OAR Article VII addresses post-closeout funding adjustments and recipients' continuing responsibilities after award closeout. It thereby implements OMB guidance in 2 CFR 200.344.

(a) Requirement. A DoD Component's general terms and conditions must specify the rights and responsibilities of the Federal Government and recipients with respect to funding adjustments and recipients' continuing responsibilities after award closeout.

(b) Award terms and conditions. To implement the requirement in paragraph (a) of this section, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the wording appendix G to this part provides for OAR Article VII.

Unless a DoD Component reserves Section B, as specified in § 1136.105, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article I.

Section A. System for Award Management.

1. Unless you are exempted from this requirement in accordance with OMB guidance in 2 CFR 25.110, you must maintain the currency of information about yourself in the system the Federal Government specifies as the repository for information about its business partners (currently the System for Award Management (SAM)).

2. You must maintain the information in that system until you submit the final financial report required under this award or receive the final payment, whichever is later.

3. You must review and update the information at least annually after your initial registration in the system (unless you are subject to the requirements in Section B) and more frequently if required by changes in your information.

Section B. Reporting of Performance and Integrity Information.

1. General reporting requirement. If the total value of your currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of this award, then during that period of time you must maintain in SAM the currency of information required by paragraph B.2 of this section. Note that:

a. This reporting is required under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313).

b. As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all performance and integrity information posted in the designated information system on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available.

c. Recipient information is submitted to the OMB-designated integrity and performance system through the SAM, as described in paragraph B.3 of this section. The currently designated integrity and performance information system is the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS).

2. Proceedings about which you must report. Submit the information that the designated information system requires about each proceeding that:

a. Is in connection with the award or performance of a grant, cooperative agreement, or procurement contract from the Federal Government;

b. Reached its final disposition during the most recent 5-year period; and

c. Is one of the following:

i. A criminal proceeding that resulted in a conviction, as defined in paragraph B.5. of this section;

ii. A civil proceeding that resulted in a finding of fault and liability and payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more;

iii. An administrative proceeding, as defined in paragraph B.5. of this section, that resulted in a finding of fault and liability and your payment of either monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more or a reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000; or

iv. Any other criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding if:

(A) It could have led to an outcome described in paragraph B.2.c.i, ii, or iii of this section;

(B) It had a different disposition arrived at by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault on your part; and

(C) The requirement in this section to disclose information about the proceeding does not conflict with applicable laws and regulations.

3. Reporting procedures. Submit the information required in paragraph B.2 of this section to the Entity Management functional area of the SAM.

a. Current procedures are to submit the information as part of the maintenance of your information in the SAM that Section A of this article requires.

b. You do not need to submit the information again under this award if you already reported current information to the SAM under another Federal grant, cooperative agreement, or procurement contract.

4. Reporting frequency. During any period of time when you are subject to the requirement in paragraph B.1 of this section, you must report to SAM at least semiannually following your initial report of any information required in paragraph B.2 of this section, either to provide new information not reported previously or affirm that there is no new information to report.

5. Definitions. For purposes of this section:

a. Administrative proceeding means a non-judicial process that is adjudicatory in nature in order to make a determination of fault or liability (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative proceedings, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals proceedings, and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals proceedings). This includes proceedings at the Federal and State level but only in connection with performance of a Federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. It does not include audits, site visits, corrective plans, or inspection of deliverables.

b. Conviction means a judgment or conviction of a criminal offense by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether entered upon a verdict or a plea, and includes a conviction entered upon a plea of nolo contendere.

c. Total value of currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts includes:

i. Only the Federal share of the funding under any Federal agency award with a recipient cost share or match; and

ii. The value of all expected funding increments and options, even if not yet exercised, under each Federal agency award.

Section C. Disclosure of evidence of integrity-related issues.

1. Disclosure requirement. At any time during the period of performance of this award, if you have evidence that a covered person committed a covered action (see paragraphs C.2 and C.3 of this section) that may affect this award, you must disclose the evidence in writing to the Office of the Inspector General, DoD, with a copy to the grants officer identified in the award cover pages.

