prevalent proteins in the brain and the polymerized form, microtubule’s are essential for a wide variety of cellular phenomena. Perturbation to the microtubule cytoskeleton can lead to sever degrative disease. The construction and disassembly of microtubules is a very regulated process in cells. We aim to understand this process at several levels from the molecular to the cellular. In order to do this we employ a wide range of imaging techniques from darkfield, fluoresce and confocal imaging. All of our equipment needs to be driven by current state of the art computers capable of streaming large amounts of data to disk at high speed. We recently suffers a catastrophic flood that necessities the replacement of our instrument computers.

3. Purchase Description: NINDS requires three (3) brand name or equal computers workstations in order to study microtubules and microtubule associated proteins.

(1) Dell

(2) Acquisition Workstation

(3) Acquisition Workstation 210-128

4. Salient characteristics NINDS requires 3 brand name or equal computer and

Acquisition Workstations with the following specifications:

(1) Dual core Xeon 2.4 Ghz processors

(2) 1300 W power supply

(3) 128GB RAM 16GB Nvidia Quadro RTX A4000

(4) 512 GB M2 SSD drive for OS

(5) 8 port NVMe controller

(6) 2TB NVMe M2 SSD (8 in a raid array)

(7) Raido-0 Configuration for NVMe Controller

(8) Warranty and Product Support: At a minimum the Warranty should include:

• Minimum 1-year manufacturer warranty on all parts and labor included

• Replacements for shipping damage

• Replacements for manufacturing defect upon examination

• Temporary replacement units during warranty period

• Coverage of shipping cost of temporary replacement unit to the customer

Version 11-30-2016-1 FAR Part 11—Describing Agency Needs

RFQ No. 75N95023Q00226 Attachment #1- Purchase Description

• Introductory onsite training and support,

• Technical support by phone and email, Temporary replacement units during repair period

• Additionally, extended warranty options are available.

5. Delivery Date: Deliveries shall be made no later than 60 days after receipt of order to the following address:

Jeffrey Spector, NIDA/NINDS

35A Convent Drive., PNRC I, NIHBC 35

Room 3B-207 Bethesda, MD 20892

6. Period of Performance: The system shall come with a 1 year warranty.

7. Option(s): N/A

Addendum to FAR 52.212-4 Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items

(s) Order of precedence. Any inconsistencies in this solicitation or contract shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order:

(1) The schedule of supplies/services

(2) The Assignments, Disputes, Payments, Invoice, Other Compliances, Compliance with Laws Unique to Government Contracts, Unauthorized Obligations, and Commercial Supplier Agreements – Unenforceable Clauses paragraphs of this clause.

(3) The clause at 52.212-5.

(4) Addenda to this solicitation or contract, including any commercial supplier agreements as amended by the Commercial Supplier Agreements – Unenforceable Clauses provision.

(5) Solicitation provisions if this is a solicitation.

(6) Other paragraphs of this clause.

(7) The Standard Form 1449.

(8) Other documents, exhibits, and attachments.

(9) The specification.

(w) Commercial supplier agreements–unenforceable clauses.

(1) Definition. For the purpose of this contract, “Commercial supplier agreements” (referred to at FAR 12.216 as “Supplier License Agreements”) means terms and conditions customarily offered to the public by vendors of supplies or services that meet the definition of “commercial item” set forth in FAR 2.101 and intended to create a binding legal obligation on the end user. Commercial supplier agreements are particularly common in information technology acquisitions, including acquisitions of commercial computer software and commercial technical data, but they may apply to any supply or service. The term applies–

(a) Regardless of the format or style of the document. For example, a commercial supplier agreement may be styled as standard terms of sale or lease, Terms of Service (TOS), End User License Agreement (EULA), or another similar legal instrument or agreement, and may be presented as part of a proposal or quotation responding to a solicitation for a contract or order;

(b) Regardless of the media or delivery mechanism used. For example, a commercial supplier agreement may be presented as one or more paper documents or may appear on a computer or other electronic device screen during a purchase, software installation, other product delivery, registration for a service, or another transaction.

