[Protest of Rejection of Bid as Nonresponsive]

A firm protested the rejection of its bid as nonresponsive under an Army invitation for bids (IFB) for weapon components. The IFB included source control drawings specifying approved items and vendors, a separate certification clause for the offerer to acknowledge compliance with these specifications, and a warning that failure to complete the acknowledgment would result in a bid's being found nonresponsive. The protester failed to complete the certification acknowledgment and asserted that, by submitting a bid without qualification, it bound itself to comply with the source requirement. The Army stated that the certification clause was included to avoid delays and additional costs that would result if it had to evaluate products not approved prior to bid opening. GAO agreed that the notes on the drawings did not limit the bidder to sources approved prior to bid opening and found that the agency acted properly in rejecting the bid. Accordingly, the protest was denied.