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B-191629 1 (1978-05-08)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadgav0001 and id is 1 raw text is: DECIUION rn GL 4. . 4..!- NITLO FILE: 8-191629 TI IN COMPTROLLER GWNWRAL OF THEUNITED MTATLUS WAsK-INTON. D.C. 10540 DATE: *y 8, 1978 MATTER OF: Swedlow, Inc. DIGEST: 1. There is no legal basis t%. preclude or disturb contract award merely because low bidder may have submitted below-cost bid. 2. GftO does not review protests of affirmative determination of responsibility except in cases of fraud or misapplication of de- finitive responsibility criteria set forth in solicitation. Swedlow, Inc.' (Swedlow) protests any award to,the low bidder made by the Navy Ships Parts Control Center, tMechanicaburg, Pennsylvania under invitation for bids (IFB) N00104-78-B-0281. The bases of the protest are that: (1) the low bid is less than the base cost of the stretched acrylic requiredby the specifications; (2) a coating is required which is available only from three sources and the low bidder I .s not one of the sources; di' (3) the low bidder has not received any prior .:wards for the bid item. In essence, Swedlow all :ges that the low bidder's price is insufficient for contract completion and that the company may not understand the IFB specifications. With regard to the allegation that the low bidder's bid is unreasonably low, we have repeatedlr held that the mere fact that a bidder may have submitted a below-cost bid does not constitute a legal basis for precluding or disturbing a contract award. B-178928, July 17, 1973; 50 Comp. Gen. 788 (1971)..q To the extent that of the inability of the the protest low bidder iaises the issue 'to perform the 4p.1I I 4 I