Protest Against Procurement Procedures and Allegedly Restrictive Specifications

A company protested the rejection of its proposal, failure of the agency to conduct negotiations with it, and allegedly restrictive solicitation specifications. Conflicting statements between the agency and the protester concerning alleged improprieties in drafting specifications and conducting the solicitation were resolved in favor of the agency in the absence of evidence to support the protester's position. Determination of whether the proposal was within the competitive range was a matter of administrative discretion, and the agency was not required to hold discussions with the protester prior to making such a determination. A protest against the alleged restrictive nature of specifications was untimely filed after the closing date for receipt of initial proposals.