2. Covered person. As the term is used in this section, “covered person” means a principal, employee, or agent of either you or a subrecipient under this award, where:

a. “Principal” means:

i. An officer, director, owner, partner, principal investigator, or other person with management or supervisory responsibilities that relate to this award; or

ii. A consultant or other person, whether or not employed by you or a subrecipient or paid with funds under this award, who:

(A) Is in a position to handle funds under this award;

(B) Is in a position to influence or control the use of those funds; or

(C) Occupies a technical or professional position capable of substantially influencing the development or outcome of an activity required to perform the project or program under this award.

b. “Agent” means any individual who acts on behalf of, or who is authorized to commit you or the subrecipient, whether or not employed by you or the subrecipient.

3. Covered action. As the term is used in this section, “covered action” means a violation of Federal criminal law in Title 18 of the United States Code involving fraud, bribery, or a gratuity violation.

4. Safeguarding of the information.

a. To the extent permitted by law and regulation, we will:

i. Safeguard and treat information you disclose to us as confidential if you mark the information as “confidential” or “proprietary.”

ii. Not release the information to the public in response to a Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) request without notifying you in advance.

b. We may transfer documents you provide to us to any other department or agency within the Executive Branch of the Federal Government if the information relates to matters within that organization's jurisdiction.

Unless a DoD Component substitutes alternate wording in paragraph A.3, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article II, as specified in §§ 1136.205 through 1136.230.

Section A. Records retention period. Except as provided in Sections B through D of this article:

1. You must keep records related to any real property and equipment acquired, in whole or in part, using Federal funds under the award for 3 years after final disposition of the property. For any item of exempt property with a current fair market value greater than $5,000, and for which final disposition was not a condition of the title vesting, you must keep whatever records you need for as long as necessary to ensure that you can deduct the Federal share if you later use the property in contributions for cost sharing or matching purposes under any Federal award.

2. You must keep records related to rate proposals for indirect or facilities and administrative costs, cost allocation plans, and supporting records such as indirect cost rate computations and any similar accounting computations of the rate at which a particular group of costs is chargeable (such as computer usage chargeback or composite fringe benefit rates) as follows:

a. If you are required to submit a proposal, plan, or other computations to your Federal cognizant agency for indirect costs, as the basis for negotiation of a rate, you must keep the submissions and all supporting records for 3 years from the date on which you were required to make the submissions.

b. If you are not required to submit a proposal, plan, or other computation as the basis for negotiation, you must keep the proposal, plan, other computation, and supporting records for 3 years from the end of the fiscal year or other accounting period covered by the proposal, plan, or other computation.

3. You must keep other financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and other records pertinent to this award for a period of 3 years from the date you submit your final financial report under the award.

Section B. Extensions of retention period due to litigation, claim, or audit.

1. If any litigation, claim, or audit begins before the end of the 3-year retention period specified in Section A of this article and the final action related to the litigation, claim, or audit is not taken before the end of that 3-year period, you must retain all records related to this award that may be involved in the litigation, claim, or audit until all findings involving the records have been resolved and final action taken.

2. We may disallow costs and recover funds under this award based on an audit or other review of records you elected to retain beyond the retention period required by this article, even if the audit or review begins after the end of the 3-year retention period specified in Section A of this article. Thus, the “retention period,” as that term is used in OMB guidance in 2 CFR 200.344(a)(1), is extended, as described in 2 CFR 200.333(b), to include the entire period during which we and our authorized representatives continue to have access to those records under paragraph F.2 of this article.

Section C. Records for program income earned after the end of the performance period. In accordance with Section F of FMS Article VII, there are no requirements under this award applicable to program income you earn after the end of the period of performance and therefore no associated records retention requirements.

Section D. Records for joint or long-term use.

1. Joint use. To avoid duplicate recordkeeping for records that you and we both need to use on a continuous basis, we may ask you to make special arrangements with us, by mutual agreement, to make records available for joint and continuous use.

2. Long-term use. If we determine that some records will be needed longer than the 3-year period specified in Section A of this article, we may request that you either:

a. Retain the records for a longer period of time; or

b. Transfer the records to our custody for long-term retention.

3. Retention requirements for transferred records. For any records transferred to our custody, you are not subject to the records retention requirements in Section A of this article.

Section E. Methods for collecting, transmitting, and storing information.

1. You should, whenever practicable, collect, transmit, and store information related to this award in open and machine-readable formats rather than in closed formats or on paper. However, if you request it, we will:

a. Provide award related-information to you on paper; and

b. Accept award related-information from you on paper. In that case, we will not require more than an original and two copies.

2. When your original records are in an electronic form that cannot be altered, you do not need to create and retain paper copies of those records.

