(a) General. All payments will be made in advance unless a deviation is accepted or as specified in paragraph (b) of this section. All payments to the awardee shall be made via the approved electronic funds transfer (EFT) method. Awardees are expected to request funds via the federally-approved electronic payment system for reimbursement in a timely manner. Exact payment method will be described in the terms and conditions of the award agreement.

(b) Reimbursement method. OAO shall use the reimbursement method if it determines that advance payment is not feasible or that the awardee does not maintain or demonstrate the willingness to maintain written procedures that minimize the elapse of time between the transfer of funds and disbursement by the awardee, and financial management systems that meet the standards for fund control and accountability.

(a) General. Awardees may be required to match the Federal funds received under an OAO award. The required percentage of matching, type of matching (e.g., cash and/or in-kind contributions), sources of match (e.g., non-Federal), and whether OAO has any authority to waive the match will be specified in the subpart applicable to the specific Federal assistance program, as well as in the RFP.

(b) Indirect costs as in-kind matching contributions. Indirect costs may be claimed under the Federal portion of the award budget. However, unless explicitly authorized in the RFP, indirect costs may not be claimed on both the Federal and nonfederal portion of the award budget.

(a) General. OAO shall apply the standards set forth in this subpart in requiring awardee organizations to account for program income related to projects financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.

(b) Addition method. Unless otherwise provided in the authorizing statute, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, program income earned during the project period shall be retained by the awardee and shall be added to funds committed to the project by OAO and the awardee and used to further eligible project or program objectives. Any specific program deviations will be identified in the individual subparts.

(c) Award terms and conditions. Unless the program regulations identified in the individual subpart provide otherwise, awardees shall follow the terms and conditions of the OAO award. Such terms and conditions will be made a part of the OAO award agreement.

Indirect cost rates for grants and cooperative agreements shall be determined in accordance with the applicable assistance regulations and cost principles, unless superseded by another authority.

All projects supported with Federal funds under this part must be documented according to the terms and conditions of the OAO award agreement.

(a) SF-425, Federal Financial Report. As stated in the award terms and conditions of the OAO award agreement, a final SF-425, Federal Financial Report, is due 90 days after the expiration of the award and should be submitted to OAO electronically. The awardee shall report program outlays and program income on the same accounting basis (i.e., cash or accrual) that it uses in its normal accounting system. When submitting a final SF-425, Federal Financial Report, the total matching contribution, if required, should be shown in the report. The final SF-425 must not show any unliquidated obligations. If the awardee still has valid obligations that remain unpaid when the report is due, it shall request an extension of time for submitting the report pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section; submit a provisional report (showing the unliquidated obligations) by the due date; and submit a final report when all obligations have been liquidated, but no later than the approved extension date. SF-425, Federal Financial Reports, must be submitted by all awardees, including Federal agencies and national laboratories.

(b) Awards with required matching. For awards requiring a matching contribution, an annual SF-425, Federal Financial Report, is required and this requirement will be indicated in the terms and conditions of the OAO award agreement, in which case it must be submitted no later than 45 days following the end of the budget or reporting period.

(c) After the due date. Requests are considered late when they are submitted after the 90-day period following the award expiration date. Requests to submit a late final SF-425, Federal Financial Report, will only be considered, up to 30 days after the due date, in extenuating circumstances. This request should include a provisional report pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, as well as an anticipated submission date, a justification for the late submission, and a justification for the extenuating circumstances. If an awardee needs to request additional funds, procedures in paragraph (d) of this section apply.

(d) Overdue SF-425, Federal Financial Reports. Awardees with overdue SF-425, Federal Financial Reports, or other required financial reports (as identified in the award terms and conditions), will have their applicable balances in the approved federal electronic funds transfer system restricted or placed on “manual review,” which restricts the awardee's ability to draw funds, thus requiring prior approval from OAO. If any remaining available balances are needed by the awardee (beyond the 90-day period following the award expiration date) and the awardee has not requested an extension to submit a final SF-425, Financial Status Report, the awardee will be required to contact OAO to request permission to draw any additional funds and will be required to provide justification and documentation to support the draw. Awardees also will need to comply with procedures in paragraph (c) of this section. OAO will approve these draw requests only in extenuating circumstances.

