[Protest of VA Delivery Order for Digital Dictation System]

A firm protested a Veterans Administration (VA) contract award for a digital dictation system, contending that VA: (1) awarded the contract to a higher bidder without justification; (2) used restrictive specifications to favor the awardee; and (3) failed to properly approve a deviation from a VA standard specification. GAO held that: (1) VA reasonably determined that the protester's offered product could not meet three salient requirements; (2) the protester untimely protested after bid opening the allegedly restrictive specifications and, in any case, VA justified the need for the more restrictive specifications; and (3) the protester was not prejudiced by the alleged procedural failure. Accordingly, the protest was denied.