Para 2.7.1 — CONSULT_MANUAL

CONSULT_MANUAL

2. Packaging, Bundling and Slicing: The procuring authority shall normally neither package nor divide its procurement or take any other action to limit competition among bidders or to avoid the necessity of obtaining the sanction of higher authority required with reference to the estimated value of the total demand.
Provided that in the interest of efficiency, economy, timely completion or supply, wider competition, or access to MSEs, a procuring authority may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, divide its procurement into appropriate packages, or club requirements of other users for procurement. Packaging of the contract and procurement planning should be done keeping in view the availability and possibility of eliciting the interest
2.7.1 Planning the Procurement 1. The Consultancy Services may be part of a larger project/ works in which there be other components of work, Goods or Non-consultancy services. Once a project or a program is identified, the Procuring Entity needs to develop synchronised procurement plan for all the various components of the project/programme. This will also require planning of the sequence and contents of the different components including this Consultancy Service, adoption of the most appropriate method of selection and type of contract and ensuring that selection of consultant is initiated and completed to in timely manner to meet the overall requirements of project implementation. For example, if a consultant is required for a large road project construction supervision, the entire sequence of preparation of the feasibility report, detailed design and bidding document, time required for inviting bids for construction work, and award of contract has to be considered so that the construction supervision consultant is mobilised before the award of the construction contract. Procurement planning is a crucial stage of decision-making in procurement planning for a better outcome and for VfM considerations.
Chapter 2: Need assessment and Procurement Planning of the qualified firms; effective competition for the type and size of the contract; and access to MSEs. For example, for a particular contract, material to be procured may constitute more than 50 (fifty) per cent of the total cost of works or there are services which are a mix of consultancy services with substantial element of goods, such as procurement of an IT system. Such procurement could be done as a single composite contract comprising all components or divided into separate procurements for each category of procurement. In all such situations, the dominant aspect of the requirement and value for money aspects of a composite allinclusive contract versus dividing the contract into respective categories should be carefully examined at the time of Need assessment/ Procurement Planning.
3. Eligibility for Participation in Tender: Determine and declare in documents, any limitation on participation of bidders as per the Government’s procurement policy regarding preference to certain sections of industry, if any. The procuring entity shall not establish any requirement aimed at limiting participation of bidders in the procurement process that discriminates against or amongst bidders or against any category thereof except to lay down a reasonable and justifiable eligibility or pre-qualification criteria for the bidders;
4. System of Tendering and Mode of procurement: a) Selection of a system of tendering (single/two stage; single/two bids; suitability for eprocurement or reverse auction); b) Select the mode of procurement (open tenders, limited tenders, single tenders, and so on);
5. Time Frame: Decisions on the timeframe for completing various stages of procurement, which should be declared in the pre-qualification/bidder registration or tender documents. The procuring entity should endeavour to adhere to the time limit so decided and record reasons for any modification of such limits; (Rule 144(ix), GFR 2017)
6. Annual Procurement plans: GFR 2017 [Rule 144 (x)] mandates that All Ministries/Departments shall prepare Annual Procurement Plan within 30 (thirty) days of Budget approval, before the commencement of the year and the same should also be placed on their website. Integrated annual procurement plan should be prepared for goods, works and services for the ensuing financial year based on the latest cost estimates, and realistic time schedule for procurement activities and contract implementation and thus schedule and stagger the procurements over the year with a view to ensure an even load on the procuring entity and the market and to co-ordinate matching procurements of Goods, Works, and Services for a project. The procuring entity may publish information regarding the planned procurement activities for the forthcoming year or years on the central public procurement portal and website/ e-Procurement portal used by the procuring entity with a caveat that such publication shall not be construed as initiation of a procurement process and cast any obligation on the procuring entity to issue the tender document or confer any right on prospective bidders.
