(a) A contracting officer shall consider a contract award to a SDVOSB concern on a sole source basis (see 6.302-5(b)(6)), before considering small business set-asides (see 19.203 and subpart 19.5) provided none of the exclusions of 19.1404 apply and—

(1) The contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that offers would be received from two or more service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns;

(2) The anticipated award price of the contract, including options, will not exceed—

(i) $7 million for a requirement within the NAICS codes for manufacturing; or

(ii) $4 million for a requirement within any other NAICS code;

(3) The requirement is not currently being performed by an 8(a) participant under the provisions of subpart 19.8 or has been accepted as a requirement by SBA under subpart 19.8;

(4) The service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern has been determined to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance; and

(5) Award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.

(b) Effective January 1, 2024, a contracting officer shall only award a sole-source contract to a concern that—

(1) Is designated in SAM as an SDVOSB concern certified by SBA; or

(2) Has represented that it is an SDVOSB concern in SAM and submitted an application for certification to SBA on or before December 31, 2023. Pending applications for certification are in the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification Program database at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov.

(c) The SBA has the right to appeal the contracting officer's decision not to make an SDVOSB sole-source award.