3. When your original records are on paper, you may substitute electronic versions produced through duplication or using other forms of electronic media, provided that:

a. You conduct periodic quality control reviews of the records;

b. You provide reasonable safeguards against alteration of the records; and

c. The records remain readable.

Section F. Access to records.

1. Scope of Federal Government access rights.

a. We as the awarding agency, the Federal Government Inspectors General, the Comptroller General of the United States, and any of our authorized representatives have the right of access to any documents, papers, or other records you have that are pertinent to this award, in order to make audits, examinations, excerpts, and transcripts.

b. This right also includes timely and reasonable access to your personnel for the purposes of interview and discussion related to the records.

c. As described in OMB guidance at 2 CFR 200.336(b), the access to records described in this section will include access to the true name of a victim of a crime only under extraordinary and rare circumstances.

i. You are required to provide that access only in response to a court order or subpoena pursuant to a bona fide confidential investigation, or in response to a request duly authorized by the head of the DoD Component or his or her designee; and

ii. You must take appropriate steps to protect this sensitive information.

2. Duration of Federal Government access rights. We have the access rights described in paragraph F.1 of this section as long as you retain the records.

3. Public access.

a. You must comply with requirements to protect information that Federal statute, Executive order, or regulation requires to be protected (e.g., personally identifiable or export controlled information), to include both information generated under this award and information provided to you and identified as being subject to protection. Other than those limitations on dissemination of information, we place no restrictions on you that limit public access to your records pertinent to this award.

b. We do not place any requirements on you to permit public access to your records separate from any Federal, State, local, or tribal statute that may require you to do so.

c. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552) does not apply to records in your possession but records you provide to us generally will be subject to FOIA, with the applicable exemptions.

As required by § 1136.305, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article III.

Section A. Non-compliance with award terms and conditions. If you fail to comply with a term or condition of this award or an applicable Federal statute or regulation, we may amend this award to impose award-specific conditions, as described in OMB guidance in 2 CFR 200.207. If imposing award-specific conditions, we will notify you before modifying the award and, once you have corrected the non-compliance, promptly remove the award-specific conditions. If we determine that the imposition of award-specific conditions is insufficient to correct the non-compliance or the non-compliance remains uncorrected despite the use of award-specific conditions, we may consider taking one or more of the remedies specified in Section B of this article.

Section B. Remedies for noncompliance.

1. If you fail to comply with a term or condition of this award or an applicable Federal statute or regulation, we may take one or more of the following actions that we deem appropriate to the circumstances:

a. Temporarily withhold cash payments pending:

i. Your correction of the deficiency; or

ii. Our taking more severe enforcement action.

b. Disallow (that is, deny both use of funds and any applicable cost-sharing or matching credit for) all or part of the cost of the activity or action not in compliance;

c. Suspend or, in accordance with paragraph C.1.a.i of this article, terminate this award, in whole or in part (suspension of an award is a separate and distinct action from suspension of a person under 2 CFR parts 180 and 1125, as noted in paragraph B.3 of this article);

d. Withhold further awards to you for the project or program that is not in compliance;

e. Take any other action legally available to us under the circumstances.

2. You may raise an objection to our taking any remedy we take under paragraph B.1 of this section and will be given an opportunity to provide information and documentation challenging the action. The procedures are those specified in OAR Article IV for claims and disputes.

3. Our use of any remedy under paragraph B.1 of this section, including suspension or termination of the award, does not preclude our referring the noncompliance to a suspension and debarment official and asking that official to consider initiating a suspension or debarment action under 2 CFR part 1125, the DoD implementation of OMB guidance at 2 CFR part 180.

Section C. Termination.

1. This award may be terminated in whole or in part as follows:

a. Unilaterally by the Federal Government. We will provide a notice of termination if we unilaterally terminate this award in whole or in part, which we may do for either of the following reasons:

i. Your material failure to comply with the award terms and conditions. If we terminate the award for that reason, we will report the termination to the OMB-designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS). In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 2313,each.

ii. The program office does not have funding for an upcoming increment if this award is incrementally funded. In that case, the Federal Government's financial obligation does not exceed the amount currently obligated under the award.

b. By mutual agreement. With your consent, we may terminate this award, in whole or in part, for any reason. In that case, you and we must agree to:

i. The termination conditions, including the effective date; and

ii. In the case of a partial termination, the portion to be terminated.

c. Unilaterally by the recipient. You may unilaterally terminate this award, in whole or in part, by sending us written notification that states:

i. The reasons for the termination;

ii. The effective date; and

iii. In the case of partial termination, the portion to be terminated. In that case, however, we may terminate the award in its entirety if we determine that the remaining portion of the award will not accomplish the purposes for which we made the award.