7. Mitigating Cartel Formation: Need Assessment and Procurement Planning is the main stage where this menace can be addressed effectively: a) Inadequate competition, due to an inadequate number of service providers in the list/ panel of registered service providers, may empower bidders to conspire against the Procuring Entity: i) New firms may be encouraged to register themselves for the subject services. ii) Various services and activities in the Services and Activities Schedule may be reviewed so that more consultants/ service providers become eligible. Insisting on costly machinery to be used may reduce competition and encourage cartel formation. b) Processes, e.g., pre-bid conferences (where a considerable number of competing bidders come together on a platform), may facilitate such cartel formation. This may be avoided as far as feasible or be held only virtually. However, a pre-bid conference may be advantageous in the case of turnkey contract
(s) and sophisticated and costly equipment, large works, and complex service assignments, as detailed in para 5.5.3 below. c) Tendering similar Services and Activity Schedule with similar conditions, year on year, provides a stable conspiring environment for the bidders to come to an agreement for quoting prices and quantities. Therefore, the following action can be considered to vary quantity and conditions to make it difficult for cartels: i) Change the mode of procurement - OTE instead of LTE, or GTE instead of OTE; or bypass the pre-qualification stage and vice versa. ii) Change the packaging/slicing by clubbing/ slicing services/ activities in a tender. iii) Change the pre-qualification criteria, especially in the case of slicing/ packaging, to broaden the target bidders.
a) Legal status of the bidder: a natural person or a private entity or a public entity (State-owned enterprise or institution), a Joint Venture/ Consortium (an association of several persons, firms, or companies - hereinafter referred to as JV/C). b) Requirement of various registrations/ licences from various statutory authorities, required for the subject matter of procurement: GSTIN, PAN, EPF, ESI, Labour, Private Security Agencies (PASARA), etc. c) Submission of requisite Bid Security (or Bid Security Declaration, if allowed) or proof of exemption therefrom d) free from Financial insolvency, Debarment or Convictions; e) A consistent history of litigation or arbitration by the bidder may result in disqualification; f) free from ‘Conflict of Interest’ with other bidders, which may affect fair competition. g) Restriction on participation as per Government Policies: i) For Class-II Local Suppliers and Non-Local bidders as per the Make-in-India policy. ii) Any bidder from a country sharing a land border with India (but not in development partnership with India), or any bidder (including Indian) with a Specified Transfer of Technology (ToT) arrangement with such a country, shall be eligible subject to certain conditions.
Chapter 3: Participation of Bidders and Governance Issues 3.1 Eligibility Criteria for Participation in Tender Process 1. Normally participation in Tender Process should be open to all bidders. However, procuring entity should lay down ‘Eligibility’ criteria, based on requirement of the procurement and Government Policies. ‘Eligibility’ and ‘Qualification’ criteria (Experience; Performance and Financial Capabilities), are entirely different criteria and should not be mixed up. ‘Eligibility’ criteria regulate the participation of bidders in the Tender process, while ‘Qualification’ criteria are for evaluation of bidders for award of the contract. Bidder should meet the eligibility criteria as of the date of his bid submission (and should continue to meet these till the award of the contract) otherwise his bid would be rejected as non-responsive and would not be evaluated for award of contract. Bidder shall be required to declare fulfilment of Eligibility Criteria in his bid document. Some of the eligibility criteria is related to following issues (for details refer to relevant Model Tender Documents):
3.2 Legal Status of Bidders 3.2.1 Individual Persons 1. Individual consultants: Individual consultants are recruited for similar activities as Consultancy firms when a full team is not considered necessary. They may be independent experts not permanently associated with any particular firm, or they may be employees of a firm recruited on an individual basis. They may also be employees of an agency, institution, or university. They are normally recruited for project implementation supervision, training, provision of specific expert advice on a highly technical subject, policy guidance, special studies, compliance supervision, or implementation monitoring. Individual consultants are not normally recruited for project preparation unless the proposed project is simple and, generally, a repeat of an already established and successful project. If more than three experts are required, then the assignment should normally be undertaken by a team from a firm. As with firms, individual consultants are classed as either international or national, depending on their level of expertise and their international experience and exposure.
