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The protester’s quotation was eliminated because it included its company logo, which violated the solicitation;s prohibition on pictures with text. It claimed FAR section 14.405 required the agency to waive the failure as a minor informality. GAO concluded the FAR section 14.405 was inapplicable because it only applied to sealed bidding procedures under FAR part 14.
FI Consulting, Inc., GAO B-423274
- Protest – The agency rejected the protester’s quotation because, contrary to the solicitation, it contained the protester’s logo with text. The protester objected to the elimination of its quotation. The protester argued that the solicitation contained a latent ambiguity regarding format, and even if it wasn’t ambiguous, the agency should have waived the logo snafu as a minor informality.
- Latent Ambiguity – The protester claimed the solicitation instructions for pictures were ambiguous. Specifically, the formatting instructions that prohibit pictures with text did not apply to company logos because the inclusion of its company name did not include text that the agency would review as part of the evaluation GAO noted the agency clarified the requirement during the Q&A process when it explained “[d]o not include branding information as a picture if it includes text.” Hence, GAO rejected the argument.
- Waiver – The protester also argued the agency should have waived the failure as a minor informality under FAR section 14.405. It claimed that including its company logo on the quotation cover pages did not permit it to have more space for quotation content than other vendors. GAO found the protester’s reliance on FAR section 14.405 was misplaced. The provision applies to sealed bidding procedures under FAR part 14 therefore making it inapplicable to this procurement. Thus, the protest was denied.
Devon E. Hewitt and Matthew L. Nicholson of Potomac Law Group, PLLC represented the protester, and Adam Humphries of the Department of Agriculture represented the agency. Janis R. Millete and John Sorrenti of GAO participated in preparing the decision.
— Case summary by Joshua Lim, Assistant Editor.
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