ARCHIVED Revised Contract Entry and Amendment Authorities

On July 2, the Minister approved a new Departmental Delegation of Authority framework. The new delegation reflects significant changes in contract and contract amendment authorities which will be effective July 17, 1998. This Policy Notification details the revised authorities and related procedures for implementing the new delegation under the following key subject areas:

1. New Contract Entry and Amendment Approval Authorities Charts
2. Revised Amendment Authorities
3. Special Authorities
4. Signing Authorities
5. Policy Restrictions
6. Procedures for Contract and Amendment Submissions
7. Procurement Information for the Minister

1. New Contract Entry and Amendment Approval Authorities Charts

Effective July 17, 1998, procurement staff will be authorized to exercise the revised contract entry and amendment approval authorities shown in the charts at Annex A. The revised contract entry authorities are self-explanatory. A detailed explanation of the revised amendment authorities follows.

The approval authorities shown for position titles at the Director level and above reflect the Minister's new delegation combined with Branch level restrictions. The authorities shown for position titles below the Director level, reflect only those changes that result in decreased authorities. Once the new delegation framework is fully implemented and procurement processes are modified to support the changes in authorities, further decisions on changes to the authorities for positions below the Director level will be made. All changes to the existing authorities are shown in bold.

NOTE: Decreased authorities must be used as of July 17, 1998; for positions other than Directors General and Directors there are no increases at this time.

2. Revised Amendment Authorities

The new delegation introduces significant changes to approval authorities for amendments. The objective is to increase competition and openness by encouraging the identification of all known requirements, including possible changes, at the procurement planning stage. When potential amendments are pre-approved they can be exercised in accordance with the procedures for exercising options and using amounts set aside.

The new approval authorities for amendments are based on the aggregate amendment value. Amendment authorities are described either as a single dollar threshold, or in terms of; "the greater of $x or 10% of the originally approved contract submission value, not to exceed the maximum of $y".

The amount defined as $x in this formula (derived from the Treasury Board limit on contract amendments for other departments) is clearly defined in the charts of amendment authorities. The amount defined as $y is also defined in the charts of amendment authorities and represents the maximum threshold for approving amendments.

All amendments valued greater than $1 million require the Minister or Treasury Board approval.

Amendments issued to exercise an option that was previously approved as part of a previous contract or amendment submission require only the appropriate contract signing authority.

Amendments issued to use an amount set aside for unscheduled work, work arisings, or design changes shall be approved by the appropriate non-competitive contract entry approval authority, not to exceed the lower of the Director level or the original approval authority.

All amendment approval authorities (for amendments not previously approved) are determined on the basis of the aggregate amendment value. The three step process used to determine the appropriate amendment approval authority (as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Annex 6.1.5 of the SM) is not to be used with the new delegation of amendment authorities.

Examples of how to determine the appropriate amendment approval authority are provided in Annex C.

3. Special Authorities

Exceptional Authorities - Delegation of the Minister's Exceptional Authorities as detailed in paragraphs 1.6 through 1.13 inclusive in Annex 6.1.1 of the Supply Manual remain unchanged with the exception that Regional Directors will now have the same authority as the Regional Directors General. The recent increase in the authority for the repair and overhaul of military equipment, to $50 million has not been delegated at this time.

Standing Offer and Supply Arrangement Authorities - The Assistant Deputy Minister, SOSB, has unlimited authority to approve and amend standing offers and supply arrangements and revised standing offers and supply arrangements, when individual call-ups will not exceed the limits prescribed by Treasury Board.

4. Signing Authorities

Signing authorities have been standardized for goods, services, telecommunications services, construction, and architectural and engineering services. The revised signing authorities are detailed in Annex D.

5. Removal of Policy Restrictions

The Ministerial authorities to approve specific types of non-competitive contracts and amendments as described in paragraphs 1.1 (c), (d), and (e), Annex 6.1.1 of the Supply Manual, are not part of the new delegation and are no longer applicable. Procurement staff are reminded that if a valid challenge to an ACAN is received, but a decision is made to proceed with the procurement, the non-competitive contract approval authorities apply.