3.2.2 Private and Public Entities: 1. Consultancy Firms: The main source of consultants is Consultancy firms of diverse specializations that provide consultancy. Such firms are normally classified as either international – firms that have international experience and are capable of undertaking work at international level at international rates; or national – firms that may not have international exposure and normally undertake assignments only within that country, usually at significantly lower rates.
2. Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) There may be distinct advantage in use of Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Projects which emphasize experience in community participation and in-depth local knowledge – for example, Projects related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Government Social Initiatives like ‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyan’ etc.
3. Specialized Agencies and Institutions Specialized agencies or institutions (including Government/ Semi-Government agencies, universities, research, and professional institutions) may also from time to time be recruited to provide Consultancy services. These services may be provided by individuals (as discussed above) or by teams. Nonetheless, there are at times distinct advantages to using such agencies. Experts and teams from such agencies and institutions may undertake a variety of roles across the whole field of possible Consultancy services. These may range from project preparation through project supervision and policy advice to project benefit monitoring and evaluation.
2. Retired Government Servants: Rule 177 of GFR, 2017, says that the consulting services do not include direct engagement of retired Government servants. They should not be engaged as consultants against regular vacant posts under this rule. Such engagements should be handled as a personnel matter. As Consultants, retired Government servants can be hired/ engaged only for a specific task and for a specific duration. They should be assigned clear output related goals. For such engagements on a full-time basis (when they are not allowed to concurrently do any other assignment) on a monthly basis, their remuneration should be fixed as last pay drawn minus pension, as per extant DOPT guidelines. However, for part-time non-exclusive engagements, the Procuring Ministry/ department may fix remuneration on a per day/ month or lump-sum basis. Also refer to para 9.2-3)

CONSULT_MANUAL

2. Packaging, Bundling and Slicing: The procuring authority shall normally neither package nor divide its procurement or take any other action to limit competition among bidders or to avoid the necessity of obtaining the sanction of higher authority required with reference to the estimated value of the total demand.
Provided that in the interest of efficiency, economy, timely completion or supply, wider competition, or access to MSEs, a procuring authority may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, divide its procurement into appropriate packages, or club requirements of other users for procurement. Packaging of the contract and procurement planning should be done keeping in view the availability and possibility of eliciting the interest
2.7.1 Planning the Procurement 1. The Consultancy Services may be part of a larger project/ works in which there be other components of work, Goods or Non-consultancy services. Once a project or a program is identified, the Procuring Entity needs to develop synchronised procurement plan for all the various components of the project/programme. This will also require planning of the sequence and contents of the different components including this Consultancy Service, adoption of the most appropriate method of selection and type of contract and ensuring that selection of consultant is initiated and completed to in timely manner to meet the overall requirements of project implementation. For example, if a consultant is required for a large road project construction supervision, the entire sequence of preparation of the feasibility report, detailed design and bidding document, time required for inviting bids for construction work, and award of contract has to be considered so that the construction supervision consultant is mobilised before the award of the construction contract. Procurement planning is a crucial stage of decision-making in procurement planning for a better outcome and for VfM considerations.
Chapter 2: Need assessment and Procurement Planning of the qualified firms; effective competition for the type and size of the contract; and access to MSEs. For example, for a particular contract, material to be procured may constitute more than 50 (fifty) per cent of the total cost of works or there are services which are a mix of consultancy services with substantial element of goods, such as procurement of an IT system. Such procurement could be done as a single composite contract comprising all components or divided into separate procurements for each category of procurement. In all such situations, the dominant aspect of the requirement and value for money aspects of a composite allinclusive contract versus dividing the contract into respective categories should be carefully examined at the time of Need assessment/ Procurement Planning.
