1753.39—Closeout documents.
Closeout of RUS Contract Form 525, Central Office Equipment Contract (Including Installation), and RUS Contract Form 545, Central Office Equipment Contract (Not Including Installation), shall be conducted as follows:
(a) Contract amendments.
Amendments that must be submitted to RUS for approval, as required by § 1753.11, shall be submitted promptly. All other amendments may be submitted to RUS with the engineer's contract closeout certification.
(b) Taxes.
Under the terms of RUS Contract Forms 525 and 545, the bid prices do not include any amounts which are or may be payable by the bidder or the borrower on account of taxes imposed upon the sale, purchase or use of equipment, material and software covered by the contracts. If any such tax is paid by the bidder, the contract requires that the amount is to be stated separately on all invoices and paid by the borrower.
(c) Acceptance tests.
The borrower will perform acceptance tests as part of the partial closeout and final closeout of RUS Contract Form 525. Tests that will demonstrate compliance with the requirements of 7 CFR 1755.522 are contained in RUS Bulletin 1753E-201. Other tests demonstrating compliance will be acceptable. RUS Bulletin 1753E-201 is available from RUS, Program Support and Regulatory Analysis, STOP 1522, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1522.
(d) Grounding system audit.
A grounding system audit shall be performed and found acceptable for equipment provided under Form 525 and 545 Contracts, prior to placing a central office or remote switching terminal into full service operation. The audits are to be conducted in accordance with guidelines contained in the applicable sections of RUS Form 522 “General Specification for Digital, Stored Program Controlled Central Office Equipment.” The audits shall be performed by the contractor and borrower for Form 525 equipment and by the borrower for Form 545 equipment.
(e) Partial Closeout Procedure.
Under conditions set forth in RUS Contract Form 525, a contractor may, when approved by the borrower, receive payment in full for central offices and their respective associated remote switching terminals upon completion of the installation without awaiting completion of the project where the contractor is to receive such payment, the procedure contained in the applicable sections of RUS Contract Form 525 shall be followed. In addition to complying with the appropriate partial closeout procedure contained in RUS Contract Form 525, the borrower shall:
(f) Final contract closeout procedure.
The documents required for the final closeout of the central office equipment contract, RUS Contract Forms 525 and 545, are listed in the following table, which also indicates the number of copies and their distribution. The procedure to be followed is as follows:
| RUS Form No. | Description | Use with | Prepared by | Distribution | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RUS Form 525 | RUS Form 545 | Contractor | Engineer | Borrower | Contractor | ||
| 238 | Construction or Equipment Contract Amendment (if not previously submitted, send to RUS for approval) | X | X | (3) | (to RUS) | (to RUS) | |
| 754 | Certificate of Completion and Certificate of Contractor and Indemnity Agreement (if submitted, Form 744 is not required) | X | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 517 | Results of Acceptance Tests (prepare and distribute copies immediately upon completion of the acceptance tests of each central office) | X | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 752a | Certificate of Completion—Not Including Installation | X | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 224 | Waiver and Release of Lien (from each supplier) | X | 1 | 1 | |||
| 231 | Certificate of Contractor | X | 1 | 1 | |||
| 213 | Certificate (Buy American) | X | X | 1 | 1 | ||
| None | Switching Diagram, as installed | X | X | 2 | 2 | ||
| None | Set of Drawings (each set to include all the drawings required under the Specification, RUS Form 522) | X | X | 2 | 2 | ||
(i)
Immediately following completion of the last central office equipment installation, arrange with the contractor's installer, connecting company (where necessary), and the GFR for performance of the acceptance tests of offices not previously tested. The date for testing should be established so that the installer will not be required to return to the site for the sole purpose of assisting in these tests. Acceptance tests shall be performed within 30 days of completion of the installation, unless otherwise requested in writing by the contractor and approved in writing by the borrower.
(ii)
When the acceptance tests have been satisfactorily completed and the contractor has corrected all the discrepancies:
(A)
Prepare and assemble the documents listed in the table in this section, Documents Required to Close Out Central Office Equipment Contracts.
(iii)
Make the documents listed in the table available for GFR review on the date of final inspection.
(iv)
Distribute the documents as indicated in the table. The documents listed for RUS shall be retained by the borrower for inspection by RUS for at least two years from the date of the engineer's contract closeout certificate.
(2)
The documents required and the procedure to be used for equipment purchased and/or installations made using the method of minor construction are set forth in subpart I.
(g)
Once RUS approval has been obtained for any required amendments, the borrower shall obtain certifications from the engineer that the project and all required documentation are satisfactory and complete. The requirements for the final contract certification are contained in § 1753.18.
(h)
Once these certifications have been received, final payment shall be made according to the payment terms of the contract. Copies of the certifications shall be submitted with the FRS, requesting the remaining funds on the contract.