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Title 41, Public ContractsRelease 119-110

§8704 Inspection Authority

Title 41 › Subtitle IV — Miscellaneous › CHAPTER 87 — KICKBACKS › § 8704

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Comptroller General and an agency inspector general, or an agency designee if none, can inspect prime contractors’ and subcontractors’ facilities and audit records (including electronic ones) to check for violations of section 8702. It does not apply to prime contracts for commercial products or commercial services (sections 103 and 103a).

Full Legal Text

Title 41, §8704

Public Contracts, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—
To ascertain whether there has been a violation of section 8702 of this title with respect to a prime contract, the Comptroller General and the inspector general of the contracting agency, or a representative of the contracting agency designated by the head of the agency if the agency does not have an inspector general, shall have access to and may inspect the facilities and audit the books and records, including electronic data or records, of a prime contractor or subcontractor under a prime contract awarded by the agency.
(b)Exception.—
This section does not apply to a prime contract for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services (as defined in section 103 and 103a, respectively, of this title).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 870441:58.Mar. 8, 1946, ch. 80, § 8, 60 Stat. 37; Pub. L. 86–695, Sept. 2, 1960, 74 Stat. 740; Pub. L. 99–634, § 2(a), Nov. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 3525; Pub. L. 103–355, title VIII, § 8301(c)(2), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3397. In subsection (a), the words “Comptroller General” are substituted for “General Accounting Office” because of 31:702.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “commercial products or commercial services (as defined in section 103 and 103a, respectively, of this title)” for “commercial items (as defined in section 103 of this title)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a

Savings Provision

, see section 836(h) of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2018 Amendment;

Savings Provision

note under section 453b of Title 6, Domestic Security.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

41 U.S.C. § 8704

Title 41, Public Contracts

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110