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Allegation That Bid Specification Is Restrictive

B-194845 Jul 19, 1979
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Highlights

The Bureau of Prisons issued an invitation for bids for the replacement of cell doors and locking devices for the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The bid of the protesting firm was rejected as nonresponsive because it did not conform to the specifications in the solicitation. The protester's objections to the specification's requirement for a cell door clutch mechanism filed after bid opening was untimely and not for consideration on the merits. The protest was denied. However, the descriptive literature clause in the solicitation which required literature to be fully illustrated and descriptive did not adequately advise bidders of the nature and extent of data required and did not comply with Federal Procurement Regulations (FPR). GAO recommended that the agency conform its descriptive literature provision to FPR and GAO decisions.

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