Micro-Purchase Threshold
The Government-wide commercial purchase card is the preferred method to purchase and to pay for micro-purchases — supplies or services valued no more than $3,000.
“Micro-purchase threshold” means $3,000, except for —
- (1) For acquisitions of construction subject to the Davis-Bacon Act, $2,000;
- (2) For acquisitions of services subject to the Service Contract Act, $2,500; and
- (3) For acquisitions of supplies or services that, as determined by the head of the agency, are to be used to support a contingency operation or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack, as described in 13.201(g)(1), except for construction subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (41 U.S.C. 428a)—
- (i) $15,000 in the case of any contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, inside the United States; and
- (ii) $30,000 in the case of any contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, outside the United States. Purchases using this authority must have a clear and direct relationship to the support of a contingency operation or the defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack.[1]
[FAR 13 - Highlights]
Purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold may be conducted using any of the methods described in Subpart 13.3, provided the purchaser is authorized and trained, pursuant to agency procedures, to use those methods.
Micro-purchases do not require provisions or clauses, except as provided at 4.1105 and 32.1110. This paragraph takes precedence over any other FAR requirement to the contrary, but does not prohibit the use of any clause.
(e) The requirements in Part 8 apply to purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold.
(f) The procurement requirements in Subparts 23.2, 23.4, and 23.7 apply to purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold.
Contents |
Purchase guidelines[2]
(a) Solicitation, Evaluation of Quotations, and Award
- (1) To the extent practicable, micro-purchases shall be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers.
- (2) Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive quotations if the contracting officer or individual appointed in accordance with 1.603-3(b) considers the price to be reasonable.
- (3) The administrative cost of verifying the reasonableness of the price for purchases may more than offset potential savings from detecting instances of overpricing. Therefore, action to verify price reasonableness need only be taken if—
- (i) The contracting officer or individual appointed in accordance with 1.603-3(b) suspects or has information to indicate that the price may not be reasonable (e.g., comparison to the previous price paid or personal knowledge of the supply or service); or
- (ii) Purchasing a supply or service for which no comparable pricing information is readily available (e.g., a supply or service that is not the same as, or is not similar to, other supplies or services that have recently been purchased on a competitive basis).
(b) Documentation
If competitive quotations were solicited and award was made to other than the low quoter, documentation to support the purchase may be limited to identification of the solicited concerns and an explanation for the award decision.
