Entitlement to Relief for Mistake in Bid

The Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) requested reconsideration of a decision which held that a firm was entitled to relief for a mistake in its bid that was brought to the attention of FHwA after bid opening. FHwA refused to permit correction or withdrawal of the bid, and further contended that it had the right to determine whether the case was doubtful and should be referred to GAO. FHwA argued that GAO could not decide that the firm's bid should have been withdrawn, since the firm did not seek to have the bid withdrawn but only wished to correct the bid. GAO held that if the bidder only requested permission to correct a bid price, the bidder may be allowed to withdraw its bid if evidence was clear and convincing as to the mistake and correction was the relief requested. Although the regulations grant the authority to agencies to determine a mistake in bid cases, this does not preclude GAO from reviewing this determination as well as the agency's determination regarding the sufficiency of the bidder's evidence. Therefore, the prior decision was affirmed.