[Protests of Army Contract Awards for Ski Equipment]

B-224022,B-224027,B-224027.2,B-224028,B-224582.2: Jan 5, 1987

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Two firms protested Army contract awards for ski equipment, contending that: (1) the Army improperly rejected their proposals as technically unacceptable; (2) the specifications were defective; and (3) the Army did not use the same criteria to evaluate their bids as it did to evaluate the awardee's. The first protester also contended that the Army should have procured the skis under its mandatory Federal Supply Schedule contract. GAO held that: (1) the Army was not required to procure the skis under the schedule, since it found skis at lower prices; (2) the portion of the protest alleging unfair treatment and solicitation defects was untimely filed; (3) it would not review the evaluations, absent proof that the Army acted unreasonably or violated procurement statutes and regulations, since the protesters failed to comply with the solicitation requirements; (4) the Army unreasonably eliminated the protesters from the competitive range by not allowing them to provide samples; and (5) the Army unreasonably evaluated the protesters' technical proposals without explanation or discussions. Accordingly, the protests were sustained in part and denied in part.