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![handle is hein.gao/gaobadiyf0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL
DECISION . ] OF THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON. 0. C. 20548
FILE: B-185873 DATE: March 26, 1976
MATTER OF: Ames Color-File Corporation-r7
DIGEST:
Request for modification of contract price due to
alleged error in bid claimed after award cannot be
allowed since valid and binding contract resulted
when due to nature of suspected mistake contracting
officer adequately discharged bid verification duty
by calling to bidder's attention variance in bids
received and bidder verified bid.
On the basis of a mistake-in bid alleged after award, the
Ames Color-File Corporation (Ames) requests modification of its
contract awarded under jacket (IFB) No. 599-342, issued by the
United States Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D. C.
The IFB soliciting bids for the production of 100,000 expan-
sion type file folders with printing in one color was sent to 20
firms. Ames' bid of $6,900 was the lowest received-from the 4
firms responding at the January 13, 1976, bid opening. The remain-
ing bids received were: $10,500, $11,400 and $14,200. Since the
low bid was substantially less than the other bids received, on
January 14, 1976, the contracting officer requested that Ames
review the specifications and confirm its bid because it was sub-
stantially lower than any other bid. By letter dated January 14,
1976, Ames confirmed that its price of $6,900 (computed at the
rate of $69 per thousand) was correct. Consequently, the contract
was awarded to Ames on January 16, 1976.
On or about January 28, 1976, Ames claimed that its bid was
$3,080 less than intended due to an error-made in computing the
cost of paper required to be used under the contract. It stated
that the errors in computation and subsequent bid confirmation
resulted from confusion caused by the company's receipt of a
similar solicitation from the United States Army for one million
folders. Since the computations indicated that the Army solici-
tation could be performed at a cost of $68 per thousand, Ames
decided to increase this amount by one dollar per thousand for
the GPO invitation. After award, Ames alleges it discovered that
the GPO specifications called for 18 pt. stock paper rather than
the 11 pt. stock paper required by the Army solicitation. Ames
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