Claim for Bid Preparation Costs

The protester filed a claim for bid preparation costs allegedly incurred incident to a procurement which had been the subject of an earlier decision. The earlier decision concluded that the agency had acted improperly in making the award to another bidder but recommended no corrective action since the contract was fully performed at the time of the decision. While cancellation of the solicitation should have been considered when, after bid opening, it was determined that a less expensive item could meet the government's needs, cancellation was not necessarily required since the awardee was otherwise responsive and low amongst bids which would provide the government with its actual needs. The claim for bid preparation costs was denied since the agency's actions were not arbitrary or capricious.