RFQ No. 75N95023Q002226 Attachment #2- FAR 52.212-4 Addendum

(2) When any supply or service acquired under this contract is subject to a commercial supplier agreement, and notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement, when the end user is an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. Government, the following language shall be deemed incorporated into the commercial supplier agreement. As used herein, “this agreement” means the commercial supplier agreement.

(i) Applicability. This agreement is a part of a contract between the commercial supplier and the U.S. Government for the acquisition of the supply or service that necessitates a license or other similar legal instrument (including all contracts, task orders, and delivery orders under FAR Part 12).

(ii) End user. This agreement shall bind the ordering activity as end user but shall not operate to bind a Government employee or person acting on behalf of the Government in his or her personal capacity.

(iii) Law and disputes. This agreement is governed by Federal law.

(A) Any language purporting to subject the U.S. Government to the laws of a U.S. state, U.S. territory, district, or municipality, or a foreign nation, except where Federal law expressly provides for the application of such laws, is hereby deleted.

(B) Any language requiring dispute resolution in a specific forum or venue that is different from that prescribed by applicable Federal law is hereby deleted.

(C) Any language prescribing a different time period for bringing an action than that prescribed by applicable Federal law in relation to a dispute is hereby deleted.

(iv) Continued performance. The supplier or licensor shall not unilaterally revoke, terminate or suspend any rights granted to the Government except as allowed by this contract. If the supplier or licensor believes the ordering activity to be in breach of the agreement, it shall pursue its rights under the Contract Disputes Act or other applicable Federal statute while continuing performance as set forth in subparagraph 52.212-4(d) (Disputes).

(v) Arbitration; equitable or injunctive relief. In the event of a claim or dispute arising under or relating to this agreement, a binding arbitration shall not be used unless specifically authorized by agency guidance, and equitable or injunctive relief, including the award of attorney fees, costs or interest, may be awarded against the U.S. Government only when explicitly provided by statute (e.g., Prompt Payment Act or Equal Access to Justice Act).

(vi) Updating terms.

(A) After award, the contractor may unilaterally revise commercial supplier agreement terms if they are not material. A material change is defined as:

(1) Terms that change Government rights or obligations;

(2) Terms that increase Government prices;

(3) Terms that decrease overall level of service; or

(4) Terms that limit any other Government right addressed elsewhere in this contract.

(B) For revisions that will materially change the terms of the contract, the revised commercial supplier agreement must be incorporated into the contract using a bilateral modification.

(C) Any agreement terms or conditions unilaterally revised subsequent to award that are inconsistent with any material term or provision of this contract shall not be enforceable against the Government, and the Government shall not be deemed to have consented to them.

(vii) No automatic renewals. If any license or service tied to periodic payment is provided under this agreement (e.g., annual software maintenance or annual lease term), such license or service shall not renew automatically upon expiration of its current term without prior express consent by an authorized Government representative.

(viii) Indemnification. Any clause of this agreement requiring the commercial supplier or licensor to defend or indemnify the end user is hereby amended to provide that the U.S.

Department of Justice has the sole right to represent the United States in any such action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 516.

(ix) Audits. Any clause of this agreement permitting the commercial supplier or licensor to audit the end user’s compliance with this agreement is hereby amended as follows:

(A) Discrepancies found in an audit may result in a charge by the commercial supplier or licensor to the ordering activity. Any resulting invoice must comply with the proper invoicing requirements specified in the underlying Government contract or order.

(B) This charge, if disputed by the ordering activity, will be resolved in accordance with subparagraph (d) (Disputes); no payment obligation shall arise on the part of the ordering activity until the conclusion of the dispute process.

(C) Any audit requested by the contractor will be performed at the contractor's expense, without reimbursement by the Government.

(x) Taxes or surcharges. Any taxes or surcharges which the commercial supplier or licensor seeks to pass along to the Government as end user will be governed by the terms of the underlying Government contract or order and, in any event, must be submitted to the Contracting Officer for a determination of applicability prior to invoicing unless specifically agreed to otherwise in the Government contract.

(xi) Non-assignment. This agreement may not be assigned, nor may any rights or obligations thereunder be delegated, without the Government's prior approval, except as expressly permitted under subparagraph (b) of this clause.

