Given increased emphasis on the issue of counterfeit parts, including the April 26, 2013 issuance of the new DoD Instruction 4140.67 DoD Counterfeit Prevention Policy,  wanted to call your attention to a May 16, 2013 announcement in the Federal Register entitled “Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Detection and Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts (DFARS Case 2012-D055).” In it, DoD is proposing to revise the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS)  to partially implement section 818 (paragraphs (c) and (f)) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 (Public Law 112-81).

The Federal Register article advises “Section 818 is entitled “Detection and Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts.” Paragraph (c) of section 818 requires the issuance of DFARS regulations addressing contractor responsibilities for detecting and avoiding the use or inclusion of counterfeit electronic parts or suspect counterfeit electronic parts, the use of trusted suppliers, and requirements for contractors to report counterfeit electronic parts and suspect counterfeit electronic parts. Paragraph (f) of section 818 contains the definitions of “covered contractor” and “electronic part.” Other aspects of section 818 are being implemented separately. In addition, this proposed rule addresses the amendments to section 818 that were made by section 833, entitled “Contractor Responsibilities in Regulations Relating to Detection and Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts,” of the NDAA for FY 2013 (Public Law 112-239, enacted January 2, 2013).” Comments are due by July 15.