Para 8.2.6 - Bid Withdrawal | KartavyaDesk
Original Rule Text
Chapter 8: RfP Evaluation and Award of Contract a) before completion of the Techno-commercial evaluation, then the Techno-commercial evaluation (including the not-extended and withdrawn bids) shall be completed. If a not-extended or withdrawn bid qualifies in techno-commercial evaluation, financial bid(s) of such bidders shall also be opened, and action shall be taken as per sub-para below. b) after the techno-commercial evaluation but before the completion of the financial bid evaluation, then the financial bid evaluation (including not-extended and withdrawn bids) shall be completed. i) If a not-extended or withdrawn bid happens to be the L1 bidder (lowest acceptable bidder, who is techno-commercially qualified, and would have been awarded a contract, but for his refusal to extend validity or withdrawal of bid within validity), the tender must be re-tendered. ii) Since this may take some time, Procuring Entity may cover their immediate short-term needs through an appropriate mode of procurement. iii) However, such L1 price of the not-extended or withdrawn bids shall not be taken as precedence for determining price estimates or reasonableness. iv) In certain cases, there may be multiple L1 bidders, for example, in Project Management Consultancy hiring on the basis of fixed service charge. In such cases, where a withdrawn bid also happens to be L1, re-tendering may not be necessary. The procuring entity may continue with tender finalization, proceeding with the remaining L1 bids. c) In case of QCBS system of evaluation, the proposal obtaining the highest total combined score in evaluation of quality and cost is identified which is ranked as H-1 (please refer to para 8.5.3 for the QCBS evaluation methodology). If a not-extended or withdrawn bid happens to be the H-1 bidder, the tender must be re-tendered.
What This Means
Para 8.2.6 of the Manual for Procurement of Consultancy Services deals with what happens when a bidder withdraws their bid or refuses to extend its validity during the evaluation process. It's crucial to understand this because it dictates how the government proceeds to ensure fair competition and efficient procurement. The rule is divided into scenarios based on when the withdrawal occurs: before financial bid evaluation or after techno-commercial evaluation but before financial bid evaluation. It also addresses the specific case of Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- •If a bid is withdrawn *before* financial evaluation, the techno-commercial evaluation must be completed, including the withdrawn bid.
- •If a withdrawn bid is the lowest (L1) after techno-commercial evaluation, the tender *must* be re-tendered, except in specific cases like multiple L1 bidders with fixed service charges.
- •The L1 price of a withdrawn bid *cannot* be used as a benchmark for future price estimates.
- •In QCBS, if the withdrawn bid is the highest-ranked (H-1), the tender *must* be re-tendered.
- •Procuring entities can address immediate short-term needs through other procurement methods while re-tendering.
Practical Example
The Ministry of Rural Development issued a tender for consultancy services for a rural electrification project. After the techno-commercial evaluation, 'Bright Solutions Pvt. Ltd.' emerged as the lowest bidder (L1). However, before the financial bids could be fully evaluated, Bright Solutions withdrew their bid due to unforeseen internal circumstances. According to Para 8.2.6, the Ministry must re-tender the project. While the re-tendering process is underway, the Ministry can engage a smaller consultancy firm on a short-term contract to address immediate needs, like preliminary site surveys. The original L1 price quoted by Bright Solutions cannot be used as a reference point for future tenders.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'not-extended' bid mean in this context?▼
Why is it necessary to re-tender if the L1 bidder withdraws?▼
Can we negotiate with the second-lowest bidder (L2) if the L1 bidder withdraws?▼
What is QCBS and how does it affect this rule?▼
What if the withdrawn bidder was part of a Joint Venture? Does the rule still apply?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Test Your Knowledge
Question 1 of 3
According to Para 8.2.6 of the Manual for Procurement of Consultancy Services, if a bidder withdraws their bid after the techno-commercial evaluation but before the completion of the financial bid evaluation and that withdrawn bid was the L1 bidder, what action should the procuring entity generally take?
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