The Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued on April 27, 2011 an interim rule that amends the DoD FAR Supplement (“DFARS”) to accelerate payments to all small business concerns. Currently, DoD assists small disadvantaged business concerns by paying them as quickly as possible after invoices are received and before the normal payment due dates established in the contract. This interim rule removes the term “disadvantaged” from the language at DFARS 232.903 and DFARS 232.906(a)(ii), thereby extending this payment policy uniformly to all small business concerns. DoD expects this rule to have a significant positive economic impact on all small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601.
Comments regarding the interim rule may be submitted through www.regulations.gov by searching for “DFARS Case 2011-D008” and following the “submit a comment” process. The deadline for submitting comments is June 27, 2011. For further information regarding the proposed rule, please contact Mark Blando at [nap_phone id=”LOCAL-REGULAR-NUMBER-2″] or [email protected].