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B-185546 1 (1976-07-09)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaddbe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 0LER I q THE COMPTROL.ER GENERAL ,DECISION ~OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548 FILE: B-185546 DATE: July 9, 1976 1 MATTER OF: ITT Telecommunications Division DIGEST: Where offeror agrees, in best and final offer, to assist procuring activity in obtaining French Government approval of telephone system installa- tion and solicitation stated it was contractor's responsibility to obtain such approval, rejection of offer was proper as best and final offer changed relationship and obligations of parties and, there- fore, varied terms and conditions of solicitation. International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Telecom- munications Division (ITT), has protested to our Office the rejection of its proposal under request for proposals (RFP) No. ST 75-37, issued by the Department of State and the subsequent award of a contract to Western Electric Co., Inc. (Western Electric). The RFP was for the furnishing and installation of a PABX telephone switching system at the Department of State's Chancery Building, Paris, France. ITT submitted the lowest priced proposal, but the contracting officer determined to reject ITT's proposal because of technical shortcomings in two areas. While the report to our Office from the State Department on the protest repeatedly uses the term nonresponsive as the basis for the rejection of ITT's proposal, we assume what is meant is that the proposal was technically unacceptable. As our Office has stated on numerous occasions, the concept of responsiveness is inappropriate when used in the context of a negotiated procurement due to the inherent flexibility of negotiation which requires discussions with all offerors within the competitive range. 51 Comp. Gen. 565, 570 (1972) and Unidynamics/St. Louis, Inc., B-181130, August 19, 1974, 74-2 CPD 107. The first area of ITT's proposal which was found unacceptable dealt with the requirement that the French Government approve the .'equipment furnished and installed. This requirement was added to the RFP by amendment 3 which read, in part, as follows: - 1 -

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