2. If this award is terminated in its entirety before the end of the performance period, you must complete the closeout actions for which you are responsible under OAR Article VI. The due date for each action is to be measured relative to the date of termination.

3. If this award is only partially terminated before the end of the performance period, with a reduced or modified portion of the award continuing through the end of the performance period, then closeout actions will occur at the end of the performance period as specified in OAR Article VI.

4. You will continue to have all of the post-closeout responsibilities that OAR Article VII specifies for you if this award is wholly or partially terminated before the end of the performance period.

Section D. Effects of suspension or termination of the award on allowability of costs. If we suspend or terminate this award prior to the end of the period of performance, costs resulting from obligations that you incurred:

1. Before the effective date of the suspension or termination are allowable if:

a. You properly incurred those obligations;

b. You did not incur the obligations in anticipation of the suspension or termination;

c. In the case of termination, the costs resulted from obligations that were noncancellable after the termination; and

d. The costs would have been allowable if we had not suspended or terminated the award and it had expired normally at the end of the period of performance.

2. During the suspension or after the termination are not allowable unless we expressly authorize them, either in the notice of suspension or termination or subsequently.

As specified in § 1136.405, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article IV, with the required insertion in paragraph A.2 of the article, along with any additional wording permitted by that section.

Section A. Definitions.

1. Claim. The definition of the term “claim,” as it is used in this article, is in the definitions section of the preamble to these general terms and conditions.

2. Grant Appeal Authority. [Reserved]

Section B. Submission of claims.

1. Your claims. To submit a claim arising out of this award, you must submit it in writing to the grants officer for decision, specify the nature and basis for the relief you are requesting, and include all data that supports your claim.

2. Federal Government claims. You will receive a written grants officer's decision if a DoD claim arises out of this award.

Section C. Alternative dispute resolution.

1. We encourage resolution of all issues related to this award by mutual agreement between you and the grants officer.

2. If you and the grants officer are unable to resolve an issue through unassisted negotiations, we encourage use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures to try to do so. ADR procedures are any voluntary means, such as mini-trials or mediation, used to resolve issues in controversy. ADR procedures may be used prior to submission of a claim or at any other time prior to the Grant Appeal Authority's decision on any appeal you submit.

Section D. Grants officer decisions for claims you submit.

1. Within 60 calendar days of receiving your claim, the grants officer will either:

a. Transmit a written decision that:

i. Identifies data on which the decision is based; and

ii. Identifies and provides the mailing address for the Grant Appeal Authority to whom you would submit an appeal of the decision if you elect to do so; or

b. If more time is required to render a written decision, notify you of a specific date when he or she will render the decision and inform you of the reason for delaying it.

2. The grants officer's decision will be final unless you decide to appeal, in which case we encourage use of ADR procedures as noted in Section C of this article.

Section E. Formal administrative appeals.

1. Right to appeal. You have the right to appeal a grants officer's decision to the Grant Appeal Authority identified in Section A of this article.

2. Notice of appeal. You may appeal a grants officer's decision within 90 calendar days of receiving the decision by submitting a written notice of appeal to the Grant Appeal Authority and grants officer. If you elect to use ADR procedures, you are allowed an additional 60 calendar days to submit the written notice of appeal.

3. Appeal file. Within 30 calendar days of the grants officer's receipt of your notice of appeal, you should receive the appeal file with copies of all documents relevant to the appeal. You may supplement the file with other documents you deem relevant and with a memorandum in support of your position for the Grant Appeal Authority's consideration. The Grant Appeal Authority may request additional information from you.

4. Decision. Unless the Grant Appeal Authority decides to conduct fact-finding procedures or an oral hearing on the appeal, the appeal will be decided solely on the basis of the written record. Any fact-finding or hearing will be conducted using procedures that the Grant Appeal Authority deems appropriate.

Section F. Representation. You may be represented by counsel or any other designated representative in any claim, appeal, or ADR proceeding, as long as the representative is not otherwise prohibited by law or regulation from appearing before the DoD Component concerned.

Section G. Effect of Grant Appeal Authority's decision. The Grant Appeal Authority's decision is the final administrative decision of DoD and cannot be further appealed within DoD.

