NAG Marine (N6449824R4016)

B-422899 Dec 12, 2024 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights NAG, LLC, doing business as NAG Marine of Norfolk, Virginia, protests its exclusion from consideration for award under request for proposals (RFP) No. N6449824R4016 issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Warfare Center, for engineering and technical services required for repair station consoles. The protester contends that the agency should have accepted its proposal because the delay in submission was due to a system failure of the agency's web-based tool designated for electronic submission of proposals. 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: NAG Marine File: B-422899 Date: December 12, 2024 Jonathan D. Shaffer, Esq., and John Tanner, Esq., Haynes and Boone, LLP, for the protester. H. Richard Bauer, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Janis R. Millete, Esq., and John Sorrenti, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging agency’s decision to reject the protester’s proposal as late is denied where the proposal was not timely received by the agency in a manner consistent with the terms of the solicitation and there is no evidence of systemic failure of the web-based tool authorized for electronic submission of proposals. DECISION NAG, LLC, doing business as NAG Marine of Norfolk, Virginia, protests its exclusion from consideration for award under request for proposals (RFP) No. N6449824R4016 issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Warfare Center, for engineering and technical services required for repair station consoles. The protester contends that the agency should have accepted its proposal because the delay in submission was due to a system failure of the agency’s web-based tool designated for electronic submission of proposals. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The Navy issued the solicitation on July 1, 2024, and sought proposals for the acquisition of “engineering and technical services required for the design, development, fabrication, test, repair, delivery and fleet implementation of Repair Station Console[s] (RSC).” Agency Report (AR), attach. 1, RFP at 2, 20;[1] Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 3; Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 1. The RFP contemplated award of a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with resulting fixed-price task orders. RFP at 4. The solicitation required proposals to be submitted electronically through the Department of Defense secure access file exchange (DOD SAFE).[2] RFP at 174-175. Proposals were due by 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 26, 2024. Id. at 3. As relevant here, the RFP stated: DoD SAFE supports individual file sizes up to 8GB. . . . When offers are submitted via DoD SAFE, the Government will receive an automated message stating that the file has been “Dropped-Off.” An offer uploaded (“Dropped-Off”) to DoD SAFE is considered to be timely when this automatic system-generated notification email is received by the designated Contracting Officer prior to the due date/time set for receipt of offers. Late submissions will be treated [in accordance with] [Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)] [provision] 52.212-1(f) or 52.215-1(c)(3)(ii)(A). . . . Offerors are reminded to be mindful of the due date/time set for receipt of offers.[3] Id. at 174-175. The RFP included the website address for DOD SAFE as well as a link to a website that contained additional information on DOD SAFE. Id. The RFP also included FAR provision 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition, which provided instructions for proposal submissions. Id. at 184-185. As relevant here, the provision provided that: Any proposal, modification, or revision received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and – (1) If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; or (2) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers[] Id.