(xii) Confidential information. If this agreement includes a confidentiality clause, such clause is hereby amended to state that neither the agreement nor the contract price list, as applicable, shall be deemed “confidential information.” Issues regarding release of “unit pricing” will be resolved consistent with the Freedom of Information Act. Notwithstanding anything in this agreement to the contrary, the Government may retain any confidential information as required by law, regulation or its internal document retention procedures for legal, regulatory or compliance purposes; provided, however, that all such retained confidential information will continue to be subject to the confidentiality obligations of this agreement.

(3) If any language, provision, or clause of this agreement conflicts or is inconsistent with the preceding paragraph (1), the language, provisions, or clause of paragraph (1) shall prevail to the extent of such inconsistency.

(End of clause)

52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE

ORDERS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (MAR 2023)

[Contracting officer check as appropriate.]

RFQ No. 75N95023Q002226 Attachment #3- FAR 52.212-5 Clauses https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-6 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-13 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.203-15 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-10 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-14 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.204-15 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.209-6 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.209-9 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-4 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-6 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-7 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-8 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-9 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-13 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-14 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-16 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-27 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-28 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-29 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-30 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-32 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.219-33 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-21 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-26 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-35 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-36 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-37 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-40 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-50 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-54 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-9 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-11 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-12 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-13 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-14 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-15 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-16 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-18 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-20 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-19 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.223-21 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.224-3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.225-1 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.225-3 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.225-5 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.225-13 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.225-26 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.226-4 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.226-5 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.232-29 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.232-30 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.232-33 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.232-34 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.232-36 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.239-1 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.242-5 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.247-64 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.229-12 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-41 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-42 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-43 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-44 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-51 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-53 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-55 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.222-62 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.226-6

FAR 52.212-5 as of FAC 2023-02 (3/16/2023) Edited 03/23/2023

Revised: February 10, 2021

Invoice and Payment Provisions

The following clause is applicable to all Purchase Orders, Task or Delivery Orders, and Blanket Purchase

Agreement (BPA) Orders/Calls: Prompt Payment (Jan 2017) FAR 52.232-25. Highlights of this clause and NIH implementation requirements follow:

I. Invoice Requirements A. An invoice is the Contractor's bill or written request for payment under the contract for supplies delivered or services performed. A proper invoice is an "Original" which must include the items listed in subdivisions 1 through 12, below, in addition to the requirements of FAR 32.9. If the invoice does not comply with these requirements, the Contractor will be notified of the defect within 7 days after the date the designated billing office received the invoice (3 days for meat, meat food products, or fish, and 5 days for perishable agricultural commodities, dairy products, edible fats or oils) with a statement of the reasons why it is not a proper invoice. (See exceptions under II., below.) Untimely notification will be taken into account in the computation of any interest penalty owed the Contractor.

1. Contractor: Name, Address, Point of Contact for the invoice (Name, title, telephone number, e-mail and mailing address of point of contact).

2. Remit-to address (Name and complete mailing address to send payment).

3. Remittance name must match exactly with name on original order/contract. If the Remittance name differs from the Legal Business Name, then both names must appear on the invoice.

4. Invoice date.

5. Unique invoice #s for all invoices per contractor regardless of site.

6. NBS document number formats must be included for awards created in the NBS: Contract Number;

Purchase Order Number; Task or Delivery Order Number and Source Award Number (e.g., Indefinite Delivery Contract number; General Services Administration number); or, BPA Call Number and BPA Parent Award Number.

7. Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) or DUNS + 4 as registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR).

8. Federal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). In those exceptional cases where a contractor does not have a DUNS number or TIN, a Vendor Identification Number (VIN) must be referenced on the invoice. The VIN is the number that appears after the contractor’s name on the face page of the award document.

9. Identify that payment is to be made using a three-way match.

10. Description of supplies/services that match the description on the award, by line billed.*

11. Freight or delivery charge must be billed as shown on the award. If it is included in the item price do not bill it separately. If identified in the award as a separate line item, it must be billed separately.

12. Quantity, Unit of Measure, Unit Price, Extended Price of supplies delivered or services performed, as applicable, and that match the line items specified in the award.*

* NOTE: If your invoice must differ from the line items on the award, please contact the Contracting Officer before submitting the invoice. A modification to the order or contract may be needed before the invoice can be submitted and paid.

