Protest Alleging Awardee's Bid Was Received Late and Should Not Have Been Considered

A firm protested the award of a contract alleging that the awardee's bid was received late and should not have been considered for award. The bid was received at the contracting agency's mail handling facility on the day of bid opening and stamped with that date. However, delivery to the contracting activity was delayed until the following day because it was past the time for bid opening. Upon delivery, the contracting activity stamped the date and time of receipt on the bid envelope. The contracting activity deemed the bid acceptable in accordance with the late bid clause contained in the invitation for bids, which states that a late bid will be considered for award if it is determined that the late receipt was due solely to mishandling by the Government after its receipt at the Government installation. In this case the only evidence of receipt maintained by the installation was the date/time stamp of the contracting activity and the date on the document used to record the receipt of special mail. There was no record to indicate that the bid was received at the installation prior to bid opening. This evidence did not establish that the late receipt was caused by Government mishandling after the receipt of bids. GAO found that the awardee's contract should be terminated and the protester's bid should be considered. Accordingly, the protest was sustained.