Oransi, LLC

B-412061 Dec 02, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Oransi, LLC, of Austin, Texas, protests the award of a contract to Export 220Volt Inc., of Houston Texas, under an unnumbered request for quotations (RFQ) issued by the Department of State (DOS) for 450 air purifiers and 350 replacement filters for the United States Embassy in Beijing, China. Oransi argues that the awardee's air purifier does not meet the solicitation requirements, that the awardee will not deliver the items in its quotation, and that the awardee's pricing is improper. We dismiss the protest in part, and deny it in part. We dismiss the protest in part, and deny it in part. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Oransi, LLC File:  B-412061 Date:  December 2, 2015 Stephen A. Aguilar, Esq., and Richard Ressler, Esq., Moster, Wynne & Ressler, P.C., for the protester. Morgan L. Cosby, Esq., and Tudo N. Pham, Esq., Department of State, for the agency. Paul N. Wengert, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest is denied where the record shows that the agency reasonably evaluated the awardee’s lowest-priced quotation as technically acceptable, and where the award was thus reasonable and consistent with criteria in the solicitation.  DECISION Oransi, LLC, of Austin, Texas, protests the award of a contract to Export 220Volt Inc., of Houston Texas, under an unnumbered request for quotations (RFQ) issued by the Department of State (DOS) for 450 air purifiers and 350 replacement filters for the United States Embassy in Beijing, China.[1]  Oransi argues that the awardee’s air purifier does not meet the solicitation requirements, that the awardee will not deliver the items in its quotation, and that the awardee’s pricing is improper.  We dismiss the protest in part, and deny it in part.  BACKGROUND The contracting officer issued the RFQ as an e-mail to selected firms including Oransi and Export 220Volt, seeking quotations to supply air purifiers and replacement filters.  The RFQ e-mail stated that award would be made to the firm that submitted the lowest-priced quotation for a product that met or exceeded the specifications.  RFQ E-mail at 1.  Accordingly, the RFQ included a set of minimum requirements, including the following:   “AHAM Verified” (www.aham.org) Clean Air Delivery Rate of at least 300 for tobacco smoke.[2] 220V *  *  * Units with multiple filters must require only one type of filter. . . . *  *  * If it has a built-in ionization function, it must meet ozone emission standards as set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of < 0.050 parts per million through tests outlined in UL [Underwriters Laboratories] Standard 867 Section 37.1.20. RFQ E-mail, specifications attach., at 1.  The contracting officer received eight quotations from six vendors, including quotations from both Oransi and Export 220Volt.  Contracting Officer’s Statement at 1.  Oransi’s quotation offered a choice of two models, the lower-priced of which was its Oransi Erik Air Purifier EJ120.  Supplemental AR, exh. 4, Oransi Quotation, at 12.[3]  As specified in the RFQ, Oransi quoted prices for the air purifiers, replacement filters, shipping, and any applicable value-added tax (VAT), which resulted in a total price of $208,450.  Id. Export 220Volt’s quotation proposed to supply the “Blueair 503” model air purifier.  AR, Tab 4, Export 220Volt Quotation, at 1.  Export 220Volt also provided prices for its air purifier, replacement filters, shipping, and VAT, for a total price of $207,700.  Id. at 1. As relevant to the protest issues, the Export 220Volt quotation stated that the proposed air purifier model was “AHAM Verified,” had a clean air delivery rate of 375 for tobacco smoke, operated on 220v power, and met the specific ozone emission requirement.  Id. at 2.  The quotation also referred to Blueair product literature, which provided more information about the air purifiers and filters.  Id. With respect to the filters, the product brochure described two types:  a “particle filter” and a “SmokeStop filter.”  Id.