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- The DOD Increases Sole Source Contract Opportunities For 8(a) Contractors – read now
The DOD Increases Sole Source Contract Opportunities For 8(a) Contractors
Everyone in the government contracting space knows that sole source contracts can be tricky because they essentially do away with the competitive procurement process. In some situations, a sole source contract is necessary given the market, needs and circumstances of the procurement. However, generally speaking, sole source procurements typically require an explanation, justification and approval from higher-ups. The purpose of such safeguards being to protect competition. In the Department of Defense (“DoD”) procurement, because of the special nature of SBA section 8(a) contracts, a threshold was established at $22 million for 8(a) sole source contracts. If a proposed contract was under the threshold, the procuring agency could issue the contract on a sole source basis without justification or approval.
Effective June 5, 2020, the DoD has issued a new final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement section 823 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) (Pub. L. 116–92) significantly increasing the section 8(a) sole source threshold. Under new DFARS section 206.303–1, the threshold for requiring a justification and approval to award a sole source contract to a participant in the 8(a) program is increased to actions in excess of $100 million. Thus, if an 8(a) contract is less than $100 million, the procuring DoD agency does not need to provide justification or seek approval to issue the contract on a sole source basis. If you are an 8(a) contractor now is the time to seek out DoD contracting opportunities. Our government contract group can help you navigate the DoD section 8(a) process.
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