DFARS 232.901 Applicability.

(1) Except for FAR 32.908, FAR subpart 32.9, Prompt Payment, does not apply when—

(i) There is—

(A) An emergency, as defined in the Disaster Relief Act of 1974;

(B) A contingency operation (see FAR 2.101(b)); or

(C) The release or threatened release of hazardous substances (as defined in 4 U.S.C. 9606, section 106); and

(ii) The head of the contracting activity has made a determination, after consultation with the cognizant comptroller, that conditions exist that limit normal business operations; and

(iii) Payments will be made in the operational area or made contingent upon receiving supporting documentation (i.e., contract, invoice, and receiving report) from the operational area.

(2) Criteria limiting normal business operations during emergencies and contingency operations that restrict the use of FAR 32.9 may include such conditions as—

(i) Support infrastructure, hardware, communications capabilities, and bandwidth are not consistently available such that normal business operations can be carried out;

(ii) Support resources, facilities, and banking needs are not consistently available for use as necessary in carrying out normal business operations;

(iii) Military mission priorities override the availability of appropriately skilled personnel in support of back-office operations;

(iv) Mobility impairments and security concerns restrict free movement of personnel and documents necessary for timely processing;

(v) Foreign vendors are not familiar with or do not understand DoD contract requirements (i.e., proper invoice, receiving documentation, and contracting terms); or

(vi) Documents received in support of payment requests and shipments require language translations that cannot be performed and documented within normal business processing times.

(3) Subsequent Determinations. The head of the contracting activity shall make subsequent determinations, after consultation with the cognizant comptroller, as the operational area evolves into either a more stable or less stable environment.

(i) If the head of the contracting activity determines that the operational area has evolved into a more stable environment, the contracting officer shall notify, by issuance of a contract modification, each contractor performing in the operational area under review. The modification deactivates clause 252.232-7011 and activates the applicable FAR Prompt Payment clause in the contract.

(ii) If after deactivation of clause 252.232-7011, the head of the contracting activity subsequently determines that the operational area has evolved into a less stable environment, the head of the contracting activity will make a determination that conditions exist that limit normal business operations. The contracting officer will then reactivate clause 252.232-7011 by issuance of a contract modification.