[Protest Against Navy Contract Award for Paint Remover]

A firm protested a contract award to another firm under a Navy solicitation for paint remover, contending that: (1) the awardee's bid was nonresponsive because, on the closing date for receipt of proposals under the negotiated procurement, the firm's product was not eligible for inclusion on the appropriate qualified products list (QPL); and (2) the solicitation was defective because it did not incorporate a mandatory QPL clause from the Federal Acquisition Regulation. GAO held that: (1) the awardee's product was required to be eligible for QPL inclusion at the time of contract award, rather than at the time of receipt of initial proposals; (2) while the awardee was not formally notified that its product was approved before bid opening, it completed the required product testing prior to award and the notification was merely a procedural matter; and (3) the portion of the protest alleging that the specifications were defective was untimely filed because GAO did not receive it before bid opening. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part.