Protest Alleging Agency Made Special Exception for Awardee of IFB Requirements

A company protested the award of a preventive and emergency maintenance contract, contending that the awardee was not authorized to service or secure replacement parts for the Government-owned equipment as required by the invitation for bids (IFB) specifications. It was held that the requirement was a performance requirement rather than a definitive responsibility criterion and since there was neither allegation of fraud nor misapplication of definitive responsibility criteria, this aspect of the protest was not considered. The company also protested the award on the grounds that the procuring agency waived certain informational requirements of the IFB for the awardee's sole benefit. It claimed that the awardee had deliberately withheld information concerning other contracts, and that the agency's action in waiving the requirement without notifying other bidders or potential bidders violated the principle that all competitors must be given the opportunity to submit offers on a common basis. It was ruled that the contracting agency did not make a special exception for the awardee since any bidder may submit data anytime before a determination of responsibility is made, not just when submitting the bid, whether stated in the IFB or not. The protest was denied.