Agencies shall ensure that—
- (a) Contracts include inspection and other quality requirements, including warranty clauses when appropriate, that are determined necessary to protect the Government's interest.
- (b) Supplies or services (including commercial services) tendered by contractors meet contract requirements;
- (c) Government contract quality assurance is conducted before acceptance (except as otherwise provided in this part), by or under the direction of Government personnel;
- (d) No contract precludes the Government from performing inspection;
- (e) Nonconforming supplies or services are rejected, except as otherwise provided in 46.407;
- (f) Contracts for commercial products rely on a contractor's existing quality assurance system as a substitute for compliance with Government inspection and testing before tender for acceptance unless customary market practices for the commercial product being acquired permit in-process inspection (41 U.S.C. 3307). Any in-process inspection by the Government shall be conducted in a manner consistent with commercial practice; and
- (g) The quality assurance and acceptance services of other agencies are used when this will be effective, economical, or otherwise in the Government's interest (see 42.002 and subpart 42.2).
[48 FR 42415, Sept. 19, 1983, as amended at 60 FR 48249, Sept. 18, 1995; 79 FR 24214, Apr. 29, 2014; 86 FR 61031, Nov. 4, 2021; 87 FR 24844, Apr. 26, 2022]