TITLE: B-298859, Squires Timber Company, December 1, 2006
BNUMBER: B-298859
DATE: December 1, 2006
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B-298859, Squires Timber Company, December 1, 2006

   Decision

   Matter of: Squires Timber Company

   File: B-298859

   Date: December 1, 2006

   Tommy L. Norris for the protester.

   Lori Polin Jones, Esq., Department of Agriculture, for the agency.

   Edward Goldstein, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the
   General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.

   DIGEST

   Protester's high timber sale bid was improperly rejected based on
   discrepancy between minimum advertised rate for particular species of
   timber and rate actually bid; since discrepancy is clearly negligible,
   protester's bid is responsive and pricing defect may be corrected as minor
   informality.

   DECISION

   Squires Timber Company protests the rejection of its bid as nonresponsive
   under the solicitation for the Devil's Club Timber Sale, conducted by the
   Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.

   We sustain the protest.

   The solicitation called for sealed bids offering to purchase various
   species of government-owned timber. Minimum acceptable rates were set
   forth for each species. For white oak sawtimber, the minimum acceptable
   rate was set at $33.22 per unit with an estimated quantity of 71 ccf
   (hundred cubic feet). Bids were opened on September 12, 2006, and Squires
   was the high bidder with an overall bid of $184,051.68. Winslow-Bateman
   Forestry was the second high bidder at $123,968.31. The agency noted,
   however, that Squires had bid only $26.09 per unit for the white oak
   sawtimber portion of the sale. Since this bid was below the minimum
   acceptable rate, the contracting officer rejected Squires' bid as
   nonresponsive and made award to Winslow-Bateman.

   Squires claims that it intended to bid the required minimum for all
   species, and that its bid on the white oak sawtimber was the result of an
   arithmetic error in calculating its price which it should be permitted to
   correct.

   Although, as a general rule, a bid must be rejected as nonresponsive where
   it does not strictly conform to the solicitation's terms and conditions,
   this rule does not apply to deviations which are immaterial or matters of
   form rather than substance. We have held that where the discrepancy
   between the minimum advertised rate for a particular species of timber and
   the rate actually bid is clearly "negligible," the discrepancy may be
   viewed as a minor informality and the pricing defect may be corrected.
   Building By Thrift, Inc., B-215036, June 28, 1984, 84-1 CPD para. 691; W-1
   Forest Prods., Inc., B-204168.2, Feb. 17, 1982, 82-1 CPD para. 138.

   In this case, we conclude that the discrepancy between Squires' bid of
   $26.09 per unit of white oak sawtimber and the specified minimum of $33.22
   per unit (a difference of $7.13 per unit) is negligible. Squires' bid
   would have been $506.23[1] higher (for a total bid of $184,557.91) had
   Squires bid the minimum rate for white oak--a discrepancy resulting in a
   0.275 percent increase in Squires' total bid. Moreover, since Squires was
   the high bidder by more than $60,000, and the $506.23 adjustment to
   Squires' bid is an upward adjustment, making Squires' price even more
   favorable to the government, there is no possibility that any other bidder
   would be prejudiced or that the integrity of the procurement process would
   be undermined by adjusting Squires' bid. Accordingly, we conclude that
   Squires' bid is responsive, that the $506.23 pricing defect can be
   corrected as a minor informality, and that Squires should therefore
   receive the award if otherwise eligible.

   Recommendation

   While the Devil's Club Timber Sale contract has already been awarded to
   Winslow-Bateman, the Forest Service has represented that performance has
   not begun. Accordingly, we recommend that the agency terminate the award
   to Winslow-Bateman, if feasible, and make award to Squires at its adjusted
   bid price if otherwise appropriate.[2]

   The protest is sustained.

   Gary L. Kepplinger

   General Counsel

   ------------------------

   [1] The $506.23 increase in Squires' bid is calculated by multiplying the
   estimated number of white oak units (71) by $7.13 (the difference between
   Squires' bid and the minimum acceptable bid rate for the white oak).

   [2] We considered this protest under 4 C.F.R. sect. 21.13(a) (2006)
   because the Forest Service has agreed to have protests of timber sales
   decided by our Office. When we consider protests of sales, the provisions
   of 4 C.F.R. sect. 21.8(d), pertaining to recommendations for the payment
   of protest costs, do not apply. 4 C.F.R. sect. 21.13(b).