Finding Fakes

The Defense Department is reaching out to the private sector and to any "experts and interested parties" in its pursuit of detecting counterfeit parts in the military supply chain.

In a Federal Register notice published today, DOD states it wants to open a dialogue "about the requirements for detection and avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts in DOD contracts." The department published a proposed rule to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation System on May 16.

A public hearing will be held on June 18 to obtain the views of industry and experts in the field, DOD said. The hearing will be held at the General Services Administration office in Washington.

The proposed rule is a partial implementation of a section of the Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Authorization Act, according to DOD:

It addresses the responsibility of DOD contractors for detecting and avoiding the use or inclusion of counterfeit electronic parts or suspect counterfeit electronic parts in items delivered to the Department. In lieu of requiring contractors to establish an entirely new and separate system for avoiding the purchase, and detecting the receipt, of counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts, DoD plans to use contractors' existing purchasing systems and quality assurance systems.

The DFARS case will also put into practice a section of the 2012 authorization law that outlines contractor responsibility. "This provision of the law makes the costs associated with counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts unallowable except in certain limited circumstances," DOD said.