Insufficient again

[Nick Hughes]

pass - pass - 1C - 1S -

West bid 1H. North pointed out this was insufficient.
West replaced 1H with 1NT.

1NT - 2S - ?

East called the director. What should happen then?
(I'll put this in the next ABDA Bulletin)

[Gidi]

My answer:
1NT is not a comparable call. East must pass for the rest of the auction.
I suggest that a negative double by West (showing 4H) would have been a comparable call, allowing East to continue bidding.

[Matthew McManus]

West has made an insufficient bid. It has not been accepted, so:
i) provided it is not conventional, they can replace it with a bid at the lowest sufficient level that shows the same denomination as the insufficient bid. (Assuming they are playing standard methods, this would be 2H); OR
ii) they can replace it with a call that is comparable to the insufficient bid. In general terms this means a call that has the same meaning or conveys similar information as the insufficient bid. For instance, if a negative double in this sequence would always promise four hearts.

If they chose either of these, then the auction continues without further penalty.

Otherwise, they must substitute any legal bid or pass (not Double). Whatever action they take, East must pass for the remainder of the auction.