Protest Denied Because There Is No Evidence That Late Delivery Is Attributable to Government Action

An offeror protested the rejection of its late proposal submitted in response to a request for proposals issued by the Navy. The protester contended that the proposal should not have been rejected because the courier service responsible for delivery could not gain timely access to the specified delivery site due to its location in a secured area of a Naval base. The record contained a statement by the courier that the delivery truck had broken down earlier in the day and did not arrive at the base until after the time specified for receipt for proposals. Thus, it appeared that the late delivery was not caused by Government action nor was it the result of the solicitation's failure to specify procedures for hand-delivery of offers within the secured area of the base. The proposal was properly rejected by the Navy and the protest was denied.