Procedures for J&A changes

The following procedures are applicable to J&A changes that require Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) [ASAF (A)] approval. The CO should submit such changes to SAF/AQCK for processing. These procedures should also be used, as applicable, for J&As not requiring ASAF(A) processing.

(a) Before approval.  During its review, SAF/AQCK or any Secretariat office may recommend changes to the J&A.  The CO may accomplish these changes or any other changes by submitting change pages to SAF/AQCK for inclusion in the final document. Unless otherwise established by MAJCOM procedures, re-coordination below the Secretariat level is not required for these changes.

(b) After approval.

(1) Regardless of dollar value, if a proposed change is for new effort outside the scope of the original J&A, the contracting officer should submit a new J&A as a stand-alone document to the appropriate approving authority.  New work should not commence until the new J&A is approved.

(2) Before contract award, if the dollar value is expected to exceed the original J&A approval authority, the contracting officer should submit an amended J&A to the appropriate approving official and obtain approval.  Clearly identify the dollar increase from the approved J&A.

(3) After contract award, if the dollar value of an in-scope change exceeds the original J&A approval authority or increases the approved J&A dollar value by 50 percent or more, the contracting officer shall submit an amended J&A to the appropriate approving official.  Clearly identify changes from the approved J&A.

(4) A new or amended J&A is not required for:

(i) a decrease in the dollar value or scope of the effort;

(ii) an increase in the estimated dollar value of the in-scope effort except for an increase as described in (2) or (3) above.

(c) Scope.

(1) For Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) supply contracts, use the dollar value of the total estimated orders as the estimated J&A dollar value.  Quantities in excess of the maximum require an amendment or new J&A as appropriate. (See (b) above.)

(2) The test of whether a particular action is within the scope or outside the scope of the contract action and the J&A should consider the following:

(i) For hardware/supplies contract actions, the J&A item quantity provides one boundary to scope. The description of the effort, the SOW, and identification of what is to be priced provides another boundary to scope.  For example, when acquiring new aircraft, it is not unusual to also acquire data, support equipment, training, and price these items during initial negotiations.  However, additional quantities, spares, and major upgrades are generally outside the scope of the initial contract action.

(ii) For service contract actions, the J&A period of performance or required hours provides one boundary to scope.  If the number of hours is unknown, a dollar estimate in the form of a "not-to-exceed" should be used to define the scope of the action.  The description of the effort, the SOW, and the effort to be priced and negotiated provides a second boundary to the scope.  For example, task orders within the SOW using the correct labor categories at agreed rates normally are considered to be in-scope and no additional J&A approval is necessary. Generally, extensions beyond the period of performance would be an out of scope action.

(iii) When contracts have a mix of hardware deliverables and service functions such as Interim Contracting Support (ICS) and logistics support, the contracting officer must periodically compare the contract to the approved J&A to make sure all actions are covered by the authority of the J&A.  In making scope determinations, the considerations in (i) should be applied to the hardware portion of the contract and the considerations in (ii) should be applied to the services function.

(iv) Caution is advised to avoid associating the scope of the program with the scope of the J&A.  Contracts may contain CLINs that have been set aside for future negotiations, some of which may be covered by the approved J&A and some may require a stand-alone J&A before they can be incorporated into the contract.  Simply because a CLIN or SOW paragraph exists may not be determinative of whether an action is in-scope or out of scope.  In addition, general references to the overall scope of a program in various acquisition planning documents should not be automatically associated with the instant contract action.  

(3) Below are some examples of program/J&A changes and actions required:

(i) A J&A estimated and approved at $8 million results in a contract award of $9.5 million, but the scope of original J&A (quantity and/or effort) is unchanged.  No new or amended J&A is required.

(ii) A J&A initially estimated and approved at $9 million, however the resulting contract is for $12 million and the scope has not changed.  Prior to award, an amended J&A must be submitted to the appropriate approving official.  (The approving official authority was breached.).

(iii) The J&A, for a cost-type contract, cites an estimate of $7 million.  The contracting officer issues a modification to increase the obligated funds to $9 million with no change in the scope of the contract.  No action required.

(iv) The J&A for a cost-type contract cites an estimate of $9 million.  The contracting officer previously increased the obligated contract amount to $10.5 million.  The contracting officer plans two actions, one for $3 million with no change in scope and another action six months in the future for $5 million, which will add new work.  The contracting officer must submit an amended J&A to the appropriate approval official for the $3 million action before obligating additional funds because the previous approving official's authority has been breached.  However, for the $5 million new effort, a stand-alone J&A is appropriate because it is outside the scope of the original J&A and does not involve an approval threshold.

(v) A contract was awarded for $8 million (the amount of approved J&A).  The contracting officer anticipates issuing a change to add work outside the scope of the contract for $4 million.  A new J&A must be submitted by the contracting officer to the appropriate approving official.

(vi) The J&A was estimated and approved for $90 million.  A contract was issued for this amount but two years after award, the contracting officer expects to issue a change raising the contract amount to $140 million, and there has been no change in scope.  The contracting officer should submit an amended J&A and explain the 50 percent increase in value.