Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed four Internal Revenue Service (IRS) automatic data processing (ADP) procurement issues, focusing on: (1) its procedures for noncompetitively awarding a contract for its Electronic Filing System; (2) its agreement to pay $15,000 to the contractor for withdrawing a bid protest; (3) whether the contractor's services under a prior ADP contract were within the contract's scope; and (4) whether requests for proposals for the Treasury Multiuser Acquisition Contract (TMAC) and Integrated Collection System (ICS) limited competition.
GAO found that: (1) IRS did not comply with procurement regulations when it allowed the contractor to begin performing Electronic Filing System services without a written contract, before notifying other bidders, and without proper approval; (2) IRS improperly agreed to pay $15,000 to the contractor for withdrawing a bid protest, since the protester had no reasonable basis for concluding that IRS had unfairly excluded it from competition; (3) the contractor's services under a prior ADP procurement were within the contract's scope; (4) IRS achieved full and open competition under the TMAC and ICS procurements; and (5) noncompliance with ADP procurement procedures indicated that IRS lacked adequate internal controls.