RFQ No. 75N95023Q002226 Attachment #4- Invoice Instructions

B. Shipping costs will be reimbursed only if authorized by the Contract/Purchase Order. If authorized, shipping costs must be itemized. Where shipping costs exceed $100, the invoice must be supported by a bill of lading or a paid carrier's receipt.

C. The Contractor shall submit invoice to the National Institutes of Health/Office of Financial Management (NIH/OFM) via email at invoicing@nih.gov with a copy to Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative, and Program point of contact, as directed. The invoices must be emailed in accordance with instructions below. Do not submit supporting documentation (e.g., receipts, time sheets, invoices, etc.) with your payment request unless specified elsewhere in the contract or requested by the Contracting Officer. The invoice shall be transmitted as an attachment via email to the address listed above in one of the following formats: Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The Contractor must submit only one invoice per email.

Please Note: NIH/OFM will not accept invoices postmarked and/or delivered in-person on/after December 1, 2020.

For inquiries regarding the status of invoices such as receipt of invoices, due date, request for payment of invoices, etc., contact NIH/OFM Customer Service via email at ofm_customer_service@incontactemail.com or via phone at 301-496-6088. To send your inquiries via other available communication methods see the NIH/OFM Customer Service website at https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Customer-Service.aspx.

The NIH/OFM Customer Service is open Eastern Standard Time Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is closed between 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

In order to facilitate the prompt payment of invoices, it is recommended that the contractor submit a photocopy of the invoice to the “Consignee” designated for the acquisition in blocks 6A – 6E of the OF-347 of the Order/Award document.

II. Invoice Payment A. Except as indicated in paragraph B., below, the due date for making invoice payments by the designated payment office shall be the later of the following two events:

1. The 30th day after the designated billing office has received a proper invoice.

2. The 30th day after Government acceptance of supplies delivered or services performed.

B. The due date for making invoice payments for meat and meat food products, perishable agricultural commodities, dairy products, and edible fats or oils, shall be in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act, as amended.

III. Interest Penalties

A. An interest penalty shall be paid automatically, if payment is not made by the due date and the conditions listed below are met, if applicable.

1. A proper invoice was received by the designated billing office.

2. A receiving report or other Government documentation authorizing payment was processed and https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Home.aspx mailto:invoicing@nih.gov https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Home.aspx https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Customer-Service.aspx mailto:ofm_customer_service@incontactemail.com https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Customer-Service.aspx there was no disagreement over quantity, quality, or contractor compliance with a term or condition.

3. In the case of a final invoice for any balance of funds due the contractor for supplies delivered or services performed, the amount was not subject to further settlement actions between the Government and the Contractor.

B. Determination of interest and penalties due will be made in accordance with the provisions of the Prompt Payment Act, as amended, the Contract Disputes Act, and regulations issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

IV. PROVIDING ACCELERATED PAYMENT TO SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTORS, FAR 52.232-40 (December 2013)

a. Upon receipt of accelerated payments from the Government, the Contractor shall make accelerated payments to its small business subcontractors under this contract, to the maximum extent practicable and prior to when such payment is otherwise required under the applicable contract or subcontract, after receipt of a proper invoice and all other required documentation from the small business subcontractor.

b. The acceleration of payments under this clause does not provide any new rights under the prompt Payment Act.

c. Include the substance of this clause, include this paragraph c, in all subcontracts with small business concerns, including subcontracts with small business concerns for the acquisition of commercial items.

To: All National Institutes of Health (NIH) Contractors

Date: November 4, 2020

Subject: NIH Will No Longer Accept Hard Copy Invoices Effective December 1, 2020

Dear NIH Contractors, On April 1, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Office of Financial Management (OFM) implemented an electronic invoice submission solution, which allows contractors to submit their invoices electronically via email. The electronic invoice submission solution also allows OFM accounts payable representatives to process invoices for payment securely and in a timely manner. The new electronic invoice submission solution has streamlined the invoicing process resulting in faster processing times by OFM staff and faster payments to our contractors. Currently, OFM is receiving approximately 80% of invoices via the new electronic invoice submission solution.

