FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 25: Foreign Acquisition › Subpart 25.5
FAR 25.504-4 Group award basis.
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
This section gives worked examples of how agencies compare offers when award is on a group or all-or-none basis and the Buy American statute or trade agreements may apply. It shows when a price evaluation factor is added to a foreign offer and how that changes which offer or combination of offers wins. For contractors, it illustrates how domestic status and eligibility of products can decide the award even when a foreign offer has a lower price.
Applies to: Acquisitions evaluated on a group or all-or-none award basis under the Buy American statute or trade agreements
Key terms: group award basis · all-or-none award · domestic offer · noneligible offer · evaluation factor
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) Example 1.
Problem: Offeror C specifies all-or-none award. Assume all offerors are large businesses. The acquisition is not covered by the WTO GPA .
STEP 1: Evaluate Offers A & B before considering Offer C and determine which offer has the lowest evaluated cost for each line item (the tentative award pattern):
Item 1: Low offer A is domestic; select A.
Item 2: Low offer B is eligible; do not apply factor; select B.
Item 3: Low offer A is noneligible and Offer B is a domestic offer. Apply a 20 percent factor to Offer A. The evaluated price of Offer A is higher than Offer B; select B.
Item 4: Low offer A is noneligible. Since neither offer is a domestic offer, no evaluation factor applies; select A.
Item 5: Low offer B is noneligible; apply a 20 percent factor to Offer B. Offer A is still higher than Offer B; select B.
STEP 2: Evaluate Offer C against the tentative award pattern for Offers A and B:
* Offer + 20 percent.
On a line item basis, apply a factor to any noneligible offer if the other offer for that line item is domestic.
For Item 1, apply a factor to Offer C because Offer A is domestic and the acquisition was not covered by the WTO GPA. The evaluated price of Offer C, Item 1, becomes $60,000 ($50,000 plus 20 percent). Apply a factor to Offer B, Item 5, because it is a noneligible product and Offer C is domestic. The evaluated price of Offer B is $12,000 ($10,000 plus 20 percent). Evaluate the remaining items without applying a factor.
STEP 3: The tentative unrestricted award pattern from Offers A and B is lower than the evaluated price of Offer C. Award the combination of Offers A and B. Note that if Offer C had not specified all-or-none award, award would be made on Offer C for line items 3 and 4, totaling an award of $32,000.
(b) Example 2.
Problem: The solicitation specifies award on a group basis. Assume the Buy American statute applies and the acquisition cannot be set aside for small business concerns. All offerors are large businesses.
Analysis: (see 25.503(c))
STEP 1: Determine which of the offers are domestic (see 25.503(c)(1)):
STEP 2: Determine whether foreign offers are eligible or noneligible offers (see 25.503(c)(2)):
STEP 3: Determine whether to apply an evaluation factor (see 25.503(c)(3)). The low offer (Offer C) is a foreign offer. There is no eligible offer lower than the domestic offer. Therefore, apply the factor to the low offer. Addition of the 20 percent factor (use 30 percent if Offer A is a small business) to Offer C yields an evaluated price of $108,960 ($90,800 + 20 percent). Award on Offer A (see 25.502(c)(4)(ii)). Note that, if Offer A were greater than Offer B, an evaluation factor would not be applied, and award would be on Offer C (see 25.502(c)(3)).
(c) Example 3.
Key:
DO = Domestic end product (complies with the required domestic content).
FO > 55% = Foreign end product with domestic content exceeding 55%.
FO < 55% = Foreign end product with domestic content of 55% or less.
Problem: The solicitation specifies award on a group basis. Assume only the Buy American statute applies (i.e., no trade agreements apply) and the acquisition cannot be set aside for small business concerns. All offerors are large businesses.
Analysis: (see 25.503(d))
STEP 1: Determine which of the offers are domestic (see 25.503(d)(1)):
STEP 2: Determine which offer, domestic or foreign, is the low offer. If the low offer is a foreign offer, apply the evaluation factor (see 25.503(d)(2)). The low offer (Offer C) is a foreign offer. Therefore, apply the factor to the low offer. Addition of the 20 percent factor (use 30 percent if Offer A is a small business) to Offer C yields an evaluated price of $46,560 ($38,800 + 20 percent). Offer C remains the low offer.
STEP 3: Determine if there is a foreign offer that could be treated as a domestic offer (see 25.106(b)(2) and 25.503(d)(2)).
STEP 4: If there is a foreign offer that could be treated as a domestic offer, compare the evaluated price of the low offer to the price of the offer treated as domestic (see 25.503(d)(3)). Offer B can be treated as a domestic offer ($45,500). The evaluated price of the low offer (Offer C) is $46,560. Award on Offer B.
Sections it refers to
Sections that refer to it
- 25.503 Group offers.
← 25.504-3 FTA/Israeli Trade Act. · 25.600 Scope of subpart. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 25
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Trade Agreements Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2026-03-13 · effective 2026-03-13
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: List of Domestically Nonavailable Articles ↗ · final rule 2025-05-12 · effective 2025-06-11
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Improving Consistency Between Procurement and Nonprocurement Procedures on Suspension and Debarment ↗ · final rule 2025-01-03 · effective 2025-01-17
- 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: List of Domestically Nonavailable Articles ↗ · proposed 2024-10-23 · comments due 2024-12-23
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-07-30 · effective 2024-08-29
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.