Small Business Size Standards; Waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 121

Small Business Size Standards; Waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule

AGENCY: Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule for Airborne Integrated Data

Components (master units, remote units, bus monitors, analog

multiplexers, convolutional encoders, digital multiplexers, signal

conditioners, time code readers).

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SUMMARY: This document advises the public that the Small Business

Administration (SBA) is establishing a waiver of the Nonmanufacturer

Rule for Airborne Integrated Data Components. The basis for a waiver is

that no small business manufacturers are available to participate in

the Federal market for these products. The effect of a waiver will

allow otherwise qualified nonmanufacturers to supply the products of

any domestic manufacturer on a Federal contract set-aside for small

businesses or awarded through the SBA 8(a) Program.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 12, 1997.

[[Page 6454]]

ADDRESSES: David Wm. Loines, Procurement Analyst, U.S. Small Business

Administration, 409 3rd Street S.W., Washington, DC 20416, Tel: (202)

205-6475.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Wm. Loines, Procurement Analyst,

(202) 205-6475, FAX (202) 205-7324.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public law 100-656, enacted on November 15,

1988, incorporated into the Small Business Act the previously existing

regulation that recipients of Federal contracts set-aside for small

businesses or the SBA 8(a) Program procurement must provide the product

of a small business manufacturer or processor if the recipient is other

than the actual manufacturer or processor. This requirement is commonly

referred to as the Nonmanufacturer Rule. The SBA regulations imposing

this requirement are found at 13 CFR 121.406(b). Section 303(h) of the

law provides for waiver of this requirement by SBA for any ``class of

products'' for which there are no small business manufacturers or

processors in the Federal market. To be considered available to

participate in the Federal market on these classes of products, a small

business manufacturer must have submitted a proposal for a contract

solicitation or received a contract from the Federal Government within

the last 24 months. The SBA defines ``class of products'' based on two

coding systems. The first is the Office of Management and Budget

Standard Industrial Classification Manual. The second is the Product

and Service Code (PSC) established by the Federal Procurement Data

System.

The SBA was asked to issue a waiver for Airborne Integrated Data

Components because of an apparent lack of any small business

manufacturers or processors for them within the Federal market. The SBA

searched its Procurement Automated Source System (PASS) for small

business participants and found none. We then published a document in

the Federal Register on December 13, 1996 (61 FR 65492), of our intent

to grant a waiver for these classes of products unless new information

was found. The proposed waiver covered Airborne Integrated Data

Components. The document described the legal provisions for a waiver,

how SBA defines the market, and asked for small business participants

of these classes of products. After the 15-day comment period, no small

businesses were identified for Airborne Integrated Data Components.

This waiver is being granted pursuant to statutory authority under

section 303(h) of Public Law 100-656 for Airborne Integrated Data

Components. The waiver will last indefinitely but is subject to both an

annual review and a review upon receipt of information that the

conditions required for a waiver no longer exist. If such information

is found, the waiver may be terminated.

Judith A. Roussel,

Associate Administrator for Government Contracting.

[FR Doc. 97-3456 Filed 2-11-97; 8:45 am]

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