FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 13: Simplified Acquisition Procedures › Subpart 13.4
FAR 13.401 General.
The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.
In plain English
FAR 13.401 describes a fast payment procedure that lets the Government pay a contractor before it verifies that supplies were received and accepted. The contractor gets paid based on an invoice that acts as a certification that it delivered the supplies and will fix or replace any that are lost, damaged, or nonconforming. The contracting officer is mainly responsible for determining any debt if the contractor fails to properly replace, repair, or correct those supplies.
Applies to: Contractors paid under the fast payment procedure
What it requires
- Submit an invoice that certifies delivery of the supplies to a post office, common carrier, or point of first receipt by the Government
- Replace, repair, or correct supplies not received at destination, damaged in transit, or not conforming to purchase agreements
Key terms: fast payment procedure · certification · point of first receipt · contracting officer · debts
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) The fast payment procedure allows payment under limited conditions to a contractor prior to the Government's verification that supplies have been received and accepted. The procedure provides for payment for supplies based on the contractor's submission of an invoice that constitutes a certification that the contractor—
(1) Has delivered the supplies to a post office, common carrier, or point of first receipt by the Government; and
(2) Shall replace, repair, or correct supplies not received at destination, damaged in transit, or not conforming to purchase agreements.
(b) The contracting officer shall be primarily responsible for determining the amount of debts resulting from failure of contractors to properly replace, repair, or correct supplies lost, damaged, or not conforming to purchase requirements (see 32.602 and 32.603).
← 13.307 Forms. · 13.402 Conditions for use. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 13
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 38, 44, and 51 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on Certain Semiconductor Products and Services ↗ · proposed 2026-02-17 · comments due 2026-04-20
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on Unmanned Aircraft Systems From Covered Foreign Entities ↗ · final rule 2024-12-30
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-12-16 · effective 2025-01-03
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on Unmanned Aircraft Systems From Covered Foreign Entities ↗ · final rule 2024-11-12 · effective 2024-11-12
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.