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The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has upheld the Internal Revenue Service’s award of a $37 million information technology support contract to IgniteAction LLC, denying a protest from incumbent contractor Reston Consulting Group Inc.

The GAO’s decision confirms that the IRS reasonably evaluated the strengths of both competing businesses in its best-value selection process. While Reston had argued that its $43.5 million proposal demonstrated stronger staffing and transition capabilities, the GAO found no grounds to sustain the protest, emphasizing that the agency had properly credited Reston’s qualifications while also assessing the awardee’s proposal fairly.

According to the GAO, the Navy, involved in reviewing technical aspects of the proposals, acknowledged that Reston’s shorter transition plan and committed personnel presented advantages but determined that these did not justify additional strengths beyond the “high confidence” rating already assigned.

“Where, as here, the agency reasonably considered and positively credited an aspect of the protester's quotation, we see no basis to disturb the judgment of the agency that this quotation feature did not warrant more significance,” the GAO stated in its August 1 decision.

The IRS issued a request for quotations in February to holders of an infrastructure operations support services blanket purchase agreement, evaluating proposals based on management approach, transition plan, and price. All four offerors received “high confidence” ratings under nonprice factors, with price considered in the final selection when technical ratings were comparable.

Ultimately, the agency concluded that paying a $6.17 million, or 14%, premium for Reston’s technical advantages was not justified, underscoring the essence of a best-value trade-off in government contracting.

Representatives for Reston, the IRS, and IgniteAction participated in the proceedings. GAO attorneys Michael Willems and Evan D. Wesser prepared the decision. Reston was represented by Haynes Boone LLP, the IRS by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and IgniteAction by Blank Rome LLP.