Section H. Non-exclusivity of remedies. Nothing in this article is intended to limit your right to any remedy under the law.

As required by § 1136.505, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article V.

Section A. Establishing a debt.

1. Any amount paid to you in excess of the amount to which you are determined to be entitled under the terms and conditions of this award constitutes a debt to the Federal Government.

2. A grants officer will attempt to resolve any claim of your indebtedness arising out of this award by mutual agreement.

3. If the grants officer fails to resolve the claim in that manner, you will receive a written notice of the grants officer's decision formally determining the debt, as described in paragraph B.2 of OAR Article IV. The notice will describe the debt, including the amount, name and address of the official who determined the debt, and a copy of that official's determination.

Section B. Debt delinquency and appeals.

1. Within 30 calendar days of the grants officer's decision, you must either pay the amount owed to the address provided in the written notice or inform the grants officer that you intend to appeal the decision. Appeal procedures are described in OAR Article IV.

2. If you elect not to appeal, any amounts not paid within 30 calendar days of the grants officer's decision will be a delinquent debt.

3. If you elect to appeal the grants officer's decision, you will have 90 calendar days after receipt of the grants officer's decision to file your appeal unless Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures are used, as described in section C of OAR Article IV, in which case you will have 150 calendar days.

Section C. Demand letter, interest, and debt collection.

1. If within 30 calendar days of the grants officer's decision, you neither pay the amount due nor provide notice of your intent to appeal the grants officer's decision, the grants officer will send you a demand letter identifying a payment office that will be responsible for any further debt collection activity.

2. If you do not pay by the due date specified in the written demand letter, the Federal Government may collect part or all of the debt by:

a. Making an administrative offset against your requests for reimbursements under Federal awards;

b. Withholding advance payments otherwise due to you; and

c. Any other action permitted by Federal statute.

3. The debt will bear interest, and may include penalties and other administrative costs, in accordance with applicable provisions of the DoD Financial Management Regulation (DoD 7000.14-R), which implements the Federal Claims Collection Standards. The date from which interest is computed is not extended by litigation or the filing of any form of appeal.

As required by § 1136.605, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article VI but may make a substitution in paragraph C.4 of the article as provided in that section.

Section A. Liquidation of obligations. Unless the award administration office authorizes an extension of the due date, you must liquidate all obligations that you incurred under this award not later than 120 calendar days after the end date of the period of performance.

Section B. Refunds of unobligated balances. You must promptly refund to the award administration office any balances of unobligated cash that we have advanced or paid to you and not authorized you to use on other projects or programs.

Section C. Final reports. You must submit the:

1. Final performance report under this award no later than the date specified in Section C of REP Article I, subject to any extensions granted under Section D of that article;

2. Final financial report under this award no later than the date specified in Section C of REP Article II, subject to any extensions granted under Section D of that article;

3. Final report listing subject inventions made under the award no later than the date specified in Section B of PROP Article VI; and

4. Other final reports that are required under this award no later than 90 calendar days after the end date of the period of performance, unless you request an extension of the due date and the award administration office approves the request.

Section D. Accounting for property. You must account for any real property, equipment, supplies, and intangible property that you and any subrecipients acquired or improved under the award, in accordance with PROP Articles I through IV and VI. Your requests for disposition instructions for any federally owned property, as required by PROP Article V, meet the need described in OMB guidance at 2 CFR 200.343(f) to account for that property at closeout.

As required by § 1136.705, a DoD Component's general terms and conditions must use the following wording for OAR Article VII.

Section A. Adjustments. The closeout of this award does not affect:

1. Our right to disallow costs and recover funds on the basis of a later audit or other review, as long as we make the determination that the costs are disallowed and notify you about that determination within the extended records retention period specified in paragraph B.2 of OAR Article II of these terms and conditions.

2. Your obligation to return any funds due to the Federal Government as a result of later refunds, corrections, or other transactions (to include any adjustments in final indirect cost rates).

Section B. Continuing responsibilities. After closeout of this award, you must continue to comply with terms and conditions of this award that have applicability beyond closeout, including requirements concerning:

1. Audits, as specified in FMS Article V that cover periods of time during which you expended funds under this award.

2. Management, use, and disposition of any real property or equipment acquired or improved under this award in which we continue to have a Federal interest after closeout, as specified in PROP Articles I through IV.

3. Retention of, and access to, records related to this award, as specified in OAR Article II.