Protest Alleging IFB Favors Incumbent Contractor

A company protested the award of any contract under two separate invitations for bids (IFB's). The company contended that the IFB's favored the incumbent contractor by permitting the furnishing of used equipment without setting a maximum age limit on the equipment a bidder could offer, thereby affording the incumbent contractor a lifetime contract. In response, GAO stated that specifications which allow the furnishing of used equipment without any age limitation are not unduly restrictive of competition, since specifications merely prescribe the minimum standards to which articles required by the Government must conform. Since the agency determined that no age limit was required for the equipment, setting forth a specified age for used equipment would have resulted in the Government exceeding its minimum requirements. Accordingly, the protests were summarily denied.