[Protest of Air Force Contract Award for Centrifugal Chillers]

A firm protested an Air Force contract award for centrifugal chillers, contending that the solicitation: (1) was unnecessarily restrictive of competition; and (2) contained an unreasonable delivery schedule. GAO held that: (1) any alleged solicitation improprieties must be protested prior to bid opening; (2) the protest was untimely filed because GAO received it more than 10 days after bid opening; and (3) although the protester orally protested the procurement prior to bid opening, the oral complaint did not constitute a timely protest. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.