[Protest of VA Contract Award for Custodial Services]

A firm protested a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contract award for custodial services, contending that: (1) VA opened the bids late; (2) VA failed to properly display the solicitation amendments; (3) VA failed to permit it to inspect the bids at bid opening; (4) VA improperly permitted the awardee to correct a mistake in its bid; and (5) the awardee's bid had expired. GAO held that: (1) the protester's contention that VA opened bids late had no merit, since VA was authorized to decide the time for bid opening; (2) the protester failed to present any evidence that the bidders failed to acknowledge the solicitation amendments; (3) the protester was not prejudiced by VA refusal to allow it to examine the bids at bid opening, since VA subsequently allowed it to examine the bids; (4) VA reasonably permitted the awardee to correct its bid mistake, since the erroneous unit price was inconsistent with the awardee's pricing scheme and the intended bid price was obvious; and (5) the awardee timely extended its bid acceptance period beyond its original expiration date. Accordingly, the protest was denied.