FAR: Subcontracting to Puerto Rican and Covered Territory Small Businesses

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration to add incentives for certain United States territories under the Small Business Administration mentor-protégé program. The updates on subcontracting to Puerto Rican and covered territory small businesses are:

1. Incentives for Mentor-Protégé Agreements: The update adds incentives for large companies to enter into Small Business Administration (SBA)-approved mentor-protégé agreements with small businesses in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.
2. Positive Consideration in Evaluations: Large companies that subcontract with small business protégés will receive positive consideration in their past performance evaluations.
3. Training Costs: Companies can apply protégé training costs toward their small business subcontracting plan goals.
4. Eligible Territories: The update includes Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as eligible territories for these incentives.
5. Effective Date: The new regulations are set to take effect on January 17, 2025.

These changes aim to increase federal contracting opportunities for small businesses in these territories by encouraging partnerships with larger companies.

Read the Federal Register Notice here.