Even as late as 2016, government contractors are still making costly mistakes when preparing and submitting contract claims against the government. Making sure that your claim contains the right information, and the required certification and gives the contracting officer reasonable notice of what you want and why, is critical to… Read more »
Are you selling products to the federal government legally under FAR Part 25 from Buy American Act countries or permitted Trade Agreements Act (TAA) compliant countries? Look to Get a Buy. American Certificate for your products or materials? Simply stating that your product comes from one country or another is… Read more »
A question often arises as to whether in service-disabled veteran owned business SDVOSB set aside contracts the federal government can restrict market research to a local geographic area. These are tough issues to address in bid protest litigation. The first thing that potential bidders must realize as a Veteran Owned… Read more »
Do you have a government contract Transition Plan checklist when you bid on federal contracts? Only about 64% of contractors include a vendor transition plan checklist at the proposal development stage. The remaining 36% fail to include a plan simply because the solicitation did not call for one. This is… Read more »
In December 2015, the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals (SBA OHA) decided a case and ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear a size appeal of the SBA’ Area Office Size Determination. The procurement was a VA SDVOSB set aside but the protestor had no… Read more »
The SBA agency Certificate of Competency (COC) rules allow small business firms to challenge, generally in a bid protest, the agency’s source selection decision that is not technically responsible to perform the contract. What is a Certificate of Competency (COC)? The Government Certificate of Competency Program is in place in order for… Read more »
Choosing the right forum and framing your appeals case correctly can save you thousands in unnecessary litigation costs. When a contracting officer denies a claim under the Contract Disputes Act, filing an appeal to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) would be the next step. Not all claims appeal cases against… Read more »
When submitting contractor claims to the federal government, businesses should be aware of the Contracting Officer authority to issue a final decision. 48 CFR 1.603 suggests that although the CO is appointed on a Standard Form 1402. Any limitations on the Contracting Officer authority must be stated on the form… Read more »
You Can Avoid Common Mistakes and Spending Unnecessary Legal Fees By Understanding the SBA and Government Certificate of Competency (COC) Process. The SBA’s COC Program is governed by the Small Business Act, 15 USC 37(b); 13 CFR 125.5 and FAR Part 19.6. A Government Certificate of Competency is a written document from… Read more »
Sometimes government contractors under 5 U.S.C. 552 seek to get information via a Freedom of Information Act request, commonly referred to as a FOIA request, to find out information about a specific procurement or another contractor. Before you submit a FOIA request, you may want to find out if the… Read more »