[Protest of Request for Third Round of Best and Final Offers Under Marine Corps Procurement]

A firm protested a Marine Corps request for a third round of best and final offers and the subsequent contract award, contending that the Corps improperly conducted an auction by repeatedly requesting subsequent rounds of best and final offers until the solicitation accommodated the awardee. GAO held that the awardee had correctly noted an error in the first solicitation and that the Corps properly resolicited the requirement. The Corps properly concluded that, although the awardee's bid was low under the second solicitation, the bid was unacceptable and required a resolicitation for a third time. The Corps properly disregarded the protester's speculative prompt payment discount contained in its third bid, making the awardee the low bidder. The protester's allegation that the Corps had arbitrarily resolicited the requirement three times was not substantiated by any reasonable proof. Accordingly, the protest was denied.