Protest Against Agency's Exercise of Contract Option

The protester objected to the agency's exercise of a contract option, alleging that the option period had elapsed prior to the exercise of the option and that the agency failed to test the market for availability and price. Procurement regulations which state that, before an option is exercised, the agency must determine that exercise of the option is most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered, did not require the agency to solicit prices from other sources. It was determined that no other firm could meet the delivery schedule, and the contractor's option price was the lowest that could be obtained in the time available.