Complainant's Bid Rejected as Nonresponsive Under Brand Name or Equal Solicitation Specification

The apparent low bidder on a "brand name or approved equal" invitation for bids protested the contract award to another contractor. The protester substituted another brand, but its bid was determined as nonresponsive because the protester had not complied with the procedural requirement to obtain prior approval for the substitution. The protester contended that the bid was responsive, despite its failure to follow the cited procedures, because the grantee had accepted the substituted product in another contract with the protester. Therefore, the product specifications had been in the possession of the grantee 10 days prior to the date for submission of bids. The procuring agency conceded that the protester's bid should not have been rejected as nonresponsive for failure to follow the substitution approval procedures. However, the substituted product contained unacceptable compounds as specified by the contract. The protester contended that the procuring agency's actions were arbitrary and capricious, and requested bid preparation costs to compensate for those actions. The claim was not allowed because the procurement was properly conducted, and therefore bid preparation costs could not be awarded.