Clearly Nonresponsive Bid Treated as Bid Mistake

A determination was requested concerning an alleged mistake in a bid. The agency incorrectly treated the bidder's failure to comply with the bid acceptance period and his subsequent submission of a clearly nonresponsive bid as a mistake in the bid. Neither the error by the agency in instructing the protester to follow mistake-in-bid procedures nor its delay in forwarding the bidder's request for review to GAO was prejudicial since the protest was clearly without merit.