AAA General Contractors, LLC (B-423842)

You should not care.

Categories: Limitation on subcontracting, ompliance, design-build

Date: 18 November 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423842

AAA General Contractors, an SDVOSB, protests the rejection of its proposal under an RFP issued by the VA for IDIQ construction and design-build services. AAA's proposal did not include the certification required by VAAR clause 852.219-75, which implements the statutory requirement that offerors certify compliance with the applicable limitation on subcontracting. The clause expressly stated that "the formal certification must be completed, signed and returned with the offeror's proposal" and that the government would not consider offers from offerors that do not provide it.

AAA argued the RFP instructions did not clearly require the certification and that it should have been permitted to submit it as a clarification. GAO denied both arguments. Consistent with Excelsior Defense (B-423106) and Hamilton Pacific Chamberlain (B-422568.2), GAO reaffirmed that submission of the VAAR 852.219-75 certification is a material solicitation requirement. Allowing AAA to submit the certification after the deadline would have constituted discussions, not clarifications, and the solicitation stated the agency did not intend to hold discussions.

The protest is denied.

Digest

Protest that agency unreasonably rejected protester's proposal based on omission of a certification regarding compliance with a contractual limitation on subcontracting is denied where the solicitation specifically required submission of the certification with the proposal and advised that a failure to submit a certification would make the proposal ineligible for evaluation and award.