PRIA Logo™
Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-110

§313 Tests of Materials

Title 40 › SUBTITLE I — FEDERAL PROPERTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES › CHAPTER 3 — ORGANIZATION OF GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › SUBCHAPTER II — ADMINISTRATIVE › § 313

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

GSA may have any item offered for sale or lease to the agency or to its procurement offices tested, but only if the producer or seller agrees. The tests can be done the way the GSA Administrator decides. Tests are used to see if the item meets required specifications or to help make those specifications. The producer or seller must pay a fee for the tests. If the tests mainly benefit the producer or seller, the fee must cover all testing costs using standard accounting rules. If the tests do not mainly benefit the producer or seller, the Administrator sets a fee the Administrator thinks is reasonable.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §313

Public Buildings, Property, and Works, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Scope.—
This section applies to any article or commodity tendered by a producer or vendor for sale or lease to the General Services Administration or to any procurement authority acting under the direction and control of the Administrator of General Services pursuant to this subtitle.
(b)Authority To Conduct Tests.—
The Administrator, in the Administrator’s discretion and with the consent of the producer or vendor, may have tests conducted, in a manner the Administrator specifies, to—
(1)determine whether an article or commodity conforms to prescribed specifications and standards; or
(2)aid in the development of specifications and standards.
(c)Fees.—
(1)In general.—
The Administrator shall charge the producer or vendor a fee for the tests.
(2)Amount of fee if tests predominantly serve interest of producer or vendor.— (3) Amount of fee if tests do not predominantly serve interest of producer or vendor.—
If the Administrator determines that conducting the tests predominantly serves the interest of the producer or vendor, the Administrator shall fix the fee in an amount that will recover the costs of conducting the tests, including all components of the costs, determined in accordance with accepted accounting principles.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 313(a)40:756(g) (1st sentence words before 1st comma).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title I, § 109(g) (1st–3d sentences), as added Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, § 3(b), 64 Stat. 579; Pub. L. 86–591, July 5, 1960, 74 Stat. 330. 313(b)40:756(g) (1st sentence words after 1st comma). 313(c)40:756(g) (2d, 3d sentences). In subsection (b), the word “contemplated” is omitted as unnecessary.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 313

Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110