Protest Involving Affirmative Determination of Responsibility

A firm protested the award of a contract by the Department of the Army for the repair and maintenance of an energy management and control system. The firm contended that the awardee did not comply with the contract requirements that the successful bidder must have a certified manufacturer's representative on its staff. The record showed that the solicitation contained a section detailing the types of services to be performed and the specific tasks which comprised those services. Additionally, the solicitation stated that the service personnel employed by the contractor must be certified by the manufacturer's representative to maintain the completely installed energy management and control system. GAO does not review affirmative determinations of responsibility except in cases where actions by procuring officials are tantamount to fraud or where definitive responsibility criteria have not been met. The provisions of the solicitation stating how and by whom the work was to be accomplished were performance requirements. They were not definitive responsibility criteria. Since the protest did not concern definitive responsibility criteria and since the protester had not contended that the actions of the agency were tantamount to fraud, GAO would not review the protest. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.