Collapse to view only § 126.500 - How does a concern maintain HUBZone certification?
- § 126.500 - How does a concern maintain HUBZone certification?
- § 126.501 - What are a certified HUBZone small business concern's ongoing obligations to SBA?
- § 126.502 - Is there a limit to the length of time a concern may be a certified HUBZone small business concern?
- § 126.503 - What happens if SBA is unable to verify a HUBZone small business concern's eligibility or determines that a concern is no longer eligible for the program?
- § 126.504 - When will SBA remove the designation of a concern in DSBS (or successor system) as a certified HUBZone small business concern?
§ 126.500 - How does a concern maintain HUBZone certification?
(a) Recertification. (1) Any concern seeking to remain a certified HUBZone small business concern in DSBS (or successor system) must recertify to SBA that it continues to meet all HUBZone eligibility criteria (see § 126.200) every three years. In order to recertify—
(i) A certified HUBZone small business concern that was not awarded a HUBZone contract during the 12-month period preceding its recertification must represent that, at the time of its recertification, at least 35% of its employees reside in HUBZones and the concern's principal office is located in a HUBZone.
(ii) A certified HUBZone small business concern that was awarded a HUBZone contract during the 12-month period preceding its recertification must represent that, at the time of its recertification, it is attempting to maintain compliance with the 35% HUBZone residency requirement and the concern's principal office is located in a HUBZone.
(2) The concern's recertification must be submitted in the 90 calendar days before the triennial anniversary of its HUBZone certification date.
(3) If a concern fails to recertify, SBA will decertify the concern at the end of its eligibility period. However, if a concern is able to recertify its eligibility within 30 days of the end of its eligibility period, SBA will reinstate the firm as a certified HUBZone small business concern.
(4) For a certified HUBZone small business concern that is also a certified WOSB or SDVOSB, the firm may have to recertify less than three years after its previous recertification in order to align certification date.
(b) Program examinations. SBA will conduct a program examination of each certified HUBZone small business concern at least once every three years to ensure continued program eligibility, but may conduct more frequent program examinations using a risk-based analysis to select which concerns are examined.
§ 126.501 - What are a certified HUBZone small business concern's ongoing obligations to SBA?
A certified HUBZone small business concern that acquires, is acquired by, or merges with another business entity must provide evidence to SBA, within 30 calendar days of the transaction becoming final, that the concern continues to meet the HUBZone eligibility requirements. A concern that no longer meets the requirements may voluntarily withdraw from the program or it will be removed by SBA pursuant to program decertification procedures.
§ 126.502 - Is there a limit to the length of time a concern may be a certified HUBZone small business concern?
There is no limit to the length of time a concern may remain designated as a certified HUBZone small business concern in DSBS (or successor system) so long as it continues to comply with the provisions of §§ 126.200, 126.500, and 126.501, and all other requirements described in this part.
§ 126.503 - What happens if SBA is unable to verify a HUBZone small business concern's eligibility or determines that a concern is no longer eligible for the program?
(a) Proposed decertification—(1) Bases for proposed decertification. SBA may propose a certified HUBZone small business concern for decertification from the HUBZone program if:
(i) SBA has found the concern to be ineligible based on a program examination;
(ii) The concern failed to respond to a program examination;
(iii) SBA has information indicating that the concern is performing a HUBZone but is not attempting to maintain (see § 126.103) compliance with the 35% HUBZone residency requirement; or
(iv) SBA is unable to verify the concern's eligibility or otherwise has information indicating that the concern may not meet the eligibility requirements of this part,
(2) Notice of proposed decertification. SBA will notify the HUBZone small business concern by email that SBA is proposing to decertify it and state the reason(s) for the proposed decertification. The notice of proposed decertification will notify the concern that it has 30 calendar days from the date SBA emails the letter to submit a written response to SBA explaining why the proposed ground(s) should not justify decertification. SBA will consider that written notice was provided if SBA sends the notice of proposed decertification to the concern at the email address provided in the concern's profile in DSBS (or successor system).
