(a) Covered transactions under this part - (1) Do not include any procurement contracts awarded directly by a Federal agency; but(2) Do include some procurement contracts awarded by non-Federal participants in nonprocurement covered transactions.(b) Specifically, a contract for goods or services is a covered transaction if any of the following applies:(1) The contract is awarded by a participant in a nonprocurement transaction that is covered under § 180.210 of this title, and the amount of the contract is expected to equal or exceed $25,000.(2) The contract requires the consent of an official of a Federal agency. In that case, the contract, regardless of the amount, always is a covered transaction, and it does not matter who awarded it. For example, it could be a subcontract awarded by a contractor at a tier below a nonprocurement transaction, as shown in the Appendix to Part 3485 - Covered Transactions.(3) The contract is for Federally-required audit services.(4) The contract is to perform services as a third party servicer in connection with a title IV, HEA program.(c) In addition to the contracts covered under 2 CFR 180.220(b) of the OMB guidance, this part applies to any contract, regardless of tier, that is awarded by a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, consultant, or its agent or representative in any transaction, if the contract is to be funded or provided by ED under a covered nonprocurement transaction and the amount of the contract is expected to equal or exceed $25,000. This extends the coverage of the ED nonprocurement suspension and debarment requirements to all lower tiers of subcontracts under covered nonprocurement transactions, as permitted under the OMB guidance at 2 CFR 180.220(c) (see optional lower tier coverage in the figure in Appendix A to Part 3485 - Covered Transactions). Authority: E.O. 12549 (3 CFR 1986 Comp., p. 189); E.O. 12689 (3 CFR 1989 Comp., p. 235); sec. 2455 , Pub. L. 103-355 , 108 Stat. 3327 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note); 20 U.S.C. 1082 , 1094 , 1221e-3 , and 3474