A firm protested any Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contract award to another firm for navigation equipment modification kits, contending that FAA improperly: (1) rejected its bid, which lacked descriptive material; and (2) considered another firm's descriptive material after bid opening. GAO held that FAA: (1) properly rejected the protester's bid as nonresponsive, since it failed to inclu...

Contracting agency properly rejected as nonresponsive bid offering alternative product where bid lacked descriptive material necessary to determine whether offered product was equal to brand name. Contracting agency improperly considered descriptive material furnished by bidder after bid opening where material was not commercially available before bid opening. The line item for the circuit boards...