[Protest of Navy Contract Award and Rejection of Late Proposal]

A firm protested any contract award under a Navy solicitation, contending that its proposal was late due to Government mishandling and that the Navy improperly rejected it. The protester mailed its proposal to a technical representative noted in the text of the solicitation, not to the address designated for receipt of proposals, and its proposal was not delivered until 2 days after the closing date. The protester alleged that it misaddressed its proposal because portions of the solicitation were illegible and that it was late due to mishandling by the Navy in that there were no personnel available to accept delivery of its proposal over the weekend. GAO held that: (1) it is the responsibility of a bidder to obtain clarification of an illegible solicitation; (2) Government mishandling was not the sole cause of the late arrival of the proposal; and (3) the circumstances in this case did not warrant an exception under the late proposal clause. Accordingly, the protest was denied.