[Protest of Issuance of Navy Purchase Order]

A firm protested the Navy's issuance of a purchase order for two interfaces, contending that: (1) the Navy failed to act on its request for information which prevented it from responding to the synopsis of requirements properly; and (2) the Navy failed to evaluate its devices properly. GAO noted that: (1) the Navy's Commerce Business Daily (CBD) synopsis for the purchase of the interfaces required that the equipment be Air Force Intelligence Service (AFIS) certified and provided for the consideration of equivalent devices; (2) the Navy discovered that the purchase order was unsigned and ordered the awardee to disregard it so that the protester's equipment description could be reviewed; and (3) the Navy found the protester's equipment lacked AFIS certification. GAO found that: (1) the CBD notice expressly called for a 30 day response period; (2) any protest based on the Navy's failure to provide information should have been filed within 10 working days after the basis of protest was known; and (3) the protest was not filed until 1 month after the proposal acceptance date and was, therefore, untimely filed. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.