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Paragraph c of Clause 4-1: General Terms and Conditions (July 2007) and Clause B-37: Changes (Construction) (March 2006) allow the contracting officer to make unilateral changes, as specified in the clause, within the general scope of the contract. Whether or not a change is within scope will be determined in the context of the specific contract, but, generally, a change is within the scope of the contract if it does not change the nature of the goods and services required by the original contract. If a proposed change is not within the scope of the contract, it should not be the subject of a change order, but rather should be treated as a new purchase or as a noncompetitive purchase, subject to the requirements of 2-10, Determine Extent of Competition, and 2-41, Obtain Selected Reviews and Approvals. Contracting officers and approval authorities should closely monitor the number and types of modifications made to a particular contract to ensure that these actions continue to obtain the best value and further the business and competitive interests of the Postal Service.
These types of changes are accomplished by issuing written change orders. The supplier must continue performing under the contract as changed, except under contracts that are not fixed-price or incrementally funded where the supplier is not obligated to continue or incur costs beyond the limits established in Clause 2-31: Limitation of Cost (March 2006), or Clause B-32: Differing Site Conditions (March 2006). The Postal Service uses the established accounting procedures when analyzing the price or cost of changed work.
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