To qualify as a small business under most set-aside or sole source contracts seeking manufactured products or supplies, SBA’s regulations require an offeror to be the item’s manufacturer or, alternatively, comply with the nonmanufacturer rule.
In a prior post, we discussed 5 Things You Should Know about being the item’s manufacturer; in this post, we’ll discuss qualifying under the nonmanufacturer rule.
1. Do I need to qualify under the nonmanufacturer rule?
That depends on the type of procurement you’re bidding on. Again, the nonmanufacturer rule comes into play for solicitations seeking manufactured items or supplies, and only if the offeror doesn’t qualify as the manufacturer itself.
Keep in mind, too, that acquisitions set-aside for small businesses under the simplified acquisition threshold are not subject to the nonmanufacturer rule. This exemption doesn’t apply, however, to any other socio-economic designation—for example, if it’s an SDVOSB set-aside under the simplified acquisition threshold, the offeror will have to either be the item’s manufacturer or qualify under the nonmanufacturer rule.
Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/five-things/nonmanufacturer-rule/