Bidder's Failure To Acknowledge IFB Amendment

A company protested the award of a contract for map sets. The company's bid had been rejected as nonresponsive for failure to acknowledge receipt of an amendment to the invitation for bids (IFB) which reduced the number of map sets and extended the termination date. It was the company's contention that it never received the amendment, that the amendment merely extended the contract performance period, and that therefore, the failure to acknowledge the amendment should have been waived as a minor informality. Alternatively, the company asked that GAO consider its letter of protest as a late modification to include the terms of the amendment. Since the record indicated that the agency had sent the amendment to all bidders, including the protester, and there was no evidence that the agency attempted to exclude the protester, it was held that the amendment could not be waived. Furthermore, the failure to acknowledge the amendment rendered the bid nonresponsive. The request for acceptance of a late modification was rejected since the bid was not otherwise acceptable. Accordingly, the protest was denied.