(a) The Contracting Officer (CO) shall fully and adequately document, in writing, the market research and rationale supporting his/her conclusion that the commercial item definition has been satisified for all acquisitions using FAR Part 12 that exceed $1M (OSD DPAP Memo, Commercial Item Determinations, dtd 2 Mar 07). The CO may document the file for acquisitions not exceeding $1M, as deemed necessary. The Commercial Item Determination (CID) may be written as a memorandum, documented in the acquisition plan or CO’s market research document and may be based on a prior determination(s), if applicable. The CID shall address the minimum components listed below.
(i) Description of supplies or services;
(ii) Basis on which the supplies or services meet the definition of a commercial item;
(iii) Basis on which the commercial item satisfies the government’s requirements;
(iv) Contracting officer signature and date.
(b) If the determination is based on a prior determination, the minimum components are:
(i) Description of Supplies or Services;
(ii) Justification for supporting supplies or services via previous determination;
(iii) Impact of current market conditions on previous determination;
(iv) Contracting officer signature and date.
(c) Notwithstanding the minimum components in paragraphs (a) and (b) above, particular care must be taken to document determinations involving modifications of a type customarily available in the commercial marketplace, and items only offered for sale, lease, or license to the general public, but not yet actually sold, leased, or licensed. In these situations, the documentation must clearly detail the particulars of the modifications and sale offers. When such items lack sufficient market pricing histories, additional diligence must be given to determinations that prices are fair and reasonable as required by FAR Subpart 15.4.
