Link: GAO Opinion
Agency: Department of the Army
Disposition: Protest denied.
Keywords: Small business set-aside; Limitation on Subcontracting
General Counsel P.C. Highlight: Whether an offeror will meet the limitation on subcontracting requirement is a contract administration issue that GAO will not consider unless the proposal on its face should lead the Agency to conclude that the offeror cannot or will not meet the limitation on subcontracting requirement.
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Chant Engineering Company, Inc. (Chant) protested the issuance of a purchase order to Clover Industries, Inc. (Clover) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The purchase order was the result of a request for quotations (RFQ) issued by the Army as a small business set-aside for the rehabilitation of a hydraulic system in Michigan. The RFQ included the Limitation on Subcontracting clause, FAR § 52.219-14.
Chant claimed in its protest that Clover’s quotation did not comply with the “50% rule contained in the Limitation on Subcontracting clause. After reviewing Clover’s proposal, GAO concluded that nothing on the face of Clover’s quotation indicated an intent not to comply with the Limitation on Subcontracting clause. Whether Clover will actually comply with the requirement in its performance is a contract administration requirement that GAO will not consider. Protest denied.