(a) If the contract contains the clause at 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment, and it appears that adjustment of indirect costs will unduly delay final settlement, the TCO, after obtaining information from the appropriate audit agency, may agree with the contractor to-
(1) Negotiate the amount of indirect costs for the contract period for which final indirect cost rates have not been negotiated, or to use billing rates as final rates for this period if the billing rates appear reasonable; or
(2) Reserve any indirect cost adjustment in the final settlement agreement, pending establishment of negotiated rates under Subpart 42.7.
(b) When an amount of indirect cost is negotiated under subparagraph (a)(1) of this section, the contractor shall eliminate the indirect cost and the related direct costs on which it was based from the total pool and base used to compute indirect costs for other contracts performed during the applicable accounting period.
