Failure To Verify Erroneous Bid

The agency requested advice on the propriety of a proposed rescission of a sales contract due to a mistake in bid. Since the bid price on the contract item was approximately 100 percent higher than the current market price and since the contracting officer was aware that the item purchased was totally unrelated to the bidder's business, the contracting officer should have been on notice of the possibility of a mistake in bid. Since the contracting officer did not obtain verification of the bid prior to award, rescission of the contract as recommended by the agency was allowed.