(a) The Senior Procurement Executive (SPE), in coordination with the HCA, shall establish necessary policies to ensure the accurate and timely input of data into FPDS. At a minimum, the SPE and the HCA shall ensure that the following procedures are implemented.
(1) Contract writing systems capable of reporting directly into FPDS shall be configured to do so as a condition of making an award.
(2) To ensure the accuracy of data entered, reports of actions awarded shall be routinely generated from the contract writing system, examined and compared to data contained in FPDS to assure that those actions have been reported accurately to FPDS.
(3) Organizations without a contract writing system shall report the data using the FPDS web portal interface not later than 14 days after an award is made. To ensure data entry and accuracy, logs of contract actions shall be regularly reviewed and compared to data entries in FPDS.
(4) HCAs shall also verify and validate accuracy of the data and ensure contract awards have been entered into FPDS within the appropriate time frames.
(b) Contracting officers are the individuals primarily responsible for the accuracy of data submitted to FPDS as well as the submission and accuracy of the individual contract action report (CAR).
(c) The contracting officer shall, at a minimum, take the following steps necessary to verify the accuracy of the CAR:
(1) In the case of a contract writing system, review the CAR information for accuracy and completeness prior to submission to FPDS and prior to the release of the contract award.
(2) In the absence of a Contract Writing System, ensure that the CAR information is submitted to FPDS within 14 days after contract award.
(3) To further assure accurate contract data, consider including a copy of the CAR with award documents sent to the contractor for the contractor's knowledge review and information.
(d) The Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) shall periodically statistically sample the GSA FPDS file and provide a list of transactions to the contracting activities for certification.
(1) The review process should include procedures, comparisons of contract file data to FPDS data entries, and comparisons of printouts of FPDS data to their contract writing system data for accuracy.
(2) The verification and validation shall be conducted by an organization or person that did not award the contracts being reviewed. HCAs may institute any appropriate process that complies with this requirement.
(3) HCAs shall provide certifications of the accuracy, timeliness and validity of their FPDS data on a quarterly basis to the CAO based on the list of transactions provided to HCAs under paragraph (d) of this section. Certifications to the CAO shall include a description of the means used to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data and a statement that all discrepancies found have been corrected.
(e) The CAO will provide the annual certification of GSA's FPDS data to OMB required by FAR 4.604(c). This certification will be based on the Regional and Heads of Services and Staff Offices' reviews and certifications and the CAO's review. Certifications are due not later than 15 working days after the end of the quarter. [77 FR 59792, Oct. 1, 2012, as amended at 77 FR 69768, Nov. 21, 2012]