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Protest of Manufactured Part Being Removed From Approved Items List

B-194393 Published: Sep 05, 1979. Publicly Released: Sep 05, 1979.
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Highlights

A company protested the award of a contract, contending that its product was removed from the approved items list because of deficiencies without notice to the company. The company asserted that it had supplied the product to the Government under previous contracts and that it never received a notice of unsatisfactory material. Furthermore, it believed it should have been given an opportunity to correct any defects in the products it previously supplied and that it was entitled to notice of those defects. The record showed that the Government specifications were inadequate to assure that an item manufactured in accordance with the specification requirements would meet the Government's needs. It was held that no notice need be given to the manufacturer that the product has been removed from the approved items list when the defects are due to Government specification deficiencies and the manufacturer's product conforms to those specifications. The manufacturer does not submit a technically acceptable proposal merely by offering to supply parts previously provided in prior solicitations; the parts must not only meet technical specifications but must also have performed in a technically acceptable manner. Also, it is not improper to remove the manufacturer's part from the approved items list and to procure the item on a source-controlled basis where it is shown that adequate specifications do not exist for competitive procurement purposes. Accordingly, the protest was denied.

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