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(e) Withdrawal/substitution of offered requirement or Participant. After SBA has accepted a requirement for award as a sole source 8(a) contract on behalf of a specific Participant (whether nominated by the procuring agency or identified by SBA for an open requirement), if the procuring agency believes that the identified Participant is not a good match for the procurement—including for such reasons as the procuring agency finding the Participant non-responsible or the negotiations between the procuring agency and the Participant otherwise failing—the procuring agency may seek to substitute another Participant for the originally identified Participant. The procuring agency must inform SBA of its concerns regarding the originally identified Participant and identify whether it believes another Participant could fulfill its needs.

(1) If the procuring agency and SBA agree that another Participant can fulfill its needs, the procuring agency will withdraw the original offering and reoffer the requirement on behalf of another 8(a) Participant. SBA will then accept the requirement on behalf of the newly identified Participant and authorize the procuring agency to negotiate directly with that Participant.

(2) If the procuring agency and SBA agree that another Participant cannot fulfill its needs, the procuring agency will withdraw the original offering letter and fulfill its needs outside the 8(a) BD program.

(3) If the procuring agency believes that another Participant cannot fulfill its needs, but SBA does not agree, SBA may appeal that decision to the head of the procuring agency pursuant to §124.505(a)(2).

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(g) Repetitive acquisitions. A procuring activity contracting officer must submit a new offering letter to SBA where he or she intends to award a follow-on or repetitive contract as an 8(a) award.

(1) This enables SBA to determine:

(i) Whether the requirement should be a competitive 8(a) award;

(ii) A nominated firm's eligibility, whether or not it is the same firm that performed the previous contract;

(iii) The affect that contract award would have on the equitable distribution of 8(a) contracts; and

(iv) Whether the requirement should continue under the 8(a) BD program.

(2) Where a procuring agency seeks to reprocure a follow-on requirement through an 8(a) contracting vehicle which is not available to all 8(a) BD Program Participants (e.g., a multiple award or Governmentwide acquisition contract that is itself an 8(a) contract), and the previous/current 8(a) award was not so limited, SBA will consider the business development purposes of the program in determining how to accept the requirement.

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(h) Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs). Neither a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) nor a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a contract under the FAR. See 48 CFR 13.303 and 48 CFR 16.703(a). Each order to be issued under a BOA or BPA is an individual contract. As such, the procuring activity must offer, and SBA must accept, each order under a BOA or BPA in addition to offering and accepting the BOA or BPA itself.

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(i)

(1) *  *  *

(iii) A concern awarded a task or delivery order contract or Multiple Award Contract that was set-aside exclusively for 8(a) Program Participants, partially set-aside for 8(a) Program Participants or reserved solely for 8(a) Program Participants may generally continue to receive new orders even if it has grown to be other than small or has exited the 8(a) BD program, and agencies may continue to take SDB credit toward their prime contracting goals for orders awarded to 8(a) Participants. A procuring agency may seek to award an order only to a concern that is a current Participant in the 8(a) program at the time of the order. In such a case, the procuring agency will announce its intent to limit the award of the order to current 8(a) Participants and verify a contract holder's 8(a) BD status prior to issuing the order. Where a procuring agency seeks to award an order to a concern that is a current 8(a) Participant, a concern must be an eligible Participant in accordance with §124.501(g) as of the initial date specified for the receipt of offers contained in the order solicitation, or at the date of award of the order if there is no solicitation.

(iv) *  *  * To be eligible for the award of a sole source order, a concern must be a current Participant in the 8(a) BD program at the time of award.

(2) *  *  *

(ii) The order must be competed exclusively among only the 8(a) awardees of the underlying multiple award contract;

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(iv) SBA must verify that a concern is an eligible 8(a) Participant in accordance with §124.501(g) as of the initial date specified for the receipt of offers contained in the order solicitation, or at the date of award of the order if there is no solicitation. If a concern has exited the 8(a) BD program prior to that date, it will be ineligible for the award of the order.

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