The Small Business Administration's (SBA) recent proposal to
implement a limitation on liability for contractors relying on
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and Procurement Technical
Assistance Centers (PTAC) could provide a significant safe harbor
to small business misrepresentation fraud for businesses that are
eligible to receive these advisory opinions.
Issued June 25, 2014, the SBA's proposed new rule
establishes a safe harbor for contractors found liable of fraud
penalties for misrepresenting their size status if those
contractors "acted in good faith reliance upon small business
status opinions received from Small Business Development Centers
(SBDCs) or Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs)."
The SBA's proposed rule implements section 1681 of the National Defense Authorization Act of
2013, which amended the offenses and penalties section
of the Small Business Act. Once a
contractor obtains a written advisory opinion, the proposed rule
would
