BNUMBER:  B-277705.2 
DATE:  October 31, 1997
TITLE: United States Department of Agriculture--Reconsideration, B-
277705.2, October 31, 1997
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Matter of:United States Department of Agriculture--Reconsideration

File:     B-277705.2

Date:October 31, 1997

Laurie Ristino, Esq., Department of Agriculture, for the agency.
Robert Arsenoff, Esq., and Paul I. Lieberman, Esq., Office of the 
General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.

DIGEST

Under General Accounting Office Bid Protest Regulations, reimbursement 
of protest costs may not be recommended in protests of sales 
contracts.

DECISION

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) requests a modification to our 
decision,  Cal-Tex Lumber Co., Inc., B-277705, Sept. 24, 1997, 97-2 
CPD  para.  87, in which we  sustained Cal-Tex's protest against the 
rejection of its bid in response to an advertisement for the 
"Compartment 32 Backyard Timber Sale" issued by the Forest Service.

In addition to recommending that the protester's bid be reinstated and 
award be made to Cal-Tex if otherwise appropriate, we recommended that 
the protester be reimbursed its costs of filing and pursuing the 
protest.

The Department of Agriculture questions the recommendation that 
Cal-Tex be reimbursed its protest costs, pointing out that our Bid 
Protest Regulations do not provide for recommending the payment of 
protest costs when protests of sales are involved.

We agree.  Our Regulations at 4 C.F.R.  sec.  21.13(b) (1997) provide that 
when we consider protests of sales, the provisions of 4 C.F.R.  sec.  
21.8(d), pertaining to recommendations for the payment of protest 
costs, do not apply.  Therefore, our recommended remedy should not 
have included protest costs.  Our decision is modified accordingly.

Comptroller General
of the United States