GAO Finds Brand Name Procurement Impermissible

Peckar & Abramson – Competition is a fundamental principle of federal procurements. The Government is not permitted to limit a procurement to brand name items unless the particular brand name product or service has a feature that is essential to the Government’s requirements and the Government’s market research indicates that other companies’ similar products or services lack that essential feature, do not meet the agency’s needs, and cannot be modified to meet the agency’s needs. Any decision to limit a procurement to a brand name must be supported by a Justification & Approval (J&A).