Request for Advance Decision

An advance decision was requested by the Department of the Interior on the propriety of a proposed contract award under a request for proposals (RFP). The contract was for shuttle transportation services within a national park. A firm claimed that it had rights to first refusal of the contract award, claiming that it was granted this right under terms of an earlier contract with Interior. GAO found that those terms related to contracts to be awarded on a concession basis, not to contracts to be financed by appropriated funds, as in this case. Nor did the records indicate that the concessioner's rights were intended to extend to the procurement of services with appropriated funds. GAO concluded that the firm was not entitled to a first refusal right for the proposed contract. Incident to Interior's request, the firm filed a protest concerning alleged defects in the RFP which prevented it from submitting a meaningful response. However, GAO ruled that the protest was filed in an untimely manner, and it was dismissed.