Complaint Against the Cancellation of an Invitation for Bids

A firm filed a complaint against the cancellation of an invitation for bids issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for construction work financed pursuant to an annual contributions contract (ACC). The grantee determined that, under the solicitation, any partial bid or lump sum bid was unreasonbly priced or limited by the contract requirements; therefore, the grantee canceled the solicitation and resolicited. The complainant contended that: (1) awards should have been made to the low bidders on each of the individual schedules and that the grantee and HUD were estopped from relying on the statutorily imposed cost limitation as a justification for canceling the solicitation; (2) the grantee should have negotiated with each of the low bidders on the individual schedules to bring their prices down to an acceptable level. GAO maintained that, since the cost limitation was imposed on the grantee by its ACC with HUD, the requirement was not subject to waiver by the grantee. Any such waiver would have to be made by HUD officials, and this they did not have the authority to do. GAO also found that the complainant failed to recognize that, in an advertised procurement, only voluntary and unsolicited price reductions may be accepted from the otherwise successful bidder. The negotiation or solicitation of lower offers is not permissible. Accordingly, the complaint was denied.