Sec. 24.4. Initial protests filed with the Bureau of Contracts

(a) An initial protest to the Bureau of Contracts must be in writing and must contain specifically enumerated factual and/or legal allegations, setting forth the basis on which the protesting party challenges the contract award by the public contracting entity.

(b) Time to file a protest.

(1) An interested party must file an initial protest with the Bureau of Contracts within 10 business days of receiving notice of the contract award which it seeks to challenge or, if a debriefing has been requested by the interested party, within 5 business days of the debriefing, whichever is later.

(2) If the interested party is not provided notice of the contract award, the interested party may file a protest with the Bureau of Contracts at any time after the contract award and prior to the Comptroller’s final action on the contract.

(3) In the case of a protest related to a procurement that resulted in contract awards to multiple successful bidders, the interested party must file such protest with the Bureau of Contracts prior to the Comptroller’s final action on any contract award related to that procurement.

(c) Service and delivery.

(1) The protesting party must simultaneously deliver a copy of the protest to the public contracting entity and the successful bidder, and shall provide evidence of such delivery, either by showing that an electronic copy has been provided, or by attaching to the protest an affirmation in writing as to such delivery. If the protesting party does not know the identity of the successful bidder, the protesting party shall so state in its protest and the public contracting entity shall provide the successful bidder with a copy of the protest.

(2) In the case of a protest related to a procurement that resulted in contract awards to multiple successful bidders, the Bureau of Contracts shall determine whether any of the successful bidders would be affected by the outcome of the protest and, thus, whether any of the successful bidders should be provided with a copy of the protest and an opportunity to respond.

(d) Answers to the protest.

(1) The public contracting entity may file an answer to the protest with the Bureau of Contracts simultaneously with the delivery of the contract to the Bureau of Contracts for its review, or within seven business days of the filing of the protest, whichever is later. The public contracting entity’s answer should address all factual and legal allegations contained in the protest. A copy of the public contracting entity’s answer shall be simultaneously delivered to the protesting party and the successful bidder, and the public contracting entity shall provide evidence of such delivery, either by showing that an electronic copy has been provided, or by attaching to the answer an affirmation in writing as to such delivery.

(2) If there are multiple successful bidders, the public contracting entity shall deliver a copy of its answer to the successful bidders at the direction of the Bureau of Contracts.

(3) The successful bidder may file an answer to the protest with the Bureau of Contracts no later than the date that the public contracting entity is required to file its answer. If the successful bidder chooses to file an answer, it must simultaneously deliver a copy of such answer to the public contracting entity and the protesting party, and provide evidence of such delivery, either by showing that an electronic copy has been provided, or by attaching to the answer an affirmation in writing as to such delivery.

(e) Protesting party’s reply.

(1) The protesting party may, but is not required to, file a reply to the answer of the public contracting entity and the successful bidder. Such reply shall be filed with the Bureau of Contracts no later than three business days after the date that the public contracting entity’s answer is filed.

(2) A copy of such reply shall be simultaneously delivered to the public contracting entity and the successful bidder and the protesting party shall provide evidence of such delivery, either by showing that an electronic copy has been provided, or by attaching to the reply an affirmation in writing as to such delivery.

(3) If there are multiple successful bidders, the protesting party shall deliver a copy of its reply to the successful bidders at the direction of the Bureau of Contracts.

(f) The protesting party’s reply, if submitted, shall constitute the final submission permitted as of right under this section. The Bureau of Contracts is not required to consider any additional filings or any materials submitted beyond those filings specifically set forth in this section in rendering its determination of the protest.

(g) Upon its own initiative, or upon request of any participant in the protest process, the Bureau of Contracts may in its sole discretion act on an expedited basis, in which case the Bureau of Contracts will advise all participants in writing of filing deadlines.

(h) The Bureau of Contracts may summarily deny a protest that fails to contain specifically enumerated factual or legal allegations that set forth the basis on which the protesting party challenges the contract award, or where the protest raises only issues of law that have previously been decided by the courts or by the Bureau of Contracts.

(i) The Bureau of Contracts may, in its sole discretion and for good cause shown, waive any deadline set forth in this section.

(j) Where appropriate, the Bureau of Contracts may require the public contracting entity, the protesting party, the successful bidder, or any other interested party, to address additional issues identified by the Bureau of Contracts and submit further information regarding the procurement.

(k) Nothing herein shall preclude the Bureau of Contracts from obtaining information relevant to the procurement from any outside source, as it deems appropriate. Reliance on outside source information, if any, will be identified by the Bureau of Contracts in its written determination.

(l) The Bureau of Contracts shall issue a written determination, contemporaneously with its final action on the contract, addressing the issues raised by the protest. The determination shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Bureau of Contracts shall provide a copy of the determination to all participants in the protest and the successful bidder. The determination shall be made part of the procurement record.