[Protest of Rejection of Bid for Forest Thinning Services]

An individual protested the rejection of his bid as nonresponsive under a Forest Service invitation for bids (IFB) for precommercial thinning and slash disposal services. The first of two amendments to the IFB revised the wage rate upward and contained potentially confusing instructions for acknowledging receipt of the amendment. Although the bidder failed to notify the agency that he had received the amendment, the bid abstract showed that he had acknowledged both amendments. The agency later corrected the abstract and notified the protester that his bid had been rejected. The protester maintained that he had complied with the instructions by signing the amendment, claiming that that was all he was required to do. He further maintained that, even if he had failed to properly acknowledge the amendment, it had a negligible effect on his bid price and that his failure should be waived. GAO found that the amendment instructions were sufficiently clear as to the method of acknowledgment and that the protester had failed to comply with them. GAO also found that the unacknowledged amendment could have significant impact on the bid price and that there was uncertainty as to the protester's need to hire others or to subcontract the work; therefore, his failure to acknowledge the amendment could not be waived as a minor informality. Accordingly, the protest was denied.