AMENDING CONTRACT & PURCHASE DOCUMENTS - 1805

When Amendments are Necessary

Amendments to original contract/purchase documents are necessary when there is any change or modification to the original document as issued to the supplier.  Examples of when amendments are required include:

• A change in shipping terms
• A change in supplier's name
• A change in subcontractor(s)
• An increase or decrease of pricing/extended pricing/overall costs
• An addition or cancellation of an item or multiple items
• A change in the description, specifications or substitution of any product

Proper Form to Effect a Change

The following purchase documents may be used to effect a contract change amendment, no matter how minor the change or amendment, when allowed and as stipulated pursuant to a contract, work authorizations:

• Purchasing Authority Purchase Order (STD. 65/65a) or approved revised version
• Purchase Order
• The Standard Agreement Amendment (STD. 213A) is used to amend agreements established with an STD. 213.
• Purchase Order Change (STD. 96) ONLY for changes to purchase estimates submitted by a department and/or purchase orders executed by the DGS/PD for the department.

Verbal notifications between buyers and suppliers cannot be used to modify a contract.  Contract changes/amendments must be formally executed (written, signed, approved) to modify a contract.

When Amendments are Not Allowed

If the contract/purchase document is the result of a competitive solicitation (including solicitations conducted under a Leveraged Procurement Agreement), the price may not be increased unless specifically allowed in the original solicitation and evaluated for award.  If not specifically allowed, departments must follow the instructions for non-competitively bid contracts.

Letters or verbal notification between buyers/contract managers and suppliers cannot be used to modify the terms (scope of work, pricing, etc.) of a contract/purchase document.  Changes/amendments must be formally executed in writing (written, signed/approved in system, approved) to modify a contract/purchase document.

Identifying and Recording Amendments

Amendments must be identified using the original purchase document number and an amendment number.  The amendment number must be numeric and may not exceed 2 digits.  The following are common examples of identifying purchase document amendments:

Examples

03-001, Amendment No. 01

03-001, Amendment # 1

03-001, Amd # 1

03-001, #1

The amendment number must be identified.  Use the “Amendment No.” box on the STD. 65.  The current version of the STD. 213 does not include a separate box for the amendment number.  Consequently, both the agreement number and the amendment number must be recorded within the Agreement Number box located in the upper right corner of the form.  A department should select a method of recording the amendment and continue using that same identification scheme throughout the life of the contract.

Recording Amendment Numbers on the STD. 65

The amendment number must be entered in the “Amendment No.” box on the STD. 65.

Recording Amendment Numbers on the STD.213 

On the STD. 213A, the agreement number and the amendment number must be recorded within the respective boxes located in the upper right corner of the document.

Degree of Detail of an Amendment

Amendments should contain the same degree of detail for changes that the original transaction contained (i.e., increase or decrease in quantity, corrected model number, revised delivery date, change in delivery location, changes to contract language, etc.).

What is being deleted and/or added and the impact of the action to the overall transaction shall be identified.

General Guidelines for Amendments

Departments are advised to adhere to the following general guidelines regarding amendments:

• An amendment must be within the original scope of the purchase document solicitation; if it is not, it must be treated as a non-competitively bid transaction.  Changes to quantity, pricing, products, etc. are scope changes.
• An amendment must be processed using the correct format and procedures as described in this manual.  Do not use letters or verbal notifications.
• An amendment must be issued in advance of contractor performance; this includes receiving any goods or services prior to an authorized amendment.  Consequently, an amendment must be processed in a timely manner.
• An amendment that results in exceeding a department’s purchasing authority dollar threshold for any given transaction must be submitted to the DGS/PD for review, approval, and execution.
• An amendment to extend a contract term:
  • Must be processed, approved and issued before the contract expiration date, otherwise there is nothing to extend as the contract has expired.
  • Retains the original contract start date and will only change the end date.

Example:

Original term:02/01/10 – 06/30/10

Extended term:02/01/10 – 12/31/10

Amendment Increasing or Decreasing Total Amount on a STD. 65

If the total amount of the purchase document is being altered, the original amount, the amount of the change, and the new total must be shown.  Only the revised amount (either plus or minus) will be entered in the “Grand Amount” box.  Lack of clarity in executing amendments may result in duplicate the DGS administrative fee charges.

Example:

Original:           $2,000.00 Amended Total Amount Box shows

Amd #1:              +100.00                          $100.00

Adjusted Total: $2,100.00

Amending a Statement of Work

The following shall apply when amending a purchase document that includes a Statement of Work:

• The Agency Order number, amendment number, supplier name, and the date of the amendment shall be identified in the document header of each page.
• The items of work covered by the amendment should be clearly written as part of the purchase document:

Example:

“Attachment X, Statement of Work dated (Original document issue date) is hereby deleted and replaced with Attachment X, Statement of Work dated (Amendment Date).”

• Paragraphs being amended should be clearly identified.

Example:

Paragraph X is hereby amended to read:  “The total amount of this purchase document is …”

• Paragraphs being deleted should be clearly identified:

Example:
“Paragraph X is hereby deleted and replaced by Paragraph X dated (Amendment date).  All other terms and conditions of Agency Order XX-XX remain unchanged and in effect.”

Canceling a Contract/Purchase Document

Canceling an executed contract/purchase document, regardless of the contract form (i.e. FI$Cal PO, STD. 65, or a STD. 213) requires issuing an amendment, with an amendment number.

The text on the contract/purchase document must state what action is being taken by the amendment and address the expenditures as applicable to the action taken.  If expenditures are being disencumbered as the result of the cancellation process, then negative values would be shown on the purchase document.

Amendment distribution is no different for a purchase document cancellation than a typical amendment.

A statement to the effect that the transaction is canceled in its entirety should also be included.

Example:

Amendment #XXX cancels Purchase Order #XXXXXX in its entirety effective 09/15/10.