Subpart 501.1 - Purpose, Authority, Issuance

501.101 Purpose.

(a) The General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) contains agency acquisition policies and practices, contract clauses, solicitation provisions, and forms that control the relationship between GSA and contractors and prospective contractors.

(b) The GSAR addresses rules directly to you, the contracting officer , unless otherwise indicated.

501.103 Authority.

GSA’s Senior Procurement Executive issues the GSAR under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended.

501.104 Applicability.

(a) General. The GSAR applies to contracts for supplies or services, including construction.

(b) Acquisition of leasehold interests in real property. part  570 establishes rules for the acquisition of leasehold interests in real property. Other provisions of 48 CFR Chapter 5 (GSAR) do not apply to leases of real property unless specifically cross-referenced in part  570.

(c) Relationship to statute. Some GSAR rules implement and interpret laws and other authorities affecting procurement. A GSAR rule specifically directed by statute has the force and effect of law.

501.105 Issuance.

501.105-1 Publication and code arrangement.

The GSAR is published in the following sources:

(a)  The Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/.

(b)  Annual Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), as Chapter 5 of Title 48.

501.105-2 Arrangement of regulations.

(a) The GSAR numbers and captions policies and procedures to correspond to how they appear in the FAR, e.g., 1.104 in the FAR is 501.104 in the GSAR.

(b) GSAR rules not implementing the FAR have numbers beginning with 70, e.g., part  570, subsection 515.209-70.

(c)  The GSAR may have gaps in its numbering scheme because a FAR rule may not require GSAR implementation.

501.106 OMB Approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 35, et seq.) imposes a requirement on Federal agencies to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before collecting information from 10 or more members of the public. The information collection and recordkeeping requirements contained in this regulation have been approved by the OMB. This table includes OMB approved control numbers from GSA (3090 series) and the FAR (9000 series) that are applicable to GSA acquisition requirements. The following OMB control numbers apply:

Table 1 to 501.106

GSAR Reference

OMB Control No.

509.105-1

3090-0007

511.171

3090-0300

511.204(c)

3090-0246

512.301

3090-0163

514.201-1

3090-0163

515.209-70(b)

3090-0163

515.408

3090-0235

516.506

3090-0248, 3090-0306

523.370

3090-0205

532.905-70

3090-0080

538.273

3090-0163, 3090-0235, 3090-0250, 3090-0262, 3090-0303, 3090-0306

542.1107

3090-0027

546.302-71

3090-0027

552.211-13(a)

9000-0026

552.211-70(b)

9000-0058

552.211-77

3090-0246

552.215-73

3090-0163

552.216-72

3090-0248

552.216-73

3090-0248

552.216-75

3090-0306

552.223-70

3090-0205

552.232-5

3090-0080, 9000-0070, 9000-0102

552.232-72

3090-0080

552.236-15

9000-0058

552.236-72

3090-0308

552.236-79

3090-0320

552.236-80

9000-0034

552.238-72

3090-0163

552.238-73

3090-0250

552.238-78

3090-0262

552.238-80

3090-0235, 3090-0306

552.238-81

3090-0235, 3090-0306

552.238-82

3090-0302

552.238-83

3090-0235, 3090-0306

552.238-84

3090-0303

552.238-85

3090-0235, 3090-0306

552.238-87

3090-0303

552.238-95

3090-0303

552.238-96

3090-0303

552.238-97

3090-0303

552.238-99

3090-0303

552.238-111

3090-0303

552.238-120

3090-0235, 3090-0306

552.239-70 3090-0300

552.242-70

3090-0027

552.246-70

3090-0027

552.246-71

3090-0027

552.270-33

3090-0324

570.703(c)

3090-0324

570.802(b)

3090-0086

570.802(c)

3090-0086

GSA-527

3090-0007

GSA-1142

3090-0080

GSA 1217

3090-0086

GSA-1364

3090-0086

GSA-1678

3090-0027

GSA-2419

9000-0102

501.107 Certifications.

(a)  A new requirement for a certification by a contractor or offeror may not be included in the GSAR unless

(1)  The certification requirement is specifically imposed by statute; or

(2)  Written justification for such certification is approved by all of the following:

(i)  The head of the contracting activity (HCA);

(ii)  The Senior Procurement Executive (SPE); and

(iii)  The GSA Administrator.

501.170 General Services Administration Acquisition Management System.

(a) Description. The General Services Administration Acquisition Management System consists of the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) and agency and Service non-regulatory acquisition policies and procedures guidance documents. The General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) consolidates acquisition policies and procedures for all GSA personnel.

(b)  Applicability. The GSAM applies to GSA contracts for supplies or services, including construction. The GSAM does not apply to the acquisition of leasehold interests in real property, unless specifically cross-referenced in part  570.

(c)  Format. The GSAM adheres to GSAR numbering and drafting conventions (see GSAR 501.105-2). Shading distinguishes regulatory material from non-regulatory material that applies internally to GSA. GSAR material is shaded. Non-shaded material is non-regulatory.

(d)  Availability. The GSAM is available electronically at https://www.acquisition.gov/browsegsam.