Claim by Rejected Bidder for Bid Preparation Costs

A firm protested the rejection of its telegraphic bid as untimely and sought bid preparation costs on the ground that the contracting officer refused to grant an extension of the bid opening time and failed to advise it that a bid received by telegraph would not be considered. It was determined that Standard Form 33A placed all prospective bidders on notice that telegraphic bids would not be considered unless authorized by the solicitation. There was nothing in the record that the protester could have reasonably construed as authorization for such a submission. The record further showed that the request for extension of the bid opening time was made 2 months after the solicitation was offered and the day before the bid opening date. Under the circumstances, there was no reason to believe that the contracting officer acted unreasonably or was guilty of administrative misconduct in discussions concerning either the question of the telegraphic bid or the request for extension of bid opening. Accordingly, the claim for bid preparation costs was denied.