Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 4.djvu/679

 PUBLIC LAW 103-355 —OCT. 13, 1994 108 STAT. 3313 "(2) The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall require that a contracting officer not resolve any questioned costs until the contracting officer has obtained— "(A) adequate documentation with respect to such costs; and "(B) the opinion of the contract auditor on the allowability of such costs. "(3) The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall provide that, to the maximum extent practicable, a contract auditor be present at any negotiation or meeting with the contractor regarding a determination of the allowability of indirect costs of the contractor. "(4) The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall require that all categories of costs designated in the report of a contract auditor as questioned with respect to a proposal for settlement be resolved in such a manner that the amount of the individual questioned costs that are paid will be reflected in the settlement. "(g) APPLICABILITY OF REGULATIONS TO SuBcohfTRACTORS. —The regulations referred to in subsections (e) and (f)(1) shall require prime contractors of a covered contract, to the maximum extent practicable, to apply the provisions of such regulations to all subcontractors of the covered contract. "(h) CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION REQUIRED. —(1) A proposal for settlement of indirect costs applicable to a covered contract shall include a certification by an official of the contractor that, to the best of the certifying official's knowledge and belief, all indirect costs included in the proposal are allowable. Any such certification shall be in a form prescribed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. "(2) An executive agency may, in an exceptional case, waive the requirement for certification under paragraph (1) in the case of any contract if the agency— "(A) determines in such case that it would be in the interest of the United States to waive such certification; and "(B) states in writing the reasons for that determination and makes such determination available to the public. "(i) PENALTIES FOR SUBMISSION OF COST KNOWN AS NOT ALLOW- ABLE.—The submission to an executive agency of a proposal for settlement of costs for any period after such costs have been accrued that includes a cost that is expressly specified by statute or regulation as being unallowable, with the knowledge that such cost is unallowable, shall be subject to the provisions of section 287 of title 18, United States Code, and section 3729 of title 31, United States (ilode. "(j) CONTRACTOR TO HAVE BURDEN OF PROOF.—In a proceeding before a board of contract appeals, the United States Court of Federal Claims, or any other Federal court in which the reasonableness of indirect costs for which a contractor seeks reimbursement from the United States is in issue, the burden of proof shall be upon the contractor to establish that those costs are reasonable. " (k) PROCEEDING COSTS NOT ALLOWABLE. — (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, costs incurred by a contractor in connection with any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding commenced by the United States or a State are not allowable as reimbursable costs under a covered contract if the proceeding (A) relates to a violation of, or failure to comply with, a Federal or State statute or regulation, and (B) results in a disposition described in paragraph (2).

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