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[Protest of Corps of Engineers' Refusal To Allow Bid Correction]

B-216728 Published: Feb 01, 1985. Publicly Released: Feb 01, 1985.
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Highlights

A firm protested the Army Corps of Engineers' refusal to allow an upward correction of its bid and the subsequent award of a contract to another firm. The protester submitted the low bid, but because the bid was significantly lower than the other bids and the agency's estimate, the agency asked the protester to verify its bid. The protester informed the agency that it had made a mistake in calculating its bid. After meeting with the protester, the agency determined that, while the protester had presented clear evidence that a mistake had occurred, the evidence presented did not also constitute clear and convincing evidence of the actual bid intended. As a result, the agency decided that the protester could withdraw its bid but not correct it. GAO held that the agency's decision was reasonable because: (1) the protester's worksheets showed that a higher overhead rate was applied to roofing work allegedly omitted from the original bid price than was applied to roofing work included in the original price; (2) the correction requested would bring the protester's bid to within 2.5 percent of the next low bid; and (3) the correction would increase the original bid by 50 percent. Accordingly, the protest was denied.

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Bid errorsBid modificationsBid protestsCompetitive procurementContract award protestsBid evaluation protestsEngineersArmy corps of engineersIntellectual property rights