This email is to notify you that effective December 1, 2020, OFM will no longer accept hard copy contractor invoices sent to the OFM billing office via any shipping services (i.e., USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.) or those delivered by any in-person drop off. OFM is requiring that all contractors submit their invoices for payment processing using the electronic invoice submission solution via email at invoicing@nih.gov. For your convenience, attached are step-by-step instructions, which must be followed, to ensure your invoices are submitted using the correct format to facilitate accurate and timely payments. OFM will not accept any invoices postmarked and/or delivered in-person on/after December 1, 2020.

The new electronic invoice submission solution is preparing NIH/OFM for the implementation of Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) (eInvoicing), scheduled to be rolled-out throughout the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in December 2021.

OFM’s Customer Service Office is here to help. Please do not hesitate to contact us at ofm_customer_service@incontactemail.com or call us at 301-496-6088 if you have any questions or concerns regarding the electronic invoice submission process. The Customer Service Office is open Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and is closed daily between 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Thank you, OFM Commercial Accounts Team mailto:invoicing@nih.gov mailto:ofm_customer_service@incontactemail.com

Instructions for Submitting Electronic Invoices via Email to the NIH Office of Financial

Management (OFM) Effective April 23, 2020 (Updated October 30, 2020)

4 Steps to Create the Invoice Submission Email

PLEASE READ THE BELOW INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGLY BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR INVOICE

ELECTRONICALLY.

*Note: The key words (Vendor, PO, and Invoice), Colon (:) character following the keywords and the PIPE (|) character must be present to identify the information. The pipe (|) character is entered by pressing and holding the shift key and the backslash (\) key at the same time. The term “PO” is being used as a generic term to identify the award number

Step 3:

Attach the invoice to the email as either a PDF or

Word document.

See Reminders below

Step 4:

In the body of the email, type

“Correspondence

Email:” followed by your email address.

Step 1:

Send invoices to the following email address:

invoicing@nih.gov

Step 2:

Subject line must follow this format for the invoice you are submitting

(see note* below) mailto:invoicing@nih.gov

[purchase order, contract, Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) call, task or delivery order] and must be used in the subject line, regardless of the specific type of your award.

How to Properly Format the Subject Line of Your Email

EXAMPLE 1 – If Your Contract Includes a Contract Number AND an Order Number or Call Number:

Vendor: Name of the Contractor or Vendor|PO:Contract Number/Order Number or Call Number|Invoice:9999999

EXAMPLE 2 – If Your Contract ONLY Includes a Contract Number:

Vendor: Name of the Contractor or Vendor|PO:Contract Number|Invoice:9999999

EXAMPLE 3 – If Your Contract ONLY Includes an Order Number:

Vendor: Name of the Contract or Vendor|Order Number|Invoice:99999999

Screenshot of How to Locate the Contract Number and Order Number on Your SF 1449

(SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS Form)

The screenshot below shows where the Contract Number and Order Number are located on the SF 1449. The SF 1449 is provided to you by the NIH Contracting Officer upon awarding the contract. Please use the information on your SF 1449 to populate the correct Contract Number and Order Number in the subject line of your email invoice submission.

The Contract Number is required in order to process all invoices. The Contract Number is the same as the “PO” on the invoice email subject line. The Order Number is only applicable for certain contracts and can be found in field number 4, on the SF 1449 form. If your SF 1449 does not include an Order Number, then follow EXAMPLE 2 above to ensure the

Subject line of your email is properly formatted.

Screenshot of How to Locate the Contract Number on Your SF 1447 (SOLICITATION/CONTRACT Form)

The screenshot below shows where the Contract Number is located on the SF 1447. The SF 1447 is provided to you by the

NIH Contracting Officer upon awarding the contract. Please use the information on your SF 1447 to populate the correct

Contract Number in the subject line of your email invoice submission.

The Contract Number is required in order to process all invoices. The Contract Number is the same as the “PO” on the invoice email subject line.