6. Procedures for Contract and Amendment Submissions

Contract submissions shall be prepared and routed for approval in accordance with existing procedures, with the exception that the requirement for legal, cost analyst, and sector or regional quality assurance reviews, as described in Annex 6.1 of the Supply Manual shall apply to contract submissions requiring approval of Regional Directors, as well as the position titles already referenced in Annex 6.1. Submissions for approval at the ADM level or above will be subject to review by Audit and Review Branch (A&RB).

Procedures for preparing and routing contract amendment submissions are currently under review, with the objective of streamlining the process in the near future.

Until such time as a revised procedure is implemented, amendment submissions seeking approval at the ADM level or above shall be prepared using the Contract Amendment Request forms (DSS 1151 series). These submissions will not be subject to review by A&RB but will be routed through the ADM, SOSB. Contract amendment submissions requiring TB approval will continue to be subject to review by A&RB.

7. Procurement Information for the Minister

Contract and amendment authorities have been delegated on the condition that procurement information will be provided to the Minister's Office when the value of contracts and amendments exceeds specified thresholds. The detailed procedures for providing this information to the Minister's Office are described in Policy Notification 32, dated March 31, 1998, and the related Update dated July 17.

The condition for posting, to senior management, procurement plans for procurement with an estimated value of $1 million or more, and a summary of the related Contract Request, 48 hours before contract approval, is not part of the new delegation and is no longer applicable.

Formal procurement plans which will result in contracts that will require approval by the ADM or above will, however, be reviewed by A&RB prior to submission to the ADM's office.

Annex A

Contract and Contract Amendment

Approval Authority Limits for Goods

Effective July 17, 1998

Notes:

Position Titles: Position titles shown above are examples only - all equivalent positions (as shown in the Tables following the approval authority charts) have the same authorities as indicated above.

Ratifications: Authorities for approving agreements which involve: pre-contractual work, ratification of prior contractual commitments, confirming orders, or contracts/amendments which include acknowledgement and release clauses, or any other retroactive elements are limited to 50% of the dollar thresholds specified above. The minimum approval authority is the Director level.

Changes in the authorities are shown in BOLD text.

Contract and Contract Amendment Approval Authority Limits for Services

Approval Authority Limits for Services

Effective July 17, 1998

Notes:

Position Titles: Position titles shown above are examples only - all equivalent positions (as shown in the Tables following the approval authority charts) have the same authorities as indicated above.

Ratifications: Authorities for approving agreements which involve: pre-contractual work, ratification of prior contractual commitments, confirming orders, or contracts/amendments which include acknowledgement and release clauses, or any other retroactive elements are limited to 50% of the dollar thresholds specified above. The minimum approval authority is the Director level.

Changes in the authorities are shown in BOLD text.

Contract and Contract Amendment Approval Authority Limits

Construction Contracts

Effective July 17, 1998

Notes:

Position Titles: Position titles shown above are examples only - all equivalent positions (as shown in the Tables following the approval authority charts) have the same maximum authorities as indicated above. Authorities shown may be restricted within individual sectors and regions. Please contact your quality assurance representative to confirm the authorities for your position title.

Ratifications: Authorities for approving agreements which involve: pre-contractual work, ratification of prior contractual commitments, confirming orders, or contracts/amendments which include acknowledgement and release clauses, or any other retroactive elements are limited to 50% of the dollar thresholds specified above. The minimum approval authority is the Director level.

Defence Construction: Construction contracting authorities for procurements carried out on behalf of Department of National Defence (DND) are limited by an agreement between PWGSC and Defence Construction Canada (DCC) that PWGSC will procure construction services on behalf of DND, only if the value of the procurement does not exceed $60,000. If the value of such a procurement on behalf of DND exceeds $60,000.00 approval to proceed must be obtained from DCC.

Changes in the authorities are shown in BOLD text.

Contract and Contract Amendment Approval Authority Limits

Telecommunications Contracts

Effective July 17, 1998

Notes:

Position Titles: Position titles shown above are examples only - all equivalent positions (as shown in the Tables following the approval authority charts) have the same authorities as indicated above.

Ratifications: Authorities for approving agreements which involve: pre-contractual work, ratification of prior contractual commitments, confirming orders, or contracts/amendments which include acknowledgement and release clauses, or any other retroactive elements are limited to 50% of the dollar thresholds specified above. The minimum approval authority is the Director level.

Changes in the authorities are shown in BOLD text.

