Reston Virginia Law Firm

Does an offeror need to be “small” at the time of contract award?

In a small business set-aside contract, does an offeror need to be “small” at the time of contract award? That answer continues to be “No.” SBA regulations require that an offeror be small on the date that it submits its initial offer, including price, not necessarily on the date of the contract award. In September of this year, an MWL client received a decision from the SBA confirming that our client was small for purposes of the SBA Small Business Administration size standards. A disappointed offeror had challenged our client’s size following contract award. Indeed, our client exceeded the size standard on the date of contract award, but we countered that the regulations did not require it to be small on the date of contract award, a position the SBA agreed with. In this case, the date set for receipt of proposals was several months earlier than the award date, and our client was indeed small on the date that it submitted its initial offer. Primary counsel: J. Patrick McMahon

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