Acciona CMS JV, LLC (B-422744.2)

You should not care.

Category: Solicitation terms

Date: 19 December 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-422744.2

Acciona CMS JV, LLC, filed a preaward protest of the Navy’s solicitation requiring all offerors to register with the Spanish Ministry of Finance to obtain certification of financial and technical capabilities. Acciona argued the requirement was unduly restrictive, discriminatory against US firms, and that the compliance timeline was insufficient.

GAO rejected these arguments. It found the registration requirement valid under the US-Spain Agreement on Defense Cooperation, which mandates compliance with Spanish government regulations for US military contracts in Spain. GAO also upheld the Navy’s extended sixteen-week compliance timeline as reasonable, noting the agency conducted market research and provided multiple deadline extensions. Acciona’s own delayed efforts to comply with the requirement further weakened its case.

GAO concluded that the solicitation’s requirements were necessary to meet international obligations and that the agency provided sufficient time for compliance. Protest denied.

Digest

1. Protest challenging the solicitation’s requirement that all offerors register with the Spanish Ministry of Finance to obtain certification regarding their financial and technical capability is denied where protester expressly acknowledges that the solicitation provision is required by the U.S.-Spain Agreement on Defense Cooperation.
2. Protester’s assertion that the solicitation fails to provide adequate time to comply with the registration requirements is denied where the agency has granted multiple extensions of the deadline for compliance and protester delayed its efforts to comply with the requirement.