FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 46: Quality Assurance › Subpart 46.4
FAR 46.403 Government contract quality assurance at destination.
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 explains when the Government will perform quality assurance at the destination (where the supplies or services are delivered) rather than at the source. It matters because it tells contractors that inspection will normally be limited to a visual check at delivery, and it lists specific situations where destination inspection is required.
Applies to: Government contracts for supplies or services where quality assurance is performed at destination
Key terms: Government contract quality assurance · destination · inspection · off-the-shelf · perishable subsistence supplies
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) Government contract quality assurance that can be performed at destination is normally limited to inspection of the supplies or services. Inspection shall be performed at destination under the following circumstances—
(1) Supplies are purchased off-the-shelf and require no technical inspection;
(2) Necessary testing equipment is located only at destination;
(3) Perishable subsistence supplies purchased within the United States, except that those supplies destined for overseas shipment will normally be inspected for condition and quantity at points of embarkation;
(4) Brand name products purchased for authorized resale through commissaries or similar facilities (however, supplies destined for direct overseas shipment may be accepted by the contracting officer or an authorized representative on the basis of a tally sheet evidencing receipt of shipment signed by the port transportation officer or other designated official at the transshipment point);
(5) The products being purchased are processed under direct control of the National Institutes of Health or the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services;
(6) The contract is for services performed at destination; or
(7) It is determined for other reasons to be in the Government's interest.
(b) Overseas inspection of supplies shipped from the United States shall not be required except in unusual circumstances, and then only when the contracting officer determines in advance that inspection can be performed or makes necessary arrangements for its performance.
← 46.402 Government contract quality assurance at source. · 46.404 Government contract quality assurance for acquisitions at or below the simplified acquisition threshold. →
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.