[Protest of NOAA Contract Award for All-Terrain Vehicles]

A firm protested a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contract award for all-terrain tracked vehicles, contending that the awardee had not met the sales requirement for the items. GAO held that: (1) NOAA unreasonably determined that the awardee's bid was technically acceptable, since the awardee did not indicate whether the four units sold were the same model it was offering or were sold within the past 24 months as the solicitation required; (2) there were fundamental differences between the models sold and the models offered; and (3) NOAA improperly made award to the awardee, since its bid was technically unacceptable. Accordingly, the protest was sustained and GAO recommended that NOAA: (1) terminate the awardee's contract and make award to the protester, if feasible; and (2) reimburse the protester for its protest costs.