Peacock, Myers & Adams, B-279327, March 24, 1998

B-279327 Mar 24, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest is dismissed as untimely filed where sent by facsimile transmission. General Accounting Office time/date stamp and other records indicate protest was received after 5:30 p.m. Or should have known. Whichever is earlier. Challenging a procurement conducted on the basis of competitive proposals under which a debriefing is requested and. Is required. Must be filed not later than 10 days after the date on which the debriefing is held in order to be timely. 4 C.F.R. During which Peacock was apprised of the information underlying its protest grounds. The DOE argues that the protest was untimely. Since our records show that the protest was time/date stamped as received on February 24 at 7:17 a.m. View Decision Matter of: Peacock, Myers & Adams File: B-279327 Date: March 24, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Peacock, Myers & Adams protests the Department of Energy's (DOE) evaluation of the firm's proposal, and the award of multiple contracts to other offerors, under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-RP02-97CH10887, for patent preparation and prosecution services. We dismiss the protest as untimely filed. Our Bid Protest Regulations contain strict rules for the timely submission of protests. Under these rules, a protest based on other than alleged improprieties in a solicitation must be filed not later than 10 calendar days after the protester knew, or should have known, of the basis for protest, whichever is earlier; however, a protest, such as here, challenging a procurement conducted on the basis of competitive proposals under which a debriefing is requested and, when requested, is required, must be filed not later than 10 days after the date on which the debriefing is held in order to be timely. 4 C.F.R. Sec. 21.2(a)(2) (1997); Professional Rehabilitation Consultants, Inc., B-275871, Feb. 28, 1997, 97-1 CPD Para. 94 at 2. The DOE conducted a debriefing with Peacock on February 11, 1998, during which Peacock was apprised of the information underlying its protest grounds. Peacock contends that it then timely filed its protest with our Office on February 23, the tenth day after the debriefing, at approximately 5:28 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) by facsimile (fax) transmission. However, the DOE argues that the protest was untimely, since our records show that the protest was time/date stamped as received on February 24 at 7:17 a.m., the eleventh day after the debriefing. The DOE further notes that the faxed protest was marked by Peacock's own fax machine with the notation "02/23/98 15:31" on the last (signature) page of the protest; according to the DOE, this indicates receipt of the last page by our Office on February 23 at 3:31 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST), or 5:31 p.m. EST. The DOE maintains that because the last page of the protest was received by our Office after our 5:30 p.m. EST closing time, it was properly time/date stamped as received on February 24. The protester responds that its fax machine time/date mark should not be considered accurate evidence of receipt of the protest because the fax clock was checked on March 4 against the Department of Commerce's Boulder Laboratories atomic time internet site (http://www.bdlrdoc.gov/doc-tour/atomic_clock.html) and found to be approximately 3 minutes fast. Thus, according to the protester, its fax time/date mark "which indicated that the last page [of the protest] was received at 3:31 p.m. should have actually stated 3:28 p.m. [MST]," thus indicating timely receipt before close of business in our Office at 5:30 EST p.m. on February 23. Further, the protester asserts that we should consider evidence of the wristwatch time of contemporaneous witnesses (employees of the protester) who either transmitted the protest or observed the fax transmission, which indicates that the "transmission [was] completed prior to 5:30 p.m. [EST]." In this regard, the protester has submitted three employee affidavits stating that the fax transmission of the protest was completed at "3:27 p.m. [MST]," "minutes prior to 3:30 p.m. [MST]," and "before the half-hour (3:30 p.m.) [MST]." A protest is considered "filed" on a particular day under our rules when it is received by our Office by 5:30 p.m. EST on that day. 4 C.F.R. Sec. 21.0(g). We require that the entire text of a protest be received prior to this deadline in order for the protest to be timely. See Computer One, Inc.--Recon., B-249352.7, Sept. 27, 1993, 93-2 CPD Para. 185 at 2-3 n. 1. Generally, to determine when a protest was filed in our Office we rely on our time/date stamp, unless there is other evidence to show actual earlier receipt. Balimoy Mfg. Co., Inc.--Recon., B-250672.2, Mar. 10, 1993, 93-1 CPD Para. 220 at 4. There is no viable evidence showing timely receipt. Peacock's assertion that its fax time clock was 3 minutes fast and that transmission was completed minutes before 5:30 p.m.