The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 amended the Truth in Negotiations Act’s cost or pricing data report threshold, effective July 1, 2018, for all Department of Defense (DoD) procurement contracts, if no exceptions apply. The TINA amendment raises the threshold for submitting certified cost or pricing data (i.e., that the data are current, accurate and complete) from negotiated contracts valued at $750,000 or more to negotiated contracts valued at $2 million or more. The amendment applies to both prime contractors and subcontractors for a prime contract or subcontract entered into or modified after June 30, 2018. The threshold for submitting certified cost or pricing data threshold on preexisting contracts remains at the $750,000 level.
Congress’ purpose in raising the TINA threshold is to incentivize more and smaller companies to participate in DoD programs by alleviating some of the burden of complying with the often complex and difficult job of preparing and submitting certified cost or pricing data. Some observers have viewed these considerations as a potential chilling factor in a contractor’s decision to enter negotiated procurements where certified cost or pricing data may be required. The DoD budget for this year is already immense and its budget proposal for 2019 is also significantly more robust than in prior years. With DoD now doing more than ever, a pattern which we can expect to continue for the foreseeable future, the government will need more contractors to support its missions around the world.
However, with opportunity comes risk and it is no different here. Compliance with certified cost or pricing data requirements can be difficult for contractors, given the burden of not only preparing them initially but also monitoring the data to ensure that they remain current, accurate and complete over time if there are modifications or other changes during contract performance that are valued at or more than $2 million that may also require the submission of certified cost or pricing data. This burden also translates into risk for contractors because an erroneous certification of cost or pricing data can result in government deductions/payment withholding and breach of contract claims or even raise the specter of administrative sanctions and False Claims Act liability. These issues can present a potential minefield for contractors that have not traditionally worked on negotiated procurements, which require the submission of certified cost or pricing data and may, therefore, warrant some diligence to scope out any potential issues before deciding to submit such bids. It is also noteworthy that although the TINA threshold has been raised to $2 million, many applicable contracts will exceed that amount and even a contract that initially was below $2 million may, over time, be increased (through modifications or other means) to or above $2 million, thus potentially triggering certified cost or pricing data requirements that did not originally exist. Given these issues, contractors new to certified cost or pricing data requirements should carefully weigh these considerations before engaging in such procurements.