(e) Additional reporting requirements. OAO may require forecasts of Federal cash requirements in the “Remarks” section of the report; and when practical and deemed necessary, OAO may require awardees to report in the “Remarks” section the amount of cash advances received in excess of three days (i.e., short narrative with explanations of actions taken to reduce the excess balances). When OAO needs additional information or more frequent reports, a special provision will be added to the award terms and conditions and identified in the OAO award agreement. Should OAO determine that an awardee's accounting system is inadequate, additional pertinent information to further monitor awards may be requested from the awardee until such time as the system is brought up to standard, as determined by OAO. This additional reporting requirement will be required via a special provision to the award terms and conditions of the OAO award agreement.

In addition to reviewing and monitoring the status of progress and final technical reports and financial reports, OAO Project Officers may use regular and periodic conference calls to monitor the awardee's performance as well as conferences, workshops, meetings, and symposia to not only monitor the awards, but to facilitate communication and the sharing of project results. These opportunities also serve to eliminate or minimize OAO funding of unneeded duplicative project activities. Required attendance at these conference calls, conferences, workshops, meetings, and symposia will be identified in the RFP or award document.

(a) Notice. If the OAO Project Officer (PO) determines that there is a basis for disallowing a cost, OAO shall provide the awardee written notice of its intent to disallow the cost. The written notice shall state the amount of the cost and the factual and legal basis for disallowing it.

(b) Awardee response. Within 60 days of receiving written notice of the PO's intent to disallow the cost, the awardee may respond with written evidence and arguments to show the cost is allowable, or that, for equitable, practical, or other reasons, shall not recover all or part of the amount, or that the recovery should be made in installments. An extension of time will be granted only in extenuating circumstances.

(c) Decision. Within 60 days of receiving the awardee's written response to the notice of intent to disallow the cost, the PO shall issue a management decision stating whether or not the cost has been disallowed, the reasons for the decision, and the method of appeal that has been provided under this section. If the awardee does not respond to the written notice under paragraph (a) of this section within the time frame specified in paragraph (b) of this section, the PO shall issue a management decision on the basis of the information available to it. The management decision shall constitute the final action with respect to whether the cost is allowed or disallowed. In the case of a questioned cost identified in the context of an audit subject to 7 CFR part 3052, the management decision will constitute the management decision under 7 CFR 3052.405(a).

(d) Demand for payment. If the management decision under paragraph (c) of this section constitutes a finding that the cost is disallowed and, therefore, that a debt is owed to the Government, the PO shall provide the required demand and notice pursuant to 7 CFR 3.11.

(e) Review process. Within 60 days of receiving the demand and notice referred to in paragraph (d) of this section, the awardee may submit a written request to the OAO Director for a review of the final management decision that the debt exists and the amount of the debt. Within 60 days of receiving the written request for a review, the OAO Director will issue a final decision regarding the debt. A review by the OAO Director or designee constitutes an administrative review for debts under 7 CFR part 3, subpart F.

(a) Subcontracts. No more than 50 percent of the award may be subcontracted to other parties without prior written approval of the ADO. Any subcontract awarded to a Federal agency under an award must have prior written approval of the ADO. To request approval, a justification for the proposed subcontractual arrangements, a performance statement, and a detailed budget for the subcontract must be submitted to the ADO.

(b) No-cost extensions of time—(1) General. Awardees may initiate a one-time no-cost extension of the expiration date of the award of up to 12 months unless one or more of the following conditions apply: the terms and conditions of the award prohibit the extension; the extension requires additional Federal funds; and the extension involves any change in the approved objectives or scope of the project. For the first no-cost extension, the awardee must notify OAO in writing with the supporting reasons and revised expiration date at least 10 days before the expiration date specified in the award.

(2) Additional requests for no-cost extensions of time before expiration date. When more than one no-cost extension of time or an extension of more than 12 months is required, the extension(s) must be approved in writing by the PO. The awardee must submit a written request, which must be received no later than 10 days prior to the expiration date of the award, to the PO. The request must contain, at a minimum, the following information: The length of the additional time required to complete the project objectives and a justification for the extension; a summary of the progress to date; an estimate of the funds expected to remain unobligated on the scheduled expiration date; a projected timetable to complete the portion(s) of the project for which the extension is being requested; and signature of the AOR and the PD.

(3) Requests for no-cost extensions of time after expiration date. OAO may consider and approve requests for no-cost extensions of time up to 120 days following the expiration of the award. These will be approved only for extenuating circumstances, as determined by OAO. The awardee's AOR must submit the requirements identified under paragraph (b)(2) of this section as well as an “extenuating circumstance” justification and a description of the actions taken by the awardee to minimize these requests in the future.

