RGI, Inc., B-280005, August 17, 1998

B-280005 Aug 17, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Where proposal sent via United States Postal Service Express Mail Second Day Service is received by contracting agency after time for receipt of proposals stated in solicitation. Proposal is late and must be rejected. Providing that an offer "received at the office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt" shall not be considered unless it was received before contract award and. Either: (1) was sent by "U.S. Or (2) there is "acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the activity designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt of offers. Was signed for by a USPS employee. /1/ However. View Decision Matter of: RGI, Inc. File: B-280005 Date: August 17, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION RGI, Inc. protests the rejection of its proposal as late under request for proposals (RFP) No. DAKF40-97-R-0032, issued by the Department of the Army for the operation of learning, language, and testing centers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. We deny the protest. The RFP, as amended, established as the closing time for receipt of proposals 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on April 16, 1998, Amendment No. 0006 at 2, and instructed offerors to "Address Offer To . . . Directorate of Contracting; Bldg 1-1333, Room 107; Corner of Macomb & Armistead Sts; Fort Bragg NC 28307." RFP Cover Sheet, Item 8. In addition, the solicitation included the standard instructions to offerors clause, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 52.215-1, providing that an offer "received at the office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt" shall not be considered unless it was received before contract award and, as relevant here, either: (1) was sent by "U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day Service-Post Office to Addressee, not later than 5:00 p.m. at the place of mailing two working days prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals," FAR Sec. 52.215-1(c)(3)(i)(C); or (2) there is "acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the activity designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt of offers," and "accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the procurement." FAR Sec. 52.215-1(c)(3)(i)(E). The record indicates that RGI correctly addressed and labeled its offer package and sent the package by United States Postal Service (USPS) Express Mail Second Day (not Next Day) Delivery at 1:17 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 1998. The offer package arrived at the USPS Fort Bragg Post Office at 12:13 p.m. on April 15, and was signed for by a USPS employee. /1/ However, when the Army mail clerk for the Directorate of Contracting made a daily mail call at the Fort Bragg Post Office on Thursday, April 16, at 9:30 a.m., prior to the 3 p.m. closing time for receipt of proposals, RGI's offer package was not in the mail handed to the Army clerk. Statement from Army Mail/File Clerk, undated. /2/ As a result, RGI's offer was not among the several proposals received by the closing time of 3 p.m. on April 16. Contracting Officer's Statement, at 1. Thereafter, when the Army mail clerk made the mail call at the Fort Bragg Post Office at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 17, RGI's offer package was handed to the Army clerk. Statement from Army Mail/File Clerk, Apr. 20, 1998. The Army clerk signed for the package at 2:20 p.m., as indicated on the USPS mailing label, and delivered it to the contracting division, where it was time/date stamped as received at 2:54 p.m. on April 17. Because the offer was received after the closing date, it was not opened and was rejected as late by the contracting officer, who determined that none of the exceptions for consideration of late offers (as provided for in FAR Sec. 52.215-1(c)(3)(i)) applied. Contracting Officer's Determination of Late Proposal, at 2-3. The USPS has acknowledged that it failed to follow the standard procedure for processing express mail for customer pickup, that is, it failed to place either a notification slip regarding the express mail package, or the package itself, in the Directorate of Contracting's postal drawer upon receipt of RGI's express mail package on April 15. Contracting Officer's Statement, at 1; Contracting Officer's Determination of Late Proposal, at 1; Statement from Army Mail/File Clerk, Apr. 20, 1998. Instead, according to the branch manager of the Fort Bragg Post Office, "a notification slip was not placed in the [postal drawer] until the morning of April 17, 1998." Statement from Branch Manager, Fort Bragg Post Office, May 13, 1998.