B-136008, MAY 8, 1958
Highlights
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: REFERENCE IS MADE TO LETTER OF APRIL 30. SEVEN OTHER BIDS WERE RECEIVED. THE RECORD SHOWS THAT WHEN BIDS WERE OPENED ON APRIL 22. EXAMINED THE CONTRACTING OFFICER NOTED THAT THE BID FROM HALLIDAY LITHOGRAPH CORPORATION WAS FAR OUT OF LINE WITH THE OTHER BIDS AND WITH THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE ESTIMATE OF $1. THE CORPORATION ADVISED THE CONTRACTING OFFICER BY TELEGRAM OF THE SAME DAY THAT ITS BID WAS IN ERROR AND THAT ITS PRICE FOR THIS WORK SHOULD BE $2. STATED THAT IN COMPUTING THE COST OF THIS WORK HIS BINDING ESTIMATE WAS NOT EXTENDED PROPERLY AND TRUCKING CHARGES TO NEW YORK CITY WERE OMITTED. FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON HIS WORK SHEET WAS TYPED WITHOUT BEING CHECKED.
B-136008, MAY 8, 1958
TO HONORABLE RAYMOND BLATTENBERGER, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:
REFERENCE IS MADE TO LETTER OF APRIL 30, 1958, FROM THE ACTING PUBLIC PRINTER, WITH ENCLOSURES, REQUESTING A DECISION AS TO WHETHER THE BID DATED APRIL 15, 1958, FROM HALLIDAY LITHOGRAPH CORPORATION, WEST HANOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, MAY BE DISREGARDED BECAUSE OF AN ALLEGED ERROR IN THE BID.
ON APRIL 8, 1958, THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE REQUESTED BIDS, UNDER JACKET NO. 459916, FOR THE PRODUCTION OF 3,500 SMYTH SEWED CASE BOUND BOOKS, SIZE 5 1/8 BY 7 3/4 INCHES, CONTAINING 216 PAGES. IN RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION, HALLIDAY LITHOGRAPH CORPORATION SUBMITTED A BID DATED APRIL 15, 1958, OFFERING TO FURNISH THE 3,500 BOOKS FOR A LOT PRICE OF $567. SEVEN OTHER BIDS WERE RECEIVED, RANGING FROM $1,260 TO $2,380.
THE RECORD SHOWS THAT WHEN BIDS WERE OPENED ON APRIL 22, 1958, AND EXAMINED THE CONTRACTING OFFICER NOTED THAT THE BID FROM HALLIDAY LITHOGRAPH CORPORATION WAS FAR OUT OF LINE WITH THE OTHER BIDS AND WITH THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE ESTIMATE OF $1,569.42 FOR THE WORK. IN THE BELIEF THAT AN ERROR EXISTED IN THE BID FROM HALLIDAY LITHOGRAPH CORPORATION, THE CONTRACTING OFFICER BY TELEGRAM OF APRIL 23, 1958, REQUESTED THE BIDDER TO REVIEW THE SPECIFICATIONS AND TO CONFIRM ITS BID PRICE.
THE CORPORATION ADVISED THE CONTRACTING OFFICER BY TELEGRAM OF THE SAME DAY THAT ITS BID WAS IN ERROR AND THAT ITS PRICE FOR THIS WORK SHOULD BE $2,057 INSTEAD OF THE $567 QUOTED. IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 24, 1958, MR. RUSSEL HALLIDAY, TREASURER, CONFIRMED THE ALLEGATION OF ERROR IN THE CORPORATION'S BID, AND STATED THAT IN COMPUTING THE COST OF THIS WORK HIS BINDING ESTIMATE WAS NOT EXTENDED PROPERLY AND TRUCKING CHARGES TO NEW YORK CITY WERE OMITTED, AND FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON HIS WORK SHEET WAS TYPED WITHOUT BEING CHECKED. IN SUPPORT OF THE ALLEGATION OF ERROR, MR. RUSSELL FORWARDED HIS PENCIL ESTIMATE SHEET SHOWING HIS ORIGINAL FIGURES AND A RECOMPUTATION WHICH INCLUDES A CORRECTION OF THE BINDING COST AND AN AMOUNT FOR TRUCKING CHARGES, AND A LETTER DATED APRIL 11, 1958, TO THE BIDDER FROM ATWOOD BOOKBINDING CO., INC., OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK, WHICH CONTAINS A QUOTATION ON THIS WORK OFFERING TO BIND THE BOOKS AT A RATE OF $0.42 PER BOOK.
THE RECORD LEAVES NO DOUBT THAT THE CORPORATION MADE AN ERROR IN ITS BID AS ALLEGED. ACCORDINGLY, SINCE THE CONTRACTING OFFICER BELIEVED THAT THE LOW BID OF HALLIDAY LITHOGRAPH CORPORATION WAS ERRONEOUS AND SUCH BELIEF WAS CONFIRMED AND THE ERROR EXPLAINED BY THE BIDDER PRIOR TO AWARD, ITS BID MAY BE DISREGARDED.
THE PAPERS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE BIDDER, ARE RETURNED.