(4) Other requirements. No-cost extensions of time may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using unobligated balances.

(a) General. If an awardee has failed to materially comply with the terms and conditions of the award, OAO may take certain enforcement actions, including, but not limited to, suspending the award pending corrective action and terminating the award for cause.

(b) Suspension. OAO generally will suspend (rather than immediately terminate) an award to allow the awardee an opportunity to take appropriate corrective action before OAO makes a termination decision. OAO may decide to terminate the award if the awardee does not take appropriate corrective action during the period of suspension. OAO may terminate, without first suspending, the award if the deficiency is so serious as to warrant immediate termination. Termination for cause may be appealed under the terms and conditions identified in the OAO award agreement.

(c) Termination. An award also may be terminated, partially or wholly, by the awardee or by OAO with the consent of the awardee. If the awardee decides to terminate a portion of the award, OAO may determine that the remaining portion of the award will not accomplish the purposes for which the award was originally made. In any such case, OAO will advise the awardee of the possibility of termination of the entire award and allow the awardee to withdraw its termination request. If the awardee does not withdraw its request for partial termination, OAO may initiate procedures to terminate the entire award for cause.

The collection of debts owed to OAO by awardees, including those resulting from cost disallowances, recovery of funds, unobligated balances, or other circumstances, are subject to the Department's debt collection procedures as set forth in 7 CFR part 3, and, with respect to cost disallowances, § 2500.048.

(a) General. OAO permits awardees to appeal certain adverse post-award administrative decisions made by OAO. Such adverse decisions include: Termination, in whole or in part, and determination that an award is void. An award may be terminated for failure of the awardee to carry out its approved project in accordance with the applicable law and the terms and conditions of award; or for failure of the awardee otherwise to comply with any law, regulation, assurance, term, or condition applicable to the award. Additionally, an award may be determined to be void if, for example, it was not authorized by statute or regulation or because it was fraudulently obtained. Appeals of determinations regarding the allowability of costs are subject to the procedures in § 2500.048.

(b) Appeal Procedures. The formal notification of an adverse determination will contain a statement of the awardee's appeal rights. To appeal an adverse determination, the awardee must submit a request for review to the OAO official specified in the notification, detailing the nature of the disagreement with the adverse determination and providing supporting documents in accordance with the procedures contained in the notification. The awardee's request to OAO for review must be received within 60 days after receipt of the written notification of the adverse determination; however, an extension may be granted if the awardee can show good cause why an extension is warranted. OAO will carefully consider the merits of all requests for appeals and further reviews. However, at the conclusion of the OAO appeal review process, the OAO decision rendered on the appeal is considered final. The awardee will be notified in writing by OAO of final appeal review determinations.

(a) OAO awards supported with office appropriations. Most OAO awards are supported with annual appropriations. On September 30th of the 5th fiscal year after the period of availability for obligation ends, the funds for these appropriations accounts expire per 31 U.S.C. 1552 and the account is closed, unless otherwise specified by law. Funds that have not been drawn through the approved electronic funds transfer system, by the awardee or disbursed through any other system or method by August 31st of that fiscal year are subject to be returned to the U.S. Department of the Treasury after that date. The August 31st requirement also applies to awards with a 90-day period concluding on a date after August 31st of that fifth year. Appropriations cannot be restored after expiration of the accounts. More specific instructions are provided in the OAO award terms and conditions.

(b) OAO awards supported with funds from other Federal agencies (reimbursable funds). OAO may require that all draws and reimbursements for awards supported with reimbursable funds (from other Federal agencies) be completed prior to June 30th of the 5th fiscal year after the period of availability for obligation ends to allow for the proper billing, collection, and close-out of the associated interagency agreement before the appropriations expire. The June 30th requirement also applies to awards with a 90-day period concluding on a date after June 30th of that fifth year. Appropriations cannot be restored after expiration of the accounts. More specific instructions are provided in the terms and conditions of the OAO award agreement.

Awardees must comply with the audit requirements of 7 CFR part 3052. The audit requirements apply to the years in which Federal financial assistance funds are received and years in which work is accomplished using these funds.

Awardees must comply with the civil rights requirements of 7 CFR part 15, subpart A—USDA implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. In accordance, no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which the recipient receives Federal financial assistance and will immediately take any measures necessary to effectuate this agreement.