[Protest of Air Force Contract Award for Facility Maintenance and Repair]

A firm protested an Air Force contract award for facility maintenance and repair. The Air Force determined during a preaward survey that the protester was nonresponsible and referred the matter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for consideration under certificate-of-competency (COC) procedures. SBA requested a COC application from the protester, failed to receive it, and directed the Air Force to proceed with the procurement. The protester contended that SBA did not have adequate time to issue a COC. GAO held that: (1) a small business bears the responsibility of timely filing a complete and acceptable COC application; and (2) it would not review the protest because SBA had statutory responsibility to make COC determinations. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.