Option Exercised Without the Prescribed CBD Notice

A firm protested the Army's exercise of an option to purchase installed computer equipment which the Army had been leasing from another company. The protester asserted that the Army failed to publish a synopsis of the intended purchase in sufficient time for potential suppliers to respond. Further, the protester contended that identical equipment was readily available from other sources and that a competitive procurement would have saved the government money. Procurement regulations provide that orders placed against automatic data processing schedule contracts for the conversion from lease to purchase of installed equipment must be synopsized in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) at least 15 calendar days before placing the order. The regulations further state that, when the evaluation indicates that a competitive acquisition be would more advantageous to the government, the contracting officer normally should issue a formal solicitation. The Army admitted that the contracting activity did not comply with the regulations since the synopsis was published 2 days before the purchase order was issued. The option, exercised without the prescribed CBD notice and without the attendant contracting officer's evaluation of the responses received as a result of the notice, was clearly improper. Accordingly, the protest was sustained; however, since payment had already been made, GAO determined that no corrective action was feasible.