Protest of Bid Rejection as Nonresponsive

A company protested the rejection of its bid as nonresponsive because the company enclosed a cover letter with its bid requesting that it be allowed to withdraw its bid if it was the successful bidder on another government contract. The company contended that this letter was enclosed with the bid upon advice from agency personnel. Procurement regulations provide that bids are to be rejected when a bidder, where not authorized by the solicitation, qualifies his offer by stipulating that the bid is to be considered only if he does not receive an award under a separate procurement. Since the solicitation did not authorize such a qualification, the company's bid had to be read as taking exception to solicitation requirements and, therefore, was nonresponsive. Further, the company's contention that it was misled by agency personnel in enclosing the cover letter which led to the rejection of its bid was without merit since the solicitation provided that oral explanations were not binding. Erroneous advice given by personnel cannot act to estop the agency from rejecting a nonresponsive bid. Accordingly, the protest was denied.