Alleged Improper Bidding Procedures

A firm protested the award of a Forest Service timber sales contract on the basis of a provision in the Forest Service Manual regarding timber sales in the Pacific Northwest Region where the contract was awarded. The firm alleged improper bidding procedures were allowed at a sales auction conducted among bidders who submitted written bids and who desired to participate in the auction. During the auction the awardee decreased its oral bid price on one of the timber species offered. This decrease was not below its original written bid price, and the resulting aggregate price bid by the awardee on all species was greater than the previous aggregate price it had bid. The auction participants made no objection to this manner of bidding. The awardee entered a counter protest against cancellation of the sale. The Forest Service believes that the Secretary of Agriculture has the authority to reject all bids, that the protest provision of the Forest Service Manual must be given due consideration, and that to permit bidding in the manner that occurred would be prejudicial to other bidders by creating confusion in the bidding process. GAO maintained that all bids may be canceled and a procurement resolicited only if a compelling reason for doing so exists. A compelling reason is one which shows that bidders were prejudiced by the defective procedure, and that competition was affected. The manner of bidding in this case had no effect on competition in that it was not objected to by the participants, and it did not stop participation in the auction; GAO found that no prejudice occurred. While GAO appreciated the Forest Service's concern in having its auction policy followed, to do so at this time would emphasize form over substance. The awardee's protest was sustained and the protester's was denied.