3. Eligibility for Participation in Tender: Determine and declare in documents, any limitation on participation of bidders as per the Government’s procurement policy regarding preference to certain sections of industry, if any. The procuring entity shall not establish any requirement aimed at limiting participation of bidders in the procurement process that discriminates against or amongst bidders or against any category thereof except to lay down a reasonable and justifiable eligibility or pre-qualification criteria for the bidders;
4. System of Tendering and Mode of procurement: a) Selection of a system of tendering (single/two stage; single/two bids; suitability for eprocurement or reverse auction); b) Select the mode of procurement (open tenders, limited tenders, single tenders, and so on);
5. Time Frame: Decisions on the timeframe for completing various stages of procurement, which should be declared in the pre-qualification/bidder registration or tender documents. The procuring entity should endeavour to adhere to the time limit so decided and record reasons for any modification of such limits; (Rule 144(ix), GFR 2017)
6. Annual Procurement plans: GFR 2017 [Rule 144 (x)] mandates that All Ministries/Departments shall prepare Annual Procurement Plan within 30 (thirty) days of Budget approval, before the commencement of the year and the same should also be placed on their website. Integrated annual procurement plan should be prepared for goods, works and services for the ensuing financial year based on the latest cost estimates, and realistic time schedule for procurement activities and contract implementation and thus schedule and stagger the procurements over the year with a view to ensure an even load on the procuring entity and the market and to co-ordinate matching procurements of Goods, Works, and Services for a project. The procuring entity may publish information regarding the planned procurement activities for the forthcoming year or years on the central public procurement portal and website/ e-Procurement portal used by the procuring entity with a caveat that such publication shall not be construed as initiation of a procurement process and cast any obligation on the procuring entity to issue the tender document or confer any right on prospective bidders.
7. Mitigating Cartel Formation: Need Assessment and Procurement Planning is the main stage where this menace can be addressed effectively: a) Inadequate competition, due to an inadequate number of service providers in the list/ panel of registered service providers, may empower bidders to conspire against the Procuring Entity: i) New firms may be encouraged to register themselves for the subject services. ii) Various services and activities in the Services and Activities Schedule may be reviewed so that more consultants/ service providers become eligible. Insisting on costly machinery to be used may reduce competition and encourage cartel formation. b) Processes, e.g., pre-bid conferences (where a considerable number of competing bidders come together on a platform), may facilitate such cartel formation. This may be avoided as far as feasible or be held only virtually. However, a pre-bid conference may be advantageous in the case of turnkey contract
(s) and sophisticated and costly equipment, large works, and complex service assignments, as detailed in para 5.5.3 below. c) Tendering similar Services and Activity Schedule with similar conditions, year on year, provides a stable conspiring environment for the bidders to come to an agreement for quoting prices and quantities. Therefore, the following action can be considered to vary quantity and conditions to make it difficult for cartels: i) Change the mode of procurement - OTE instead of LTE, or GTE instead of OTE; or bypass the pre-qualification stage and vice versa. ii) Change the packaging/slicing by clubbing/ slicing services/ activities in a tender. iii) Change the pre-qualification criteria, especially in the case of slicing/ packaging, to broaden the target bidders.
a) Legal status of the bidder: a natural person or a private entity or a public entity (State-owned enterprise or institution), a Joint Venture/ Consortium (an association of several persons, firms, or companies - hereinafter referred to as JV/C). b) Requirement of various registrations/ licences from various statutory authorities, required for the subject matter of procurement: GSTIN, PAN, EPF, ESI, Labour, Private Security Agencies (PASARA), etc. c) Submission of requisite Bid Security (or Bid Security Declaration, if allowed) or proof of exemption therefrom d) free from Financial insolvency, Debarment or Convictions; e) A consistent history of litigation or arbitration by the bidder may result in disqualification; f) free from ‘Conflict of Interest’ with other bidders, which may affect fair competition. g) Restriction on participation as per Government Policies: i) For Class-II Local Suppliers and Non-Local bidders as per the Make-in-India policy. ii) Any bidder from a country sharing a land border with India (but not in development partnership with India), or any bidder (including Indian) with a Specified Transfer of Technology (ToT) arrangement with such a country, shall be eligible subject to certain conditions.
