Protest Against Proposed Method of Award

The protester objected to a proposed award under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, alleging that the agency had disregarded the extent to which other small business concerns had historically been dependent upon the contract in question for a significant portion of their sales. The protest regarding the service classification utilized for the small business set-aside procurement was not for consideration by GAO since the Small Business Administration had conclusive authority over the question. Although the agency had expressed a belief that the protester would be eligible to compete for the procurement, there was no evidence that the misstatement was deliberately made, and the statement carried with it the proviso "if otherwise entitled to do so."