[Protest of Bid Rejection Under DLA Solicitation for Meters]

A firm protested the Defense Logistics Agency's rejection of its bid for meters as nonresponsive, contending that: (1) its error in writing free on board (F.O.B.) in an attempt to restate the inspection/acceptance point was a clerical error that was correctable under the regulations; and (2) its bid was only ambiguous on the matter since it did not strike out the destination requirement preprinted next to each line. GAO has held that: (1) a bid which specifies F.O.B. origin delivery when the solicitation required that bids be submitted on an F.O.B. destination basis is nonresponsive since it is contrary to the terms of the solicitation; (2) a bid that is ambiguous in a material provision cannot be accepted as responsive; and (3) a bid that is nonresponsive may not be corrected after bid opening to be made responsive since it would give the bidder the competitive advantage of choosing to accept or reject the contract after bids are exposed. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.