B-190683, APR 19, 1978

B-190683, APR 19, 1978

DOWNWARD CORRECTION WHICH WOULD RESULT IN DISPLACING LOWER PRICED BID IS ALLOWED WHERE INTENDED PRICE IS DISCERNIBLE SUBSTANTIALLY FROM FACE OF BID.

MICRODYNAMICS, INC.:

MICRODYNAMICS, INC. (MICRODYNAMICS) PROTESTS THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA), FEDERAL SUPPLY SERVICE'S CORRECTION OF THE BID OF INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER, INC. (IH) UNDER SOLICITATION NO. CH-FT-77 087. IH'S BID, AS CORRECTED, DISPLACED MICRODYNAMICS', WHICH WAS THE OTHERWISE LOWEST BIDDER FOR COMPUTER MAGNETIC TAPE TO MICROFILM AND MICROFICHE SERVICE FOR A SPECIFIED GEOGRAPHICAL AREA. SINCE MICRODYNAMICS' BID WAS DISPLACED BY THE CORRECTION, THE QUESTION WE HAVE BEFORE US IS WHETHER IH'S ERROR AND THE AMOUNT OF THE INTENDED BID WAS ASCERTAINABLE SUBSTANTIALLY FROM THE FACE OF THE SOLICITATION AND BID. 37 COMP.GEN. 210 (1957); FEDERAL PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS SEC. 1 2.403-3(2).

THE SOLICITATION REQUESTED BIDS FOR TWO GROUPS OF SERVICES IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT:

ITEM AND PRICE SCHEDULE

ITEM ITEM DESCRIPTION UNIT UNIT

GROUP I (ITEMS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

1. ORIGINALS, ROLL FILM, ONE UP PER M DATA $

MODE FRAMES (1)

2. COPY, ROLL, FILM, ONE UP MODE PER M DATA $

FRAMES (1)

3. ORIGINALS, ROLL FILM, TWO PER M DATA $

UP MODE FRAMES (3)

4. COPY, ROLL FILM, TWO UP MODE PER M DATA $

FRAMES (15)

5. CARTRIDGE, ROLL FILM COST EACH

(FOR VIEWING DEVICES LISTED CARTRIDGE UNDER IV B) (OR SPOOL) $

GROUP II (ITEMS 6, 7, 8)

6. ORIGINAL MICROFICHE, 42X PER M DATA $

(8)

7. ORIGINAL MICROFICHE, 48X PER M DATA $

8. DIAZO COPY PER FICHE $

(1)

*9. PICK-UP & DELIVERY OUTSIDE PER TRIP $

PRIMARY AREA

* ENTER CHARGE FOR PICK-UP AND DELIVERY OUTSIDE THE PRIMARY AREA, IF ANY, INFORMATION ONLY. THIS COST WILL NOT BE A BASIS FOR AWARD.

BIDDERS WERE ALSO ADVISED THAT THE LOW AGGREGATE OFFEROR FOR A GROUP WOULD BE DETERMINED BY MULTIPLYING THE UNIT PRICE BY THE WEIGHT FACTOR SHOWN IN PARENTHESES UNDER THE SPACE PROVIDED AND ADDING THE RESULTANT EXTENSIONS.

THE BIDS RECEIVED WERE ORIGINALLY ABSTRACTED AS FOLLOWS:

INTERNATIONAL MICRODYNAMICS MICROMEX U.S.

HARVESTER DATACOMP

ITEM NO.

GROUP I

1. $7.00 6.50 17.50 8.25 2. 1.50 1.25 2.00 1.75 3. 9.75 4.25 17.50 7.75 4. 11.25 .802.00 1.50 5. 2.00 2.25 2.75 2.25

GROUP II 6. 56.00 7.00 15.00 8.25 7. 7.00 7.00 14.00 8.25 8. .24 .30 .18 .12 9. VARIES35.00 20.00 2.50

AT BID OPENING IH ALLEGED THAT IT HAD MISTAKENLY ENTERED "WEIGHTED FIGURES" INSTEAD OF UNIT PRICES FOR ITEMS NO. 3, 4, AND 6. GSA, IN ITS DENIAL OF MICRODYNAMICS' PROTEST TO GSA, STATES THAT:

