Submitting a proposal for a task order under an 8(a) Government Wide Acquisition Contract does not result in automatic recertification of the offeror’s small business size status.
In a recent decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals held that unless the Contracting Officer expressly requires recertification, an offeror’s size for an 8(a) set-aside task order is governed by that offeror’s size status for the underlying GWAC.
SBA OHA’s decision in Size Appeal of Reliasource, SBA No. SIZ-5536 (2014) involved a Homeland Security RFQ for IT support services. The RFQ stated that DHS intended to award the contract as a task order under the 8(a) STARS II GWAC. The RFQ was set aside for 8(a) participants under NAICS code 541513.
After evaluating quotations, the Contracting Officer announced that KNEWEBS, Inc., d/b/a Consulting Services Inc. was the apparent awardee. An unsuccessful offeror, Reliasource, filed a SBA size protest.
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