19.602-2 Issuing or denying a Certificate of Competency (COC).
Within 15 business days (or a longer period agreed to by the SBA and the contracting agency) after receiving a notice that a small business concern lacks certain elements of responsibility, the SBA Area Office will take the following actions:
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(a) Inform the small business concern of the contracting officer’s determination and offer it an opportunity to apply to the SBA for a COC. (A concern wishing to apply for a COC should notify the SBA Area Office serving the geographical area in which the headquarters of the offeror is located.)
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(b) Upon timely receipt of a complete and acceptable application, elect to visit the applicant’s facility to review its responsibility.
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(1) The COC review process is not limited to the areas of nonresponsibility cited by the contracting officer.
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(2) The SBA may, at its discretion, independently evaluate the COC applicant for all elements of responsibility, but may presume responsibility exists as to elements other than those cited as deficient.
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(c) Consider denying a COC for reasons of nonresponsibility not originally cited by the contracting officer.
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(d) When the Area Director determines that a COC is warranted (for contracts valued at $25,000,000 or less), notify the contracting officer and provide the following options:
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(1) Accept the Area Director’s decision to issue a COC and award the contract to the concern. The COC issuance letter will then be sent, including as an attachment a detailed rationale for the decision; or
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(2) Ask the Area Director to suspend the case for one or more of the following purposes:
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(i) To permit the SBA to forward a detailed rationale for the decision to the contracting officer for review within a specified period of time.
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(ii) To afford the contracting officer the opportunity to meet with the Area Office to review all documentation contained in the case file and to attempt to resolve any issues.
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(iii) To submit any information to the SBA Area Office that the contracting officer believes the SBA did not consider (at which time, the SBA Area Office will establish a new suspense date mutually agreeable to the contracting officer and the SBA).
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(iv) To permit resolution of an appeal by the contracting agency to SBA Headquarters under 19.602-3. However, there is no contracting officer’s appeal when the Area Office proposes to issue a COC valued at $100,000 or less.
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(e) At the completion of the process, notify the concern and the contracting officer that the COC is denied or is being issued.
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(f) Refer recommendations for issuing a COC on contracts greater than $25,000,000 to SBA Headquarters.