Bid Rejection Protest

B-206975: Apr 20, 1982

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A firm protested the Department of Agriculture's rejection of its bid to supply loading equipment. The bid was rejected as nonresponsive because certain taxes were not included in the bid price. The protester contended that no State taxes applied to this acquisition and therefore it was permissible to state that all such taxes were excluded. Federal regulations require that all solicitations for fixed-price contracts contain a clause requiring the bidder or offeror to include all applicable Federal, State, and local taxes and duties. This clause places the burden on the bidder to ascertain if any taxes are applicable and to include the amount of such taxes in its bid price. Unless otherwise specified in the solicitation, the inclusion of the standard tax clause constitutes notice to all bidders that bids will be evaluated on a tax-included basis. The submission of a bid on a tax-excluded basis is viewed as evidence of the bidder's belief, absent definite information to the contrary, that taxes may be assessed and of its unwillingness to assume payment of such taxes at its bid price. If certain taxes are excluded, a bid cannot be evaluated on an equal basis with other bids and must be considered nonresponsive. Since the protester's bid stated without further explanation that certain taxes were not included in its bid price, it was properly rejected as nonresponsive. Accordingly, the protest was summarily denied.

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