Protest Involving Appeal to Small Business Administration of Size Status Determination

A company which had been determined by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to be ineligible for award under a small business set-aside protested against the agency's failure to suspend procurement action pending its appeal with the SBA. The agency's award of the contract after notification by the SBA of its decision and prior to notice of appeal was consistent with procurement regulations. The requirements for a small business and the classification to be applied were matters for SBA and not GAO consideration. The protests after bid opening against the agency's failure to designate the applicable size standard and classification in the solicitation was untimely since the omission was apparent prior to bid opening.