Matter of: Mariah Associates, Inc.--Entitlement to Costs File: B-254754.3 Date: June 6, 1994
Highlights
DIGEST Request for declaration of entitlement to costs is denied where General Accounting Office has no legal basis for awarding costs. Mariah was notified that award had been made to SWCA. Mariah was also informed that SWCA had received a higher technical score than the protester. Mariah claims that it is entitled to proposal preparation costs for its second BAFO as well as the costs of filing and pursuing its protest. Because it was effectively misled into continuing to participate in the competition and continuing to pursue its protest insofar as the agency did not disclose the relative technical scoring of proposals prior to the second round of BAFOs. The protester would not have prepared a second BAFO and would not have pursued its protest further.
Matter of: Mariah Associates, Inc.--Entitlement to Costs File: B-254754.3 Date: June 6, 1994
DIGEST
Attorneys
DECISION
On November 30, Mariah was notified that award had been made to SWCA, Inc. as a result of its second BAFO which offered a substantially lower price than the protester's BAFO. Mariah was also informed that SWCA had received a higher technical score than the protester. Mariah claims that it is entitled to proposal preparation costs for its second BAFO as well as the costs of filing and pursuing its protest, because it was effectively misled into continuing to participate in the competition and continuing to pursue its protest insofar as the agency did not disclose the relative technical scoring of proposals prior to the second round of BAFOs. Mariah asserts that, had this information been timely disclosed, the protester would not have prepared a second BAFO and would not have pursued its protest further.
There are two circumstances under which we may declare a protester entitled to costs. First, protest and proposal preparation costs may be awarded if this Office determines that a solicitation, proposed award, or award does not comply with statute or regulation. 4 C.F.R. Sec. 21.6(d) (1994). Second, protest costs may be awarded where an agency unduly delays taking corrective action in the face of a clearly meritorious protest. 4 C.F.R. Sec. 21.6(e); PLX, Inc.--Request for Declaration of Entitlement to Costs, B-251575.2, Mar. 10, 1993, 93-1 CPD Para. 224. Neither circumstance is present here. Our October 15 decision dismissing Mariah's protest does not contain a determination that the agency violated any regulation or statute, and since Interior took corrective action on the day that its report was due, the agency did not unduly delay in taking corrective action. See Id.
Accordingly, the request for a declaration of entitlement to costs is denied.
1. BAFOs were solicited for amended prices only.