REG Products, LLC

B-414638 Jul 03, 2017 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights REG Products, LLC, a small business, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, protests the award of a contract to NEIE Medical Waste Services, LLC, a small business, of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. VA241-17-Q-0196, which was issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs, for biomedical waste removal services. REG challenges the agency's determination that the protester submitted a non-compliant pricing quotation, and the evaluation of the protester's past performance. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  REG Products, LLC File:  B-414638 Date:  July 3, 2017 Joseph A. Whitcomb, Esq., Whitcomb, Selinsky, McAuliffe, PC, for the protester. Harold W. Askins III, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Evan D. Wesser, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the agency’s non-selection of the protester’s quotation is denied where the quotation lacked required pricing information. DECISION REG Products, LLC, a small business, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, protests the award of a contract to NEIE Medical Waste Services, LLC, a small business, of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. VA241-17-Q-0196, which was issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs, for biomedical waste removal services.  REG challenges the agency’s determination that the protester submitted a non-compliant pricing quotation, and the evaluation of the protester’s past performance. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFQ, which was issued on February 27, 2017, and subsequently amended three times, contemplated the award of a fixed-price contract with a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods.  RFQ at 1, 40.  Additionally, the RFQ incorporated Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, which provides that the agency may require continued performance of the contract for up to six additional months.  Id. at 19.  Relevant to the issues presented in REG’s protest, the RFQ instructed vendors that the agency would evaluate price by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement.  Id. at 44.  The RFQ directed vendors to propose contract line item number (CLIN) prices in the appropriate spaces for the CLINs set forth in RFQ Section B.4, Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs.  Id. at 43.  RFQ Section B.4 required vendors to propose pricing for 18 CLINs, comprised of 3 CLINs for the base year (CLINs 0001-0003), 3 CLINs for each option year (CLINs 1001-1003, 2001-2003, 3001-3003, and 4001-4003), and 3 CLINs for the FAR clause 52.217-8 option-to-extend period (CLINs 5001‑5003).  Id. at 10-16.  The RFQ advised vendors that “[f]ailure to provide all information and documents will render the offer noncompliant with the solicitation requirements and the Quoter will be eliminated from consideration.”  Id. at 45. On March 21, REG timely submitted a quotation in response to the RFQ.  While the protester proposed pricing for the base and option years (CLINs 0001-4003), REG did not propose any pricing information for the FAR clause 52.217-8 option-to-extend period (CLINs 5001-5003).  Agency Report, Tab 3, REG Quotation, Section 2 – Pricing, Price/Cost Schedule.  On April 18, the agency notified REG that NEIE’s quotation was selected for award at a total proposed price of $337,518.76, inclusive of the potential 6‑month option-to-extend period pursuant to FAR clause 52.217-8.  Protest, exh. B, Notice of Award, at 1.  The notice further advised that the pricing schedule in REG’s quotation was unacceptable because it failed to include pricing for CLINs 5001-5003, and included additional unauthorized line items.  Id. at 2.  The notice also indicated that the agency was unable to obtain any past performance information for REG.  Id.