[Request for Advance Decision Concerning Contract Award Under VA Solicitation]

The Veterans Administration (VA) requested an advance decision concerning the award of a contract under a solicitation for a central dictation system. A firm had filed a protest with VA questioning the responsiveness of the low offerer's bid. The solicitation specified the eight components which were to comprise the system and requested a price for each component and the total system price. The protester questioned whether one model designated by the low bidder conformed to the solicitation requirement. The commercial literature which the low bidder offered did not establish that the model conformed to the requirement. Moreover, the low offerer's bid was ambiguous as to whether it was offering a model which complied with the specifications. Since the low bid was ambiguous, GAO concluded that the low bid should be rejected as nonresponsive.