Chapter 3: Participation of Bidders and Governance Issues 3.1 Eligibility Criteria for Participation in Tender Process 1. Normally participation in Tender Process should be open to all bidders. However, procuring entity should lay down ‘Eligibility’ criteria, based on requirement of the procurement and Government Policies. ‘Eligibility’ and ‘Qualification’ criteria (Experience; Performance and Financial Capabilities), are entirely different criteria and should not be mixed up. ‘Eligibility’ criteria regulate the participation of bidders in the Tender process, while ‘Qualification’ criteria are for evaluation of bidders for award of the contract. Bidder should meet the eligibility criteria as of the date of his bid submission (and should continue to meet these till the award of the contract) otherwise his bid would be rejected as non-responsive and would not be evaluated for award of contract. Bidder shall be required to declare fulfilment of Eligibility Criteria in his bid document. Some of the eligibility criteria is related to following issues (for details refer to relevant Model Tender Documents):
3.2 Legal Status of Bidders 3.2.1 Individual Persons 1. Individual consultants: Individual consultants are recruited for similar activities as Consultancy firms when a full team is not considered necessary. They may be independent experts not permanently associated with any particular firm, or they may be employees of a firm recruited on an individual basis. They may also be employees of an agency, institution, or university. They are normally recruited for project implementation supervision, training, provision of specific expert advice on a highly technical subject, policy guidance, special studies, compliance supervision, or implementation monitoring. Individual consultants are not normally recruited for project preparation unless the proposed project is simple and, generally, a repeat of an already established and successful project. If more than three experts are required, then the assignment should normally be undertaken by a team from a firm. As with firms, individual consultants are classed as either international or national, depending on their level of expertise and their international experience and exposure.
3.2.2 Private and Public Entities: 1. Consultancy Firms: The main source of consultants is Consultancy firms of diverse specializations that provide consultancy. Such firms are normally classified as either international – firms that have international experience and are capable of undertaking work at international level at international rates; or national – firms that may not have international exposure and normally undertake assignments only within that country, usually at significantly lower rates.
2. Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) There may be distinct advantage in use of Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Projects which emphasize experience in community participation and in-depth local knowledge – for example, Projects related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Government Social Initiatives like ‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyan’ etc.
3. Specialized Agencies and Institutions Specialized agencies or institutions (including Government/ Semi-Government agencies, universities, research, and professional institutions) may also from time to time be recruited to provide Consultancy services. These services may be provided by individuals (as discussed above) or by teams. Nonetheless, there are at times distinct advantages to using such agencies. Experts and teams from such agencies and institutions may undertake a variety of roles across the whole field of possible Consultancy services. These may range from project preparation through project supervision and policy advice to project benefit monitoring and evaluation.
2. Retired Government Servants: Rule 177 of GFR, 2017, says that the consulting services do not include direct engagement of retired Government servants. They should not be engaged as consultants against regular vacant posts under this rule. Such engagements should be handled as a personnel matter. As Consultants, retired Government servants can be hired/ engaged only for a specific task and for a specific duration. They should be assigned clear output related goals. For such engagements on a full-time basis (when they are not allowed to concurrently do any other assignment) on a monthly basis, their remuneration should be fixed as last pay drawn minus pension, as per extant DOPT guidelines. However, for part-time non-exclusive engagements, the Procuring Ministry/ department may fix remuneration on a per day/ month or lump-sum basis. Also refer to para 9.2-3)

Para 2.7.1 — CONSULT_MANUAL

Original Rule Text

Para 2.7.1 — CONSULT_MANUAL

Original Rule Text