"BASED ON THE CONTRACTING OFFICER'S COMPARISON OF CURRENT AND PRIOR BIDDING, PARTICULARLY FOR ITEM 6, AND WITHOUT FURTHER INFORMATION FROM THE BIDDER, THE CONTRACTING OFFICER COULD HAVE READILY DEDUCED THAT INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER HAD BID THE UNIT PRICES MULTIPLIED BY WEIGHTS CONTAINED IN THE SOLICITATION INSTEAD OF THE UNIT PRICES. ACCORDINGLY, ONCE THE CONTRACTING OFFICER BECAME AWARE THAT THE OBVIOUS LARGE DISPARITY AROSE FROM THE APPLICATION OF THE WEIGHTING FACTORS THERE WAS NO NEED FOR ANY FURTHER DEDUCTIVE PROCESS ON HIS PART AS HE HAD ALL THE DATA FOR CALCULATION OF THE INTENDED BID."

CONSEQUENTLY, GSA CORRECTED IH'S BID AS FOLLOWS:

FROM ] WEIGHT TO

ITEM 3 $9.75 ] 3 $3.25

4 11.25 ] 15 .75

6 56.00 ] 8 7.00

THIS CORRECTION CAUSED IH'S WEIGHTED PRICE FOR BOTH GROUPS TO BE LOW AND AWARD WAS MADE TO IH.

TO ALLOW A LOWER BID TO BE DISPLACED, HOWEVER, THE CONTRACTING OFFICER MUST DETERMINE IN ADDITION TO THE EXISTENCE OF MISTAKE, THE NATURE OF THE MISTAKE AND THE BID ACTUALLY INTENDED FROM THE FACE OF THE INVITATION AND BID. FARBOIL COMPANY, B-190502, NOVEMBER 30, 1977, 77-2 CPD 430. IF IT CAN BE DETERMINED THAT THE MISTAKE MADE BY IH IS THE ONE ALLEGED, THEN THE INTENDED BID CAN BE CALCULATED FROM INFORMATION APPEARING ON THE FACE OF THE SOLICITATION.

IN FARBOIL, SUPRA, THE SOLICITATION REQUESTED UNIT PRICES FOR PAINT FOR VARIOUS GSA SUPPLY DEPOTS. ON ONE LINE ITEM THE BIDDER INSERTED A PRICE FOR ONE GALLON CONTAINERS WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY 5 TIMES WHAT THE OTHER BIDDERS QUOTED FOR THE ITEM AND CONSISTENT WITH THE BIDDERS'S PRICES ON FIVE GALLON CONTAINERS OF PAINT CALLED FOR UNDER OTHER ITEMS OF THE SOLICITATION. UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, WE ALLOWED THE BIDDER TO CORRECT ITS BID BY DIVIDING ITS STATED UNIT PRICE BY A FACTOR OF FIVE IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT A ONE GALLON CONTAINER PRICE, EVEN THOUGH THE CORRECTION RESULTED IN DISPLACING THE OTHERWISE LOW BID. HERE, ALSO, IT IS CLEAR THAT FROM IH'S UNIT PRICES ON ITEMS 4 AND 6 THAT A MISTAKE WAS MADE. WHILE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE IN THIS CASE TO SAY THAT IH'S UNIT PRICES FOR ITEM 4 AND 6 ARE CONSISTENT WITH OTHER LINE ITEM PRICES QUOTED BY IH, IT IS EVIDENT FROM THE BID THAT THESE UNIT PRICES WERE ARRIVED AT BY MULTIPLYING THE INTENDED UNIT PRICE BY THE WEIGHTING FACTOR. IN THE CASE OF ITEM 3, IH'S UNIT PRICE, STANDING ALONE, WAS NOT SO OUT OF LINE AS TO INDICATE ERROR. HOWEVER, WHEN THE BID FOR ITEM 3 IS EXAMINED IN LIGHT OF ITEMS 4 AND 6, IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE UNIT PRICE WAS ALSO ARRIVED AT BY MULTIPLYING THE INTENDED UNIT PRICE BY THE WEIGHTING FACTOR.

ACCORDINGLY WE AGREE WITH GSA THAT THE NATURE OF IH'S MISTAKE AND ITS INTENDED BID CAN BE DETERMINED USING INFORMATION APPEARING SUBSTANTIALLY ON THE FACE OF THE INVITATION AND BID. THE PROTEST IS DENIED.