[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR3.303]

[Page 50-51]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION
 
PART 3_IMPROPER BUSINESS PRACTICES AND PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart 3.3_Reports of Suspected Antitrust Violations
 
Sec.  3.303  Reporting suspected antitrust violations.

    (a) Agencies are required by 41 U.S.C. 253b(i) and 10 U.S.C. 
2305(b)(9) to report to the Attorney General any bids or proposals that 
evidence a violation of the antitrust laws. These reports are in 
addition to those required by subpart 9.4.
    (b) The antitrust laws are intended to ensure that markets operate 
competitively. Any agreement or mutual understanding among competing 
firms that restrains the natural operation of market forces is suspect. 
Paragraph (c) below identifies behavior patterns that are often 
associated with antitrust violations. Activities meeting the 
descriptions in paragraph (c) are not necessarily improper, but they are 
sufficiently questionable to warrant notifying the appropriate 
authorities, in accordance with agency procedures.
    (c) Practices or events that may evidence violations of the 
antitrust laws include--
    (1) The existence of an industry price list or price agreement to 
which contractors refer in formulating their offers;
    (2) A sudden change from competitive bidding to identical bidding;
    (3) Simultaneous price increases or follow-the-leader pricing;
    (4) Rotation of bids or proposals, so that each competitor takes a 
turn in sequence as low bidder, or so that certain competitors bid low 
only on some sizes of contracts and high on other sizes;
    (5) Division of the market, so that certain competitors bid low only 
for contracts let by certain agencies, or for contracts in certain 
geographical areas, or on certain products, and bid high on all other 
jobs;
    (6) Establishment by competitors of a collusive price estimating 
system;
    (7) The filing of a joint bid by two or more competitors when at 
least one of the competitors has sufficient technical capability and 
productive capacity for contract performance;
    (8) Any incidents suggesting direct collusion among competitors, 
such as the appearance of identical calculation or spelling errors in 
two or more competitive offers or the submission by one firm of offers 
for other firms; and
    (9) Assertions by the employees, former employees, or competitors of 
offerors, that an agreement to restrain trade exists.
    (d) Identical bids shall be reported under this section if the 
agency has some reason to believe that the bids resulted from collusion.
    (e) For offers from foreign contractors for contracts to be 
performed outside the United States and its outlying areas, contracting 
officers may refer suspected collusive offers to the authorities of the 
foreign government concerned for appropriate action.
    (f) Agency reports shall be addressed to the Attorney General, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530, Attention: Assistant 
Attorney General, Antitrust Division, and shall include--
    (1) A brief statement describing the suspected practice and the 
reason for the suspicion; and
    (2) The name, address, and telephone number of an individual in the 
agency who can be contacted for further information.
    (g) Questions concerning this reporting requirement may be 
communicated by telephone directly to the Office of

[[Page 51]]

the Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division.

[48 FR 42108, Sept. 19, 1983, as amended at 49 FR 12974, Mar. 30, 1984; 
50 FR 1727, Jan. 11, 1985; 50 FR 52429, Dec. 23, 1985; 55 FR 25526, June 
21, 1990; 65 FR 36030, June 6, 2000; 68 FR 28080, May 22, 2003]