Tag Archives: SBA size determinations

Koprince McCall Pottroff’s GovCon Handbook, SBA Small Business Size and Affiliation Rules, is Now Available!

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We are pleased to announce that the Second Edition of the GovCon Handbook, SBA Small Business Size and Affiliation Rules, is now available!  

Is your small business really small? When it comes to federal government contracts, the answer can be a lot more complex than it sounds.

In this GovCon Handbook, government contracts attorneys provide an in-depth look at the size and affiliation regulations for federal contractors. Written in plain English and packed with easy to understand examples, this GovCon Handbook demystifies the SBA’s rules regarding small business status for government contracts.

This updated handbook was co-authored by me and Nicole Pottroff as well as firm founder Steven Koprince. It is now available through Amazon at this link.

2022 NDAA Requires Prompt SAM Update If SBA Issues Adverse Size Determination

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If, as the result of a size protest or appeal, the SBA makes a final determination that a company is not a small business, the company will be required to update SAM within two days to reflect that it is no longer small. And if the company doesn’t recertify within two days, the SBA will do the honors and update the company’s SAM profile.

This tough new requirement is part of the compromise version 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which is likely to be signed into law in the coming weeks, although it is unclear when the SBA’s regulations will be revised to implement the change.

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Whose Jurisdiction is it Anyways? GAO Dismisses Size Challenge

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GAO recently dismissed a protest to an awardee’s eligibility under the applicable size standard. The protester argued that the agency should have known that the awardee exceeded the nonmanufacturer rule’s 500-employee maximum. After extensive briefing from both parties and from the SBA itself, GAO found that the awardee’s proposal didn’t raise any issues and that it was really up to the SBA to decide the size issues anyway.

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OHA Remands Area Office’s Conflicting Decision in Concurrent Size and Status Protests

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What happens when an SBA area office finds a joint venture compliant with SBA rules in a size protest, but SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals says the same agreement fails to meet requirements in a status protest? Let’s find out.

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Yes, Foreign-Owned Entities Can Be Small Businesses Under SBA Government Contracting Rules

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Government contractors often assume that a foreign-owned company cannot qualify as a small business under the SBA’s government contracting size rules.

Not so.  As demonstrated by a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals size appeal decision, a foreign-owned entity can qualify as a small business, provided that it has a physical location in the United States and contributes to the U.S. economy.

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SBA OHA Rejects “Chain Affiliation” Theory

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Ordinarily, a company isn’t affiliated with the affiliates of its affiliates.

That sentence may sound a little silly, but it encapsulates an important principle about the breadth of the SBA’s affiliation rules.  As demonstrated in a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision, the SBA doesn’t apply its rules to create “chain affiliation.”

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Nonprofits Not Exempt From Affiliation Rules, Says SBA OHA

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A recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision confirms that there is no exception for nonprofit organizations when it comes to affiliation issues.

In the case, SBA OHA found affiliation between a self-certified small business and a nonprofit organization based on close family members controlling both the business concern and ​the ​nonprofit.​ Adding in the receipts from the affiliated nonprofit made the business in question ineligible for small business status.

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