Below Cost Bidding.  There is no prohibition against submitting a below-cost bid or proposal for a fixed-price contract (K.G. Inc. and Ventura Petroleum Servs.).  Even if a bidder bases its price on rates below those specified in a wage determination the bidder is still eligible for award as long as the Service Contract Act wages are not violated.  Though protesters frequently argue a contractor cannot perform at the low price which should adversely affect the contractor’s responsibility rating, the Board ruled responsibility determinations come under the discretion of the agency but is not, in itself, cause for reversal (Ocean House Builders).

Lost or Late Bids.  If all or portions of a bid are lost after being received by the agency, there is generally no relief for the bidder even if they complied with all the solicitation’s submission requirements.  The exception to this general rule is where it can be demonstrated that the loss was not an isolated incident but was part of a systematic failure by the agency or a deliberate effort to exclude the offeror (American Material Handling, Inc.).  Standard solicitation language in FAR 52,215-1 previously permitted agencies to consider late proposals sent by mail if the late receipt was due primarily to Government mishandling.  The Comptroller General said this rule should apply to commercial items under FAR Part 12 as well even if the FAR clause was not included (Russo & Sons, Inc.).  The Comptroller General further ruled that in simplified acquisitions where specific late quotation provisions are absent and merely call for a “due date”, an agency normally should consider any quotation received before the selection decision if no substantial activity has transpired in evaluating quotations (RMG Indus. Sales).  (Editor’s Note.  We should remind our readers that a 1999 amendment to FAR Parts 14, 15 and 52 under FAC 97-14 eliminated “mishandling” as a criteria of accepting late bids or offers and substituted acceptable evidence establishing the offer was received at the government installation and was under control by the government.)

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