Form 1900-68 Notice of Contract Costs Suspended and/or Disallowed

United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20460 NOTICE OF CONTRACT COSTS SUSPENDED AND/OR DISALLOWED					PAGE OF PAGES
TO: (Name and Address of Contractor)				Contract Number	Date
				Delivery Order Number (If Applicable)	Voucher Number Reference
SUSPENDED COSTS, as referred to herein, are costs which, for the reasons stated below, have been determined by the undersigned to be inadequately supported or otherwise questionable, and not appropriate for reimbursement under the contract terms at this time. Such costs may be determined reimbursable after the contractor provides the Contracting Officer and/or Contract Level Contracting Officer’s Representative (CLCOR) with additional documentation or explanation as specified below. DISALLOWED COSTS, as referred to herein, are costs which, for the reasons stated below, have been determined by the undersigned to be unallowable that is, not reimbursable under the contract terms. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.242-1, this notice must be responded to by the contractor within 60 days of issuance. Any suspended costs will become disallowed if the contractor does not respond in the time allotted. These disallowed costs should be removed from the contractor's accounting records for this contract. The contractor may not rebill any suspended costs on this form until notified by the Contracting Officer and/or CLCOR on this contract that the suspension has been lifted. If the contractor disagrees with this/these determinations, the contractor may (1) request in writing the cognizant contracting officer to consider whether the unreimbursed costs should be paid and to discuss their findings with the contractor and/or (2) file a claim under the "Disputes" clause of the contract. Copies of this Form 1900-68 should be distributed to the Contracting Officer, CLCOR, RTP Finance, and the Financial Analysis and Oversight Service Center (FAOSC) Manager. Only electronic submittals will be accepted and this information must be sent electronically to the CO, CLCOR, RTP and FAOSC Manager for each respective contract since EPA is moving away from paper contracts. The RTP email address [email protected]. The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 24.25 hours per response. Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of automated collection techniques to the Director, Collection Strategies Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20460. Include the OMB control number in any correspondence. Do not send the completed form to this address.
A. COST SUSPENSION I Date of Notice					Invoice Number
Contracting Officer Name and Title of Authorized Official and/or CLCOR					Signature
ITEM	Description of Items and Reason for Action. Documentation needed in order to rebill suspended costs.					Amount of Costs
B. REMOVAL OF SUSPENSION I Date of Notice					Invoice Number
Contracting Officer Name and Title of Authorized Official and/or CLCOR					Signature
ITEM	Description of Items and Reason for Action.					Amount of Costs
C. DISALLOWANCE OF COSTS I Date of Notice					Invoice Number
Name and Title of Authorized Official Contracting Officer					Signature
ITEM	Description of Items and Reason for Action.					Amount of Costs
CONTRACTOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT - The contractor or its authorized representative shall acknowledge receipt of this notice to the CLCOR and/or Contracting Officer.
Date of Notice			Name and Title of Authorized Official		Signature

Form Approved - OMB No. 2030-0005 – Approval Expires XX/XX/XX

EPA Form 1900-68 (Rev. 03-96)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR EPA FORM 1900-68

When a CLCOR or CO identifies costs in a voucher that are to be suspended or disallowed, the Form 1900-68 is used to identify those costs, the associated reasons and to communicate the action to all necessary parties. Examples of costs that a CLCOR might suspend without CO involvement are: math errors, incorrect rates, and a lack of available funding. Examples of costs that CO involvement would be necessary to suspend or disallow costs include lack of authorization to incur cost, unnecessary costs incurred, and excessive costs. Section A, Cost Suspension, may be filled out by either the CO or CLCOR. The CLCOR and/or CO must fill out the Form 1900-68 explaining the suspended amount, sign and date the Form and send it to the contractor. The contractor must fill out the acknowledgment of receipt on the applicable area on Form 1900-68 and return a copy of it to either the CLCOR or CO who made the suspension. A copy of the Form 1900-68 would go to RTP Finance with the Approval Forms package. Copies of the Form 1900-68 would be filed by CLCOR and/or CO and a copy sent to the Financial Analysis and Oversight Service Center (FAOSC) Manager for use in interim and final audits.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.242-1, the Form 1900-68 states that the contractor has 60 days to respond to the suspension, or the costs will be considered disallowed and those costs should be transferred to an unallowable account in the contractor 's accounting records. If the contractor wishes to respond to the suspension, it must as a minimum furnish documentation specified on the Form 1900-68 for the costs to be considered allowable. The contractor will then resubmit this documentation to the CLCOR and CO for review. Either the CO or CLCOR who originally suspended the costs will consider the documentation and, if it is adequate, they will fill out a revised Form 1900-68 Block B. (Removal of Suspension) for some or all of the costs suspended. Copies of this revised Form 1900-68 would go to the contractor, CO and CLCOR, RTP FMC, and the FAOSC Manager.

The contractor may rebill suspended costs after receiving the Removal of Suspension using a separate invoice and attach the Form 1900-68 Removal of Suspension notice to the invoice. The contractor must then resubmit this bill for payment in accordance with contract invoicing requirements.

If the contractor prepares supporting documentation for suspended costs that the CLCOR deems unacceptable, the CLCOR will notify the CO of this and ask for a final determination on the allowability of the costs. If the CO agrees with the CLCOR, a revised Form 1900-68 with Block C (Disallowance of Costs) should be completed and sent to the contractor instructing the contractor to eliminate such costs on future invoices and to move such costs to unallowable accounts on their accounting records. The contractor must acknowledge receipt of the disallowance notice by signing and returning the notice to the CO. Where the CO processed the suspension, the CO will inform the CLCOR and disallow the cost. Copies of the revised Form 1900-68 should be sent to RTP Finance, the contract file, and the FAOSC Manager.