Request for Reconsideration

A company requested reconsideration of a GAO decision which denied the company's request for reformation of contract due to a mistake in its bid which was discovered after the award of the contract. The company contended that the contracting officer was aware of the mistake in the Government estimate when requesting verification of the company's low bid. An amendment to the solicitation changing the electrical wiring requirements greatly increased the contract price and made the original Government estimate obsolete. GAO determined that, once the contracting officer suspects a mistake in the bid and properly executes his verification duty, the burden falls upon the bidder to review the bid and ensure that its bid computations are correct. The subsequent acceptance of a verified bid consummates a valid and binding contract. In this case, the company was given the opportunity to review its bid and decide whether it made an error. The only remaining basis upon which relief may be granted is if, despite verification, the mistake in the bid was so gross that the contracting officer knew that the Government was obviously getting something for nothing. GAO determined that it cannot be said that the Government realized it would be getting something for nothing. Accordingly, GAO affirmed its prior decision.