[Protest of Air Force Decision To Permit Correction in Low Bid]

A firm protested the decision by the Air Force to permit a bidder to correct a mistake in its apparent low bid submitted in response to a solicitation for improvements to base housing. The bidder informed the contracting officer that it had made mistakes in computing the costs of both labor and material, so it submitted worksheets, an estimator's affidavit, and other statements to clarify its errors. The protester alleged that allowing the bidder to change its bid after opening would ruin competitive bidding. GAO held that the protester failed to show that the bidder did not provide clear and convincing evidence as to the mistakes that were made, the manner in which they occurred, and the intended bid price. Further, GAO determined that the bidder complied with the rule that does not permit bid correction to include factors that the bidder did not have in mind when the bid was submitted, because the bidder considered the factor in question and prepared figures before bid opening that could be extrapolated to show what the bid would have been in the absence of the error. Accordingly, the protest was denied.