The Small Business Administration (SBA) is revising the small business size standard for heating oil dealers from $11.5 million in average annual receipts to 50 employees, and the size standard for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Bottled Gas) Dealers industry from $6.5 million in average annual receipts to 50 employees.
SBA issued the final rule (13 CFR Parts 121) in the Federal Register July 22, setting an effective date of August 21, 2008. The revised size standards stabilize the definition of the size of a small business in these industries based on a review of the latest available data on industry characteristics and other relevant information, the rule stated.
"The purpose of the rule is to convert the size standard to employees from the current measure in receipts, not increase the size standard," the rule stated. "As explained in the proposed rule, the current size standard of $11.5 million for the heating oil dealers industry converts to 50 employees. Furthermore, at that size, more than 90 percent of heating oil dealers are classified as small and they account for approximately 53 percent of total industry sales. SBA concludes that a 50-employee size standard for heating oil dealers is a viable size standard and, therefore, declines to adopt the recommended 100-employee size standard. SBA will give further consideration to the heating oil and LPG dealers' size standards when it receives more current industry data from the US Bureau of the Census in 2009."