[Protest of Any Award to Firm Under Coast Guard IFB]

A firm protested any Coast Guard contract award to another bidder under an invitation for bids which was set aside for small business concerns. The protester contended that the agency should have rejected the firm's bid as nonresponsive because it represented itself as a large business in the bid, and the bid price was too low to permit it to perform the contract requirements. In its bid, the firm had certified that it was not a small business concern; however, this mistake in bid was corrected, and the firm's small business size status was verified by the Small Business Administration. The firm's failure to correctly certify its status as a small business did not render its bid nonresponsive, since the matter related solely to the firm's size status and did not reflect upon its commitment to provide the required construction services. Furthermore, the fact that a bid may be below cost does not provide a valid basis to challenge an award to a firm that is determined responsible. Absent a showing of possible fraud or bad faith on the part of procuring officials, or a misapplication of definitive responsibility criteria, GAO does not review affirmative determinations of responsibility. Accordingly, the protest was denied.