Bidder's Failure To Make Mandatory Prebid Site Inspection Does Not Justify Bid Rejection as Nonresponsive

A company bidding on a government contract filed a bid protest stating that the rejection of its bid as being nonresponsive was done so using incorrect criteria. The fact that the protester failed to make a prebid site selection inspection was the reason for classifying its bid as nonresponsive. The protester's argument stated that this was improper criteria on which to base a bid's responsiveness. GAO agreed, stating that if a bid did not take exception to government requirements, the bidder's failure to make a prebid site inspection did not justify rejection of the bid as being nonresponsive since acceptance of the bid would bind the bidder to perform at bid price in accordance with the advertised terms and specifications.