Dee Monbo, CPA

B-411899 Nov 13, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights W.P. Tax & Accounting Group, of Owings Mills, Maryland, a woman-owned small business, protests the award of a contract to Sowing Seeds of Success, Inc., of Houston, Texas, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 2015-Q-17006, which was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for payroll processing services. W.P. Tax challenges the agency's evaluation of its proposal as technically unacceptable. We sustain the protest. We sustain the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  W.P. Tax & Accounting Group File:  B-411899 Date:  November 13, 2015 Dee Monbo, for the protester. William B. Schultz, Esq., Dana J. Petti, Esq., and Scott C. Briles, Esq., Department of Health and Human Services, for the agency. Heather Weiner, Esq., and Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Under a solicitation for a fixed-priced contract, a protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of the protester’s quotation as technically unacceptable is sustained where the agency concluded that the protester’s low price created a risk of unsuccessful performance, but the solicitation lacked any evaluation criteria that reasonably would have put vendors on notice that the agency intended to consider the realism of vendors’ prices. DECISION W.P. Tax & Accounting Group, of Owings Mills, Maryland, a woman‑owned small business, protests the award of a contract to Sowing Seeds of Success, Inc., of Houston, Texas, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 2015-Q-17006, which was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for payroll processing services.  W.P. Tax challenges the agency’s evaluation of its proposal as technically unacceptable. We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND On February 19, 2015, the CDC posted the RFQ as a combined synopsis/solicitation under the commercial item procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6.  RFQ at 1.  The RFQ, which was set aside for women‑owned small businesses, sought payroll processing services for off-duty police officers in Atlanta, Georgia.  Specifically, the solicitation required that the contractor provide “all labor, tools, materials, equipment, and supervision, necessary to perform electronic payment services for approximately 40 to 100 Off‑Duty DeKalb County Police Officers on a bi-weekly basis” for security guards at federal facilities.  Id.  The solicitation contemplated the award of a fixed‑price contract, for a base year and four 1-year options.  Id. The RFQ provided for award on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable basis, considering two factors:  (1) technical capability, and (2) price.  Id. at 2.  In addition, the solicitation stated that vendors should submit past performance statements.  RFQ, Questions and Answers (Q&As), No. 10.  With regard to pricing, the solicitation specified only that vendors submit “the itemized price, separate pricing for a 12 month base period and four (4) 12 month option periods, prompt payment terms, . . . and descriptive literature of the product quoted.”  RFQ at 1-2.  The solicitation also included a statement of work (SOW), which set forth the duties and responsibilities for the contractor.  RFQ, SOW, at 1.  Specifically, the SOW explained that the Government would provide sufficient funds to the contractor for payment to the off-duty police officers by the Government, and for payroll services provided by the contractor.  Id.  The agency estimated that the cost of the officer salaries to be included in the contract award amount was $490,000 per year.  RFQ, Q&As, No. 11.  In addition, the SOW stated that the contractor would provide the agency with bi‑weekly reports detailing the amounts paid to the officers, as well as provide the agency with copies of the officers’ end of the year federal tax forms (Form W-2 and Form 1099).  Id. at 2.  The CDC received quotations from 36 vendors, including W.P. Tax and Sowing Seeds.  Contracting Officer (CO) Statement at 2.  W.P. Tax submitted the lowest‑priced quotation of $6,968, and Sowing Seeds submitted the second lowest‑priced quotation of $20,000.  AR, Tab 12, Summary of Negotiations, at 1-2.  After evaluating quotations, the agency rated W.P. Tax’s quotation unacceptable.  Id.  Specifically, the evaluators found as follows:  The Technical Proposal submitted by the lowest priced offeror,  W.P. Tax and Accounting Group, was evaluated . . . and considered unacceptable.  The level of effort proposed is extremely low for the requirements and deliverables listed in the Statement of Work. . . .  Not enough labor hours were bid for the work effort required by the SOW.  Id.