SBA Size Protests, Timeliness, and After Hours Notifications

An SBA size protest on a negotiated procurement must be submitted within five business days “after the contracting officer has notified the protester of the identity of the prospective awardee.”  But what happens if the contracting officer’s notice arrives after normal working hours?  Does the clock start ticking anyway?

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SBA Affiliation Rules: SBA OHA Says Control is the Key

The SBA affiliation regulation, 13 C.F.R. § 121.103, states that all affiliation is premised on the notion of control.  In other words, two companies are affiliated when the same person or entity controls or has the power to control both.

The size appeal decision of the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals in Size Appeal of Manroy, USA, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5244 (2011), explains that when there is no overlapping control, there is no affiliation, even if one or more of the indicia of affiliation described in the regulation might arguably be present.

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SBA OHA: Ostensible Subcontractor Rule Shouldn’t “Close the Door” to New Businesses

A small business’s relative inexperience should not be the primary basis for a determination that the small business is affiliated with its subcontractor under the “ostensible subcontractor” rule, according to the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.  SBA OHA’s decision in Size Appeal of Fischer Business Solutions, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5075 (2009), held that the SBA’s Area Office improperly relied upon a small business’s lack of experience in a particular field to find it affiliated with its subcontractor.

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