Contract and Contract Amendment Approval Authority Limits

Architectural and Engineering Services Contracts

Effective July 17, 1998

Notes:

Position Titles: Position titles shown above are examples only - all equivalent positions (as shown in the Tables following the approval authority charts) have the same authorities as indicated above. Authorities shown may be restricted within individual sectors and regions. Please contact your quality assurance representative to confirm the authorities for your position title.

Ratifications: Authorities for approving agreements which involve: pre-contractual work, ratification of prior contractual commitments, confirming orders, or contracts/amendments which include acknowledgement and release clauses, or any other retroactive elements are limited to 50% of the dollar thresholds specified above. The minimum approval authority is the Director level.

Changes in the authorities are shown in BOLD text.

Annex B

Table of Equivalent Positions

ADM Supply Operations
Executive Director, CCSB

Director General, Supply Operations
Director General, CCSB
Regional Director General
Regional Director, Supply
Director, Crown Assets Disposal
Director, Seized Property Management
Director, European Region
Director, Washington Region

Senior Director, Procurement Directorate
Director, Supply Operations
Director CCSB
Deputy Director
Project Manager
Procurement Manager, Washington

Manager
Project/Commodity Manager
Executive Producer, CCSB
Supply Planner
Composition Analyst
Senior Account Advisor
Senior Contracts Officer, Washington

Chiefs
Chief, Crown Assets Distribution
Associate Producer, CCSB
Client Services and Commodity Manager, Industrial and Commercial Products

Supervisor
Senior Procurement Officer
Senior Contract Management Officer
Team Leader
Senior Case Officer

Engineering Project Officer
Procurement Officer
Contract Management Officers
Marine Technical Inspectors (when performing purchasing functions)
Contracts Officer, Washington
Representative, Seized Real Property
Senior Contracting Officer
Case Officer
Recyclying Specialist

Producer, CCSB
Contract Officer
Contracting Officer
Transportation Officer
Service Officer
Purchasing Agent
Purchasing Officer
Printing Product Officer
Printing Supervisor

Transportation Clerk
Buyer

Senior Purchasing Assistant

Production Assistant, CCSB
Purchasing Assistant
Sales Representative, Crown Assets Distribution
Representative, Seized Moveable Property
Project Clerk
Contract Clerk
Contracting Clerk
Buying Clerk

Annex C

Determining the Amendment Approval Authority

Following is an example of how to determine the appropriate authority for an amendment.

Amendment No. 1 to a goods contract is valued at $250,000. This amendment was not previously approved. The original contract submission was approved at $3 million - this amount included the original contract value of $1,500,000, and an additional $1,500,000 approved for options to be exercised in the following two year period. To determine the appropriate amendment approval authority proceed as follows:

1. Determine which position title(s) have a maximum aggregate amendment approval authority of $250,000 or more. (Director level or above).
2. Determine the greater of Director's authority of $200,000 and 10% of the originally approved contract submission (i.e. 10% of $3,000,000, or $300,000). Based on this comparison, the Director can approve an aggregate amendment value up to $300,000, and is the appropriate approval authority for amendment No. 1.

Amendment No. 2 is valued at $110,000. This amendment was not previously approved. To determine the appropriate amendment approval authority proceed as follows:

1. Determine which position title(s) have a maximum aggregate amendment approval authority of $360,000 ($250,000 + $110,000). In this case the Director level or above has this authority.
2. Determine the greater of the Director's authority of $200,000 and 10% of the originally approved contract submission (i.e. 10% of $3,000,000, or $300,000). Based on this comparison, the delegated aggregate amendment approval authority is limited to $300,000. Only the Minister can approve amendments that exceed both the TB limit for amendments and 10% of the originally approved value.

Amendment No. 3 is valued at $2,000. This amendment was not previously approved. Once the Minister has approved an amendment, all subsequent positive amendments that were not previously approved require the Minister's approval; therefore, Ministerial approval is required.

Note that all amendments valued in excess of $1,000,000 must be approved by the Minister, unless they were part of a previously approved submission.

Annex D

Contract and Contract Amendment Signing Authority Limits

Goods, Services, Telecommunication Services, Architectural and Engineering Services and Construction

Notes:

Position Titles: Position titles shown above are examples only - all equivalent positions (as shown at Annex A have the same authorities as indicated above.

Changes are shown in the authorities in BOLD text.