[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 48, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 48CFR19.307]



[Page 361-362]

 

            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM

 

                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION

 

PART 19_SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS--Table of Contents

 

 Subpart 19.3_Determination of Small Business Status for Small Business 

                                Programs

 

Sec. 19.307  Protesting a firm's status as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern.



    (a) For sole source acquisitions, the SBA or the contracting officer 

may protest the apparently successful offeror's service-disabled 

veteran-owned small business status. For service-disabled veteran-owned 

small business set-asides, any interested party may protest the 

apparently successful offeror's service-disabled veteran-owned small 

business concern status.

    (b) Protests relating to whether a service-disabled veteran-owned 

small business concern is a small business for purposes of any Federal 

program are subject to the procedures of Subpart 19.3. Protests relating 

to small business size status for the acquisition and the service-

disabled veteran-owned small business status requirements will be 

processed concurrently by SBA.

    (c) All protests must be in writing and must state all specific 

grounds for the protest. Assertions that a protested concern is not a 

service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern, without setting 

forth specific facts or allegations, are insufficient. An offeror must 

submit its protest to the contracting officer. The contracting officer 

and the SBA must submit protests to SBA's Associate Administrator for



[[Page 362]]



Government Contracting. The SBA regulations are found at 13 CFR 125.24 

through 125.28.

    (d) An offeror's protest must be received by close of business on 

the fifth business day after bid opening (in sealed bid acquisitions) or 

by close of business on the fifth business day after notification by the 

contracting officer of the apparently successful offeror (in negotiated 

acquisitions). Any protest received after these time limits is untimely. 

Any protest received prior to bid opening or notification of intended 

award, whichever applies, is premature and shall be returned to the 

protester.

    (e) Except for premature protests, the contracting officer must 

forward to SBA by mail or facsimile transmission (202-205-6390) any 

protest received, notwithstanding whether the contracting officer 

believes that the protest is insufficiently specific or untimely. The 

protest must be accompanied by a referral letter, with the notation on 

the envelope or facsimile cover sheet: ``Attn: Service-Disabled Veteran 

Status Protest,'' and be sent to Associate Administrator for Government 

Contracting AA/GU, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20416.

    (f) The referral letter must include information pertaining to the 

solicitation that may be necessary for SBA to determine timeliness and 

standing, including the solicitation number; the name, address, 

telephone number and facsimile number of the contracting officer; 

whether the contract was sole-source or set-aside; whether the protestor 

submitted an offer; whether the protested concern was the apparent 

successful offeror; when the protested concern submitted its offer 

(i.e., made the self-representation that it was a service-disabled 

veteran-owned small business concern); whether the procurement was 

conducted using sealed bid or negotiated procedures; the bid opening 

date, if applicable; when the protest was submitted; when the protester 

received notification about the apparent successful offeror, if 

applicable; and whether a contract has been awarded.

    (g) The Associate Administrator for Government Contracting will 

notify the protester and the contracting officer of the date the protest 

was received and whether the protest will be processed or dismissed for 

lack of timeliness or specificity.

    (h) All questions about service-disabled veteran-owned small 

business size or status must be referred to the SBA for resolution. When 

making its determinations of veteran, service-disabled veteran, or 

service-disabled veteran with a permanent and severe disability status, 

the SBA will rely upon determinations made by the Department of 

Veteran's Affairs, Department of Defense determinations, or such 

determinations identified by documents provided by the U.S. National 

Archives and Records Administration. SBA will determine the service-

disabled veteran-owned small business status of the protested concern 

within 15 business days after receipt of a protest. If SBA does not 

contact the contracting officer within 15 business days, the contracting 

officer may award the contract to the apparently successful offeror, 

unless the contracting officer has granted SBA an extension. The 

contracting officer may award the contract after receipt of a protest if 

the contracting officer determines in writing that an award must be made 

to protect the public interest.

    (i) SBA will notify the contracting officer, the protester, and the 

protested concern of its determination. The determination is effective 

immediately and is final unless overturned on appeal by SBA's Office of 

Hearings and Appeals (OHA) pursuant to 13 CFR part 134.



[69 FR 25277, May 5, 2004, as amended at 70 FR 14954, Mar. 23, 2005]