[Protest of Navy Rejection of Bid for Overhead Cranes]
Highlights
A firm protested the Navy's rejection of its bid for overhead cranes as nonresponsive because its cover letter limited government remedies for liabilities. The protester contended that: (1) it inadvertently included its commercial terms in its cover letter; (2) the terms did not limit the government's rights; and (3) it should be permitted to correct the mistake in its bid. GAO has held that: (1) a bid must comply in all material aspects with the solicitation; (2) a bid condition which qualifies a bidder's liability for special damages affects the substance of the bid and renders it nonresponsive; (3) a bid containing standard commercial terms and conditions which deviate from material solicitation requirements must be rejected as nonresponsive; (4) a bid that is nonresponsive may not be corrected after bid opening since the nonresponsive bidder would receive a competitive advantage; and (5) a nonresponsive bid may not be accepted even though it would result in monetary savings to the government since its acceptance would be contrary to the competitive bidding system. Accordingly, the protest was denied.