[Protest of Navy Bid Rejection]

A firm protested the Navy's rejection of its bid submitted in response to an invitation for bids for the maintenance of a sewage distribution system. The bid was rejected as nonresponsive because it did not include a required schedule of indefinite-quantity work. The protester argued that it had not included the schedule on the advice of Navy contracting personnel. Therefore, its proposal did not include unit prices or item totals, only the total contract price. GAO has held that unit prices are necessary at bid opening since they are necessary to set the material terms of the contractor's obligation. Furthermore, the protester should have been on notice that it could not rely on the erroneous advice of a Navy employee. Accordingly, the protest was denied.