(3) Response to notice of proposed decertification. The HUBZone small business concern must submit a written response to the notice of proposed decertification within the timeframe specified in the notice. In this response, the concern must rebut each of the reasons set forth by SBA in the notice of proposed decertification, and where appropriate, the rebuttal must include documents showing that the concern is eligible for the HUBZone program as of the date specified in the notice.
(4) Adverse inference. If a HUBZone small business concern fails to cooperate with SBA or fails to provide the information requested, SBA may draw an adverse inference and assume that the information that the concern failed to provide would demonstrate ineligibility.
(5) SBA's decision. SBA will determine whether the HUBZone small business concern remains eligible for the program within 90 calendar days after receiving all requested information, when practicable. SBA will provide written notice to the concern stating the basis for the determination.
(i) If SBA finds that the concern is not eligible, SBA will decertify the concern and remove its designation as a certified HUBZone small business concern in DSBS (or successor system).
(ii) If SBA finds that the concern is eligible, the concern will continue to be designated as a certified HUBZone small business concern in DSBS (or successor system).
(b) Decertification pursuant to a protest. The procedures described in paragraph (a) of this section do not apply to HUBZone status protests. If the D/HUB sustains a protest pursuant to § 126.803, SBA will decertify the HUBZone small business concern immediately and change the concern's status in DSBS (or successor system) to reflect that it no longer qualifies as a certified HUBZone small business concern without first proposing it for decertification.
(c) Decertification based on false or misleading information. (1) If SBA discovers that a certified HUBZone small business concern or its representative submitted false or misleading information, SBA will propose the firm for decertification. In addition, SBA will refer the matter to the SBA Office of Inspector General for review and may recommend that Government-wide debarment or suspension proceedings be initiated.
(2) A firm that is decertified from the HUBZone program due to the submission of false or misleading information may be removed from SBA's other small business contracting programs, including the 8(a) Business Development Program, the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program, the Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) Program, and SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program.
(3) A firm that is decertified or terminated from the 8(a) BD Program, the WOSB Program, or the VetCert Program due to the submission of false or misleading information may be decertified from the HUBZone Program.
(4) SBA may require a firm that is decertified or terminated from the HUBZone Program, 8(a) BD Program, the WOSB Program, or the VetCert Program due to the submission of false or misleading information to enter into an administrative agreement with SBA as a condition of admission or re-admission to the HUBZone program.
(d) Decertification due to debarment. If a certified HUBZone small business concern is debarred from Federal contracting, SBA will decertify the HUBZone small business concern immediately and change the concern's status in DSBS (or successor system) to reflect that it no longer qualifies as a certified HUBZone small business concern, without first proposing it for decertification.
(e) Effect of decertification. Once SBA has decertified a concern, the concern is ineligible for the HUBZone program and may not submit an offer or quote for a HUBZone contract. If a concern does so, it may be in violation of criminal laws, including section 16(d) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 645(d). If the concern has already certified as a HUBZone small business on a pending procurement, the concern must immediately inform the contracting officer for the procuring agency of the adverse eligibility determination. A contracting officer shall not award a HUBZone contract to a concern that the D/HUB has determined is not an eligible HUBZone small business concern for the procurement in question.
§ 126.504 - When will SBA remove the designation of a concern in DSBS (or successor system) as a certified HUBZone small business concern?
(a) SBA will remove the designation of a concern in DSBS (or successor system) as a certified HUBZone small business concern if the concern has:
(1) Been decertified as a result of a HUBZone status protest pursuant to § 126.803;
(2) Been decertified as a result of the procedures set forth in § 126.503;
(3) Been debarred pursuant to the procedures in FAR 9.4; or
(4) Voluntarily withdrawn from the HUBZone program.
(b) SBA will remove the designation of a concern in DSBS (or successor system) as a certified HUBZone small business concern as soon as the D/HUB issues a decision decertifying the concern from the program.