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B-185566 1 (1976-05-19)

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                              THE  COMPTROLLER GENERAL
 DECISION                   * OF   THE UNITED         STATES
                              WASHINGTON, O.C. 20548




 FILE:  B-185566                     DATE:  May 19, 1976

 MATTER OF:      Sycor, Inc.


 DIGEST:

     Prior decision holding that when 120-day offer
     acceptance period expired, request for second
     round of best and final offers was not objection-
     able where contracting officer determines that
     due to changed economic conditions (decline in prime
     interest rate) original offers may result in unrealis-
     tic pricing is affirmed.


     Sycor, Inc. (Sycor), has requested reconsideration of our
decision B-185566, April 27, 1976, which denied Sycor's protest
against the reopening of price negotiations by the Defense Supply
Agency under request for proposals No. DSAHOO-75-R-0055.

     Our prior decision held that where the 120-day offer acceptance
period had expired and cost and technical evaluations had not been
completed, a request by the contracting officer for a second round
of best and final offers because changed economic conditions may
result in unrealistic pricing was not objectionable.

     Sycor's request for reconsideration is based on public state-
ments reflecting positions taken in our decisions to the effect that
additional rounds of best and final offers should be called for in
negotiated procurements only for valid reasons and not simply in
the expectation that successive rounds may reduce prices. See, for
example, ILC Dover, B-182104, November 29, 1974, 74-2 CPD 11 301, and
B-176283, February 5, 1973. In this case, we found--and remain of
the view--that the lengthy offer acceptance period and the change
in the economic climate evidenced by a decline in the prime interest
rate justified an additional round. The contracting officer did not
request a new round of best and final offers merely on the hope of
reducing prices but on the belief that the original offers represented
unrealistic pricing in terms of the current situation.

     Therefore, we affirm our prior decision.



                     Deputy   Comptroller General
                              of the United States


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