Screenshot of How to Locate the Contract Number and Release Number on Your OF 347 (ORDER FOR SUPPLIES OR

SERVICES Form)

The screenshot below shows where the Contract Number and Order Number are located on the OF 347. The OF 347 is provided to you by the NIH Contracting Officer upon awarding the contract. Please use the information on your OF 347 to populate the correct Contract Number (if any) and Order Number in the subject line of your email invoice submission.

The Order Number is required in order to process all invoices. If there is no Contract Number, the Order number is the same as the “PO” on the invoice email subject line. The Contract Number is only applicable for certain contracts and can be found in field number 2, Contract Number, on the OF 347 form. If your OF 347 does not include a Contract Number, then follow EXAMPLE 3 on page 2 to ensure the Subject line of your email is properly formatted.

Subject Line Examples

For your reference, below is a chart listing examples of the correct and incorrect subject lines. Note: These are just examples, you must enter the applicable information for the invoice you are submitting.

Subject Line Correct Incorrect

Vendor: XYZ Corp|PO:HHSN299202000053J/75X98019S00848|Invoice:XYASAD

XYZ Corp|PO # HHSN299202000053J \75X98019S00848|Invoice # XYASAD

XYZ Corp| HHSN299202000053J \75X98019S00848|Invoice # XYASAD

XYZ Corp| HHSN299202000053J \75X98019S00848| XYASAD

Vendor: XYZ Corp,PO: HHSN299202000053J \75X98019S00848,Invoice:XYASAD

Vendor: XYZ Corp|PO:HHSN299202000053J|Invoice:XYASAD

Vendor: XYZ Corp|PO:HHSN311201600011U|Invoice:XYASAD

Reminders

• Effective December 1, 2020, OFM will no longer accept hard copy vendor invoices sent to the OFM billing office via any shipping services (i.e., USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.) or those delivered by any in-person drop off. OFM will not accept any invoices postmarked and/or delivered in-person on/after December 1, 2020. Please follow the electronic submission instructions on page 1. Failure to follow the above electronic submission instructions will result in invoice processing delays.

• Only invoices should be sent to the following mailbox: invoicing@nih.gov. Please do not send emails to this mailbox requesting a status of your invoice(s) and do not include the invoicing@nih.gov email address in your correspondence with NIH Institutes/Centers.

• You must submit only one invoice per email.

• Follow the system size limits that apply to the email and each invoice: individual email attachments cannot exceed

5 megabytes each; and the email plus all attachments cannot exceed a total of 30 megabytes.

• Clearly identify a valid and complete contract number on each invoice.

• Clearly identify an accurate DUNS number on each invoice.

• DO NOT include confidential information such as Social Security Numbers (do not include TIN if it is a Social

Security Number).

The invoice attached to the email must be in a PDF or Word format. The date/time that a valid invoice is submitted electronically to the email box (invoicing@nih.gov) will be the same date/time logged as the invoice is received by NIH.

Questions?

Please direct inquiries regarding the status of invoices such as receipt of invoices, due date, or payment of invoices to the

OFM Commercial Accounts Branch, Customer Service Office. The OFM Customer Service contact information and of methods to contact are available at the following OFM website https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Customer-Service.aspx and below.

The Customer Service Office is open Monday – Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time) and is closed daily between 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time). The Customer Service Office phone number is 301-496-

6088.

Instructions for Contractor Courtesy Copy Electronic Invoice Submission to the Contracting Officer (CO): The Contractor shall send a cc: copy to the NIH Contracting Officer and the NIH Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) stated in the award and the NIH Program point of contact when submitting the invoice to NIH/OFM for payment.

mailto:invoicing@nih.gov mailto:invoicing@nih.gov mailto:invoicing@nih.gov https://ofm.od.nih.gov/Pages/Customer-Service.aspx

(1) 52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements (Jan 2017) (section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) and its successor provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing resolutions)).

(2) 52.204-23, Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab and Other Covered Entities (Nov 2021) (Section 1634 of Pub. L. 115-91).

(3) 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment. (Nov 2021) (Section 889(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-232).

(4) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Nov 2015).

(5) 52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Mar 2023) ( 31 U.S.C. 3903 and 10 U.S.C. 3801).

(6) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996) ( 31 U.S.C. 3553).

(7) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) (Public Laws 108-77 and 108-78 ( 19 U.S.C. 3805 note)).