Protest Challenging Requisition of Electric Typewriters Under Federal Supply Schedule Contract

A firm protested the Military Personnel Command's order of electric typewriters under a Federal Supply Schedule contract. The protester contended that the Navy violated Federal Property Management Regulations, concerning purchases from a multiple-award schedule, by making an award to the higher-priced supplier without satisfying the justification criteria. While the agency's justification for purchasing the higher-priced item must be adequately sustantiated, GAO will not object to an agency's justification unless it is clearly shown to have no reasonable basis. In this case the protester did not meet its burden of proof to show the justification was unreasonable. Accordingly, the protest was denied.