The Okafor Group, Inc., No. 4679 (January 4, 2005)
Docket No. SIZ-2004-10-22-65

                                
                                
                    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                  SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
                 OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS
                        WASHINGTON, D.C.


                                 )     
SIZE APPEAL OF:                  )     
                                 ) 
The Okafor Group, Inc.           )     
                                ) 
     Appellant                  )     Docket No. SIZ-2004-10-22-65
                                )     
RE: Ambulatory Care Solutions   )     Decided: January 4, 2005
LLC                             )
                                )
Solicitation No. 610-03-04-CBOC )
Department of Veterans Affairs  )
Northern Indiana Health Care    )
 System                         )
Marion, Indiana



              ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL AS UNTIMELY*/
                                
                         I.  BACKGROUND

      On  February  4,  2004, the Department of Veterans  Affairs
issued  the  subject solicitation for operation of  a  community-
based   outpatient  clinic  and  primary  care   services.    The
Contracting  Officer (CO) set the procurement totally  aside  for
small   business,   and   designated  North   American   Industry
Classification System (NAICS) code 621111, Offices of  Physicians
(Except  Mental  Health Specialists), with a  corresponding  $8.5
million  annual receipts size standard, as the appropriate  NAICS
code for the procurement.  Offers were due on April 22, 2004.

     On August 5, 2004, the CO awarded the contract to Ambulatory
Care Solutions, LLC, and notified unsuccessful offerors on August
6th.   On August 19, 2004, the CO received by mail a protest from
The Okafor Group, Inc. (Appellant) alleging the awardee was other
than small.  The protest was a printout of an e-mail transmission
Appellant  had unsuccessfully attempted to send the CO on  August
18th, failing due to an incorrect e-mail address.  On August  20,
2004,  the  CO  forwarded  the  protest  to  the  Small  Business
Administration (SBA) Indiana District Office, which forwarded the
protest to SBA's Office of Government Contracting - Area IV (Area
Office) in Chicago, Illinois.

      On September 2, 2004, the Area Office dismissed Appellant's
protest  as  untimely.   Appellant  received  this  dismissal  on
September  7,  2004.   On October 22, 2004, Appellant  filed  the
instant appeal from the dismissal of its protest.


                         II.  DISCUSSION

      The  Administrative Judge must dismiss the instant  appeal.
Size  appeals  in a pending procurement must be filed  within  15
days  of  the appellant's receipt of the size determination.   13
C.F.R.   134.304(a)(1).  As noted above, Appellant  received  the
size  determination  on September 7th, and filed  its  appeal  on
October  22nd, 45 days later.  This appeal is thus  untimely  and
the   Administrative   Judge  must   dismiss   it.    13   C.F.R.
  134.304(b);   Size Appeal of Ramtech Software Solutions,  Inc.,
SBA  No.  SIZ-4562  (2003).   The  Administrative  Judge  has  no
discretion to waive the time limit for filing an appeal.  Id.

      Even  if  the appeal were timely, the Administrative  Judge
would  have  to  dismiss it.  Appellant's protest was  not  filed
within  5  business  days after the CO had notified  unsuccessful
offerors   of   the   identity   of  the   prospective   awardee.
13  C.F.R.   121.1004(a)(2).   A timely  appeal  cannot  cure  an
untimely  protest, and this Office must dismiss it.  Size  Appeal
of Symtech Corporation, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-4406 (2000).

                        III.  CONCLUSION

      For the above reasons, the Administrative Judge AFFIRMS the
Area Office's size determination and DISMISSES the instant appeal
as untimely.

       This   is   the  final  decision  of  the  Small  Business
Administration.  See 13 C.F.R.  134.316(b).
                                
                                
                                

                                   _____________________________
                                     CHRISTOPHER HOLLEMAN
                                     Administrative Judge


_______________________________
      *   This appeal is decided under the Small Business Act  of
1958, 15 U.S.C.  631 et seq., and 13 C.F.R. Parts 121 and 134.