Chapter 32 - Protest Procedures

As part of its effort to make technology procurements smarter, faster and better, VITA discourages frivolous protests and encourages objective fair dealing with its suppliers. Toward that end, VITA works with customer agencies to establish and maintain procedures for identifying frivolous protests. VITA will determine in its opinion, if a protest is frivolous. A frivolous protest is one that VITA determines has no valid basis for complaint, such as a protest directed at the procurement outcome or successful supplier instead of the procurement process itself. After VITA identifies a protest as frivolous and notifies the protesting supplier that its protest has been deemed frivolous, the supplier is allowed to withdraw any frivolous protest within five days of such notification by VITA.

Any supplier who has filed more than two (2) frivolous protests during any preceding twenty four (24) - month period (which were not later withdrawn by the supplier after being identified as frivolous by VITA) may be required to post a bond as a condition precedent to filing another protest. The bond shall be payable to VITA in an amount equal to the value of the contract sought to be procured. The bond shall be for an indeterminate period to cover the duration of the protest and conditioned to provide VITA indemnification for the direct and consequential costs, damages and expenses arising out of the protest filing, including but not limited to, VITA’s costs for processing the protest, delaying the contract award and litigation (including attorney’s fees).