Protest Involving Solicitation Defects, Bid Evaluation, and Low Prices

A company protested award of a contract because the procuring activity announced after bid opening that it intended to award the contract on the basis of the base bid minus the highest deductive price for an alternative. The protest alleging improprieties in the solicitation was not filed until after bid opening and was untimely. The protester did not prove that the alternatives were not evaluated or that there were business dealings between the architect-engineer and the low bidder. Since the low bidder verified its bid, it is not precluded from award because of its low price.