BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

In the Matter of                  )
                                  )
the Appeal of                     )
                                  )
IDAHO BLUEPRINT & SUPPLY CO. INC. )   Docket No. GPOBCA 27-99
Program 1094-S                    )

DECISION DISMISSING APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

In a letter dated December 21, 1999, addressed to the GPO Board
of Contract Appeals (GPOBCA), the Idaho Blueprint & Supply Co.,
Inc. (IBS), sought to "appeal" a U.S. Government Printing Office
(GPO) contracting officer's decision to award Program 1094-S to
Copytyme Instant Printing.  IBS argues that the GPO improperly
evaluated the awardee's prompt payment discount and asks that the
Board reverse the contracting officer's decision.
The GPOBCA lacks jurisdiction to hear this bid protest.  Federal
Government contract appeals boards, as a rule, have no
jurisdiction over bid protests, but rather are limited to hearing
post-award disputes.  See Carolina Oil Distributing Co., Inc.,
ASBCA No. 48093, 95-2 BCA ¶ 27,797; Dill's Star Route, Inc.,
PSBCA No. 3699, 95-2 BCA ¶ 27,608; C & J Associates, VABCA No.
3924, 94-2 BCA ¶ 26,628.  This is especially true in this case,
since the GPOBCA is not a creature of statute, but rather derives
all of its powers from the "Disputes" clause of the contract
itself, and thus its jurisdiction is narrowly defined.  See
GraphicData, Inc., GPOBCA No. 35-94 (June 14, 1996), 1996 GPOBCA
LEXIS 28, 1996 WL 812875, slip op. at 57; R.C. Swanson Printing
and Typesetting Co., GPO BCA No. 15-90 (March 6, 1992), 1992
GPOBCA LEXIS 20, 1992 WL 382924, slip op. at 26-27; The Wessel
Co., Inc., GPO BCA No. 8-90 (February 28, 1992), 1992 GPOBCA
LEXIS 19, 1992 WL 487877, slip op. at 32; Automated Datatron,
Inc., GPO BCA No. 20-87 (March 31, 1989), 1989 GPOBCA LEXIS 44,
1989 WL 384973, slip op. at 4-5; Bay Printing, Inc., GPO BCA No.
16-85 (January 30, 1987), 1987 GPOBCA LEXIS 23, 1987 WL 228975,
slip op. at 9; Peak Printers, Inc., GPO BCA No. 12-85 (November
12, 1986), 1986 GPOBCA LEXIS 49, 1986 WL 181453, slip op. at 6.
As the Board interprets GPO Instruction 110.10C, Subject:
Establishment of the Board of Contract Appeals, dated September
17, 1984, and the jurisdictional provisions of its rules of
practice and procedure, see GPO Instruction 110.12A, Subject:
Board of Contract Appeals Rules of Practice and Procedure, dated
October 25, 1999, Preface to Rules, ¶ I (Jurisdiction), it sees
its authority as purely derivative and contractual, and has
consistently confined the exercise of its remedial powers to the
contract before it.  See GraphicData, Inc., supra, slip op. at
57; Shepard Printing, Inc., GPOBCA No. 37-92 (Jan. 28, 1994),
1994 GPOBCA LEXIS 37, 1994 WL 275077, slip op. at 9, fn. 8; Peak
Printers, Inc., supra, slip op. at 6.  See also Automated
Datatron, Inc., supra, slip op. at 4-5 ("The Public Printer has
not under the provision of paragraph 5 of GPO Instruction 110.10C
delegated authority to this Board to consider legal questions
existing outside the contract itself.").  Accord, Wehran
Engineering Corp., GSBCA No. 6055-NAFC, 84-3 BCA ¶ 17,614.
In summary, the jurisdiction of the Board is limited to appeals
from final decisions of contracting officers that relate to
contracts already awarded by GPO.  See GPO Instruction 110.10C,
Subject: Establishment of the Board of Contract Appeals, dated
September 17, 1984, ¶ 5.  Bid protests or objections regarding
the contract award process are not within the jurisdiction of the
Board.  Bid protests must be lodged either with the contracting
officer the head of the GPO contracting activity1, the General
Accounting Office (GAO), or the appropriate Federal court.  See
28 U.S.C. § 1491(b); Scanwell Lab., Inc. v. Shaffer, 424 F.2d 859
(D.C. Cir. 1970); GPO Instruction 305.7, Subject:  Protests
Against Award, dated May 6, 1998; GPO Printing Procurement
Regulation, GPO Publication 305.3, (Rev. 5-99), Chapter XV,
Section 2.
Therefore, this appeal is dismissed, with prejudice, for lack of
jurisdiction.

It is so Ordered.


December 28, 1999                  KERRY L. MILLER
Administrative Judge
_______________

1 Although the GPO regulation on bid protests allows interested
parties to request an independent review of their protest by the
head of the contracting activity and states that this review
"shall be available as an appeal of a contracting officer's
decision on a protest" the GPOBCA has been assigned no role in
this process.  See GPO Instruction 305.7, Subject: Protests
Against Award, dated May 6, 1998, ¶ 5(d)(4).