Updated April 25, 2025
RiverNorth, Inc., a small business of Sterling, Virginia, protests the elimination of its quotation under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 12SAD225Q0001, issued by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for program support to various USDA missions, including farm production and conservation. The protester argues that the agency’s decision to eliminate its quotation for failing to comply with the solicitation’s font size requirements was (1) unreasonable and contrary to the terms of the solicitation, (2) improper because it resulted from a latent ambiguity with the terms of the solicitation, (3) unfair because USDA treated vendors unequally when it allowed another vendor to correct an error with its quotation through discussions but did not also hold discussions with the protester, and (4) contrary to applicable procurement regulations because the agency was required to obtain a certificate of the protester’s competency from the Small Business Administration (SBA) before eliminating its quotation and the agency failed to do so.
We deny the protest.
See The Full Decision Document Here.
FI Consulting, Inc. (FIC), a small business of Arlington, Virginia, protests the elimination of its quotation under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 12SAD225Q0001, issued by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for program support to various USDA missions, including farm production and conservation. The protester argues that the agency improperly eliminated its quotation based on ambiguous solicitation formatting instructions and in the alternative, the agency should have waived the protester’s failure to follow solicitation instructions as a minor informality.
We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part.
See The Full Decision Document Here.
Updated April 18, 2025
Solicitation Number: 12SAD225Q0001
Agency: Department of Agriculture : Rural Development Administration
Protester: FI Consulting, Inc.
File number: B-423274.1
Outcome: Denied
Decision Date: Apr 11, 2025
Protester: RiverNorth, Inc.
File number: B-423274.2
Outcome: Denied
Decision Date: Apr 18, 2025
OS AI Note: Don’t see a name for this requirement. OrangeSlices relies on authoritative data. If we cannot say with 100% certainty what the program is, we do not include it. Do you know what it is? Want to help the community out – comment below.
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