Protest Against Issuance of Solicitation as Small Business Set-Aside

A company protested the issuance of a solicitation as a total small business set-aside because the prime contractor had designated the protester, which was not a small business, as a qualified source. The prohibition against establishing a small business set-aside under a procurement calling for a qualified products lists (QPL) item did not apply since the item being procured was not on the QPL but was approved by the prime contractor. The protest was denied, but the agency should be aware that competition may be limited by imposing a set-aside on a procurement already limited by the contractor's requirements.