[Protest of Bid Rejection]

A firm protested the rejection of its bid by the Army, contending that the contracting officer and the Small Business Administration (SBA) improperly determined that it could not meet the required production schedule. As the result of a preaward survey, the contracting officer determined that the protester would be unable to meet the schedule and, therefore, determined the firm nonresponsible and ineligible for award. He referred the question of responsibility to SBA for the possible issuance of a Certificate of Competency (COC); SBA declined to issue it. GAO stated that SBA has conclusive authority to determine responsibility by issuing or declining to issue a COC. GAO does not question a contracting officer's determination when SBA affirms that decision unless the small business shows that there was fraud or bad faith by Government officials. In this instance the protester did not make such a showing. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.