Protest of Marine Corps RFP

A firm protested what it viewed as an attempt by the U.S. Marine Corps to improperly restrict competition as evidenced by an amendment to its request for proposals. The amendment required benchmarking to establish compatibility with host computer systems. The Marine Corps stated that the amendment was necessary to assure that the required capability could be provided. The protester argued that its equipment had been commercially available for years and has been successfully installed elsewhere. As the amendment was issued after receipt of initial proposals, the protester viewed the amendment and attendant benchmarking expense as imposing an undue financial burden on it as a small business. Unwilling to undertake the expense, the protester refused to conduct the benchmark and, instead, asked the Marine Corps to waive the requirement. The protester lodged its protest more than 10 working days after being told during a briefing that its proposal was rejected because it had failed to perform the benchmark. It was required to file a protest with GAO or the Marine Corps within 10 working days after the initial debriefing. The need for the benchmark requirement is not a question of general interest to the procurement community which has not been considered previously and, therefore, does not fall under the significant issue exeception to timeliness requirements. The protest was dismissed as untimely.