[Protest of GSA Rejection of Bid for Copiers]

A firm protested the General Service Administration's (GSA) rejection of its bid for copiers, contending that GSA: (1) could have addressed its failure to submit bid samples through discussions; (2) should have waived the sample requirement for certain models; and (3) unreasonably required samples and product testing. GAO held that GSA properly rejected the protester's bid, since: (1) bid samples clearly constituted a material part of the proposal necessary for technical evaluation; (2) GSA reasonably concluded that the protester's bid did not provide a basis for waiver; and (3) the protester untimely filed after bid opening its protest regarding solicitation improprieties. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part.