Zeva Incorporated (B-423013; B-423013.2)

You should not care.

Category: Unacceptable proposal, standing

Date: 2 January 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423013%2Cb-423013.2

Zeva Incorporated, a small business, protested the Department of the Treasury's issuance of a task order to BruckEdwards, Inc. under an RFQ for technical support services to implement secure personal identity verification (PIV) credentials for IRS personnel. GAO dismissed the protest, finding that Zeva was not an interested party because it failed to contest a key deficiency that rendered its quotation technically unacceptable.

Unchallenged deficiencies: Zeva's quote was found unacceptable due to several deficiencies, including failing to meet the qualifications for a key personnel position, the HSPD-12 subject matter expert. Zeva did not raise timely objections to this specific deficiency, which independently disqualified its quotation.

Material requirement compliance: GAO reiterated that failure to meet material solicitation requirements, such as providing qualified key personnel, renders a quote unawardable.

Interested party standard: As Zeva’s quote would remain ineligible even if other protest arguments were sustained, it lacked the direct economic interest to maintain its protest.

GAO dismissed the protest, emphasizing the importance of challenging all evaluation findings that could affect a offeror’s eligibility.

Digest

Protester is not an interested party to challenge the issuance of a task order where the protester fails to challenge a deficiency that led to its quotation being evaluated as technically unacceptable and therefore ineligible for award.