Request for Clarification

A firm requested clarification of a decision wherein its protest that the General Services Administration lacked a reasonable basis to set aside a solicitation under the multiple award Federal Supply Schedule was denied. The protester alleged that the solicitation did not produce a competitive procurement since only one small business was able to meet the solicitation requirements. The protest was based on the contention that the product of one of the two businesses that proposed to supply toasters was not actually a toaster since it "grilled" bread by placing it in direct contact with the heating element. In its request for clarification, the protester contended that the decision ignored the sole-source implications of the protest. Since the Federal Supply Schedule does not distinguish between toasters which conventionally toast bread and toasters which grill bread, there were no sole-source implications to examine. The protester also contended that one of the competitors' toasters had not been commercially available prior to the acquisition under question. However, the solicitation only required that if offered prices were based on catalog or market prices of commercial items, the offeror had to certify that substantial quantities of the items had been sold to the general public at those prices. The record did not indicate that the supplier had falsely certified substantial sales of its product to the general public. Thus, GAO had no grounds for objection to the conduct of the procurement.