(a) The following principles apply to VA acquisitions under this subpart:

(1) Before setting aside or reserving an acquisition for small businesses under FAR subpart 19.5, contracting officers shall refer to 808.002 and 819.203-70 and subpart 819.70 for VA SDVOSB/VOSB priorities and preferences.

(2) Set-asides under the Veterans First Contracting Program in subpart 819.70 (see 819.7006 and 819.7007) have precedence over other small business set-asides authorized in FAR part 19, both above and below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT). An SDVOSB/VOSB set-aside satisfies the legislative requirement to reserve actions below the SAT for small business.

(3) Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 8127(d), set-asides for SDVOSBs/VOSBs are mandatory whenever a contracting officer has a reasonable expectation of receiving two or more offers/quotes from eligible, capable and verified firms, and that an award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the Government. (VA Rule of Two (see 802.101))

(b) The set-aside principles in this section apply to VA acquisitions even when a procuring activity is meeting its goals or is planning the use of an interagency agreement, Federal Supply Schedule, or a multiple award contract, including a Governmentwide contract vehicle.

(c) The requirements in this section apply to all VA acquisitions under this subpart, including reserves, orders, and BPAs under multiple award contracts, GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts, and Multi-Agency Contracts (MACs) awarded by another agency. A set-aside restricted to SDVOSBs/VOSBs pursuant to subpart 819.70 satisfies competition requirements in FAR part 6, as well as fair opportunity requirements for orders under multiple-award contracts (see FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F)).

(b) Contracting officers shall refer to 808.002 for the VA policy regarding priorities for use of SDVOSBs/VOSBs and mandatory Government sources.

(a) If the contracting officer receives no acceptable offers from responsible small business concerns, the set-aside shall be withdrawn and the requirement, if still valid, shall be resolicited on an unrestricted basis or, if permitted in the solicitation, the contracting officer will follow the tiered set-aside evaluation procedures in 819.7010, Tiered evaluation, and proceed to the next eligible tier in the evaluation process.

For contracts, orders, or BPAs to be issued as SDVOSB/VOSB reserve, tiered evaluation, set-aside, or sole source, see 819.7011. Also see subparts 808.4 and 815.3 and 819.203-70 for requirements and clauses applicable to VA small business set-asides.