[Protest of GSA Contract Award Alleging Awardee Improperly Permitted To Correct Bid]

A firm protested a contract award under a General Services Administration (GSA) solicitation for a 1-year indefinite quantity contract for repair and alteration of Government buildings. The protester contended that, since the awardee was improperly permitted to correct its bid, the protester was displaced as low bidder. The solicitation stated that the contract would be awarded to the responsive bidder with the lowest total evaluated bid price. The protester raised several arguments and cited the rule that a bidder should not be permitted to correct its bid to displace the low bidder except where the original bid is responsive and the intended bid can be ascertained substantially from the solicitation and the bid itself. GAO found that the awardee's bid error was obvious, of a minor nature, and properly correctable by the contracting officer under the rules that govern mistake correction in a displacement situation. Accordingly, the protest was denied.