Para 8.7.6 — CONSULT_MANUAL

CONSULT_MANUAL

2. However, many organisations now process procurements on their own eProcurement Portals. In such cases, taking printouts and making a physical file just for records may be counter-productive, provided the portals have provisions for audit trails. The documents and records to be maintained electronically or physically will include the following:
a) documents pertaining to determination of need for procurement; b) description of the subject matter of the procurement; c) Statement of the justification for choice of a procurement method other than open competitive tendering; d) Documents relating to pre-qualification and registration of bidders, if applicable; e) Particulars of issue, receipt, opening of the bids and the participating bidders at each stage; f) Requests for clarifications and any reply thereof including the clarifications given during pre-bid conferences; g) Bids evaluated, and documents relating to their evaluation; and h) Contracts and Contract Amendments i) Complaint handling, correspondences with clients, consultants, banks.
3. In organisations where physical files are still maintained, the Procurement file should start with the Indent and related documents. All subsequent documents relating to procurement planning; Copy of Tender Document and documents relating to its and formulation, publishing and issue/ uploading; Bid Opening; Bids received; Correspondence and documents (including Technical Evaluation and CEC report) relating to pre-qualification, evaluation, Award of Contract; and finally, the Contract copy, should be kept on the file. In case of bulky Bids received, all bids received may be kept in a separate volume, with a copy of accepted bids later being put on the main volume. To maintain integrity of the records relating to Procurement, these files should be kept secure and for contract management a new volume of file may be opened to obviate frequent exposure of sensitive procurement file. In contract management volume, copies of successful bid, Tender Committee Report, Contract may also be kept for ready reference, besides correspondence and documents relating to Contract Management and its closure.
8.7.6 Audit Trails - Procurement Records 1. The procuring entity must maintain and retain audit trails, records and documents generated or received during its procurement proceedings, in chronological order, the files will be stored in an identified place and retrievable for scrutiny whenever needed without wastage of time.
8.8 RfP, Evaluation and Award Stage – Risks and Mitigation
Risks Mitigation 1. No key expert proposed from the main qualified partner in consortium/ JV: It is seen that though the shortlisting and contract is won by a consortium/ JV on the basis of qualifications of the main qualified partner firm, but no key experts (nor team leader) are proposed from that firm. As consultancy assignment is an intellectual product, the effective contribution of the qualified partner firm can only come from experts (in particular the team leader) who have worked for sufficient time with the main qualified consultant. RfP should specify that the team leader proposed should have worked for a sufficient number of years (say, two to three years) with the main qualifying firm. If this is not complied with it could be a ground for the proposal being termed as nonresponsive. 2. Request for substitution of key experts at the time of contract negotiation: After the firm is invited for negotiation, it asks for substitution of key staff in the contract. This is an unacceptable practice unless the selection process is unreasonably delayed. Any request for substitution should be examined very closely and agreed only if permitted by the RfP 3. Presence of one or more unsigned CVs in technical proposal: If a proposal contains one or more unsigned CVs, it should be scrutinised carefully. It can be that the CV is used without permission or commitment from the concerned key expert. If few CVs are not signed by the key expert, the evaluation should be carried without considering these unsigned CVs and, if this firm is still a winner, clarification may be sought at the negotiation stage for resolution. In no case substitution of such key experts be agreed to at the contract negotiation stage. If most of the CVs are not signed by the respective proposed key experts, the proposal should be termed as non-responsive and rejected at the technical evaluation stage. 4. Evaluation of bids is subjective or leaves room for manipulation and biased assessments. Some CEC members may not be independent or neutral or may have conflict of interest (CoI). CEC should give an undertaking at the appropriate time (as per para 8.2.4-3) that none of the members has any CoI with the companies/agencies participating in the tender process. Any member having an CoI with any company should refrain from participating in the CEC. Some members of a CEC may be subordinate to or related others in a strictly hierarchical organisation, so that they are not free to express independent views – such a situation
Chapter 8: RfP Evaluation and Award of Contract
Risks Mitigation must be avoided when constituting the CEC. 5. Discriminating against a Best Value Bid: In case a bidder’s bid (not in the good books of the procuring entity) becomes the best value bid as per the evaluation criteria, some of the following actions may have risks of misuse. There is also a reverse risk in these actions if a favourite becomes best value bid: Mitigation for each type of risk is mentioned below. 6. Unwarranted retendering: Rejecting all bids and calling for retendering on the pretext of prices being high, change of specifications, budget not being available, and so on. In case a procurement is rebid more than once, approval of one level above the CA may be taken. Please also see the complaint mechanism. 7. Sudden quantity reduction/increase or splitting of quantity work at the time of award: Many organisations have provisions for change/ splitting in the bid quantity at the time of award. Some organisations vary quantity even without such provisions Bid conditions must specify a limit beyond which originally announced quantity/scope cannot be reduced/increased. If parallel contracts are envisaged, clear criteria for the splitting may be specified in the tender documents beforehand. 8. Unwarranted negotiations: negotiations are called without justification. Sometimes a counter-offer is made to discourage lowest acceptable bidder. Normally, there should be no posttender negotiations. In certain exceptional situations, for example, procurement of proprietary items, items with limited sources of supply, and items where there is suspicion of a cartel formation, negotiations may be held with L-1. In case of L-1 backing out, there should be retendering. 9. Unwarranted delays in finalizing or varying the terms of preannounce contract agreement: even after the CEC recommendations are accepted, signing of the contract is delayed on one pretext or the other. Although there is a standard contract form in the tender documents, the contract may be drafted in a fashion to favour or discourage the successful bidder. A target timeline of finalisation of procurement should be laid down. Delays and reasons thereof should be brought out before the CA on the file at the time of CEC’s acceptance or contract signing. The contract should be strictly as per the bid conditions and accepted offer. 10. Anti-competitive practices: Bidders, which would otherwise be expected to compete, secretly conspire to frustrate the buyer’s attempts to get VfM in a tender process. Anti-competitive conspiracies can take many forms. Sometimes the These strategies, in turn, may result in patterns that procurement officials can detect, and steps can be taken to thwart such attempts. Such anticompetitive activities come under the purview of the competition law, where
Manual for Procurement of Consultancy Services, Second Edition, 2025
Risks Mitigation officers involved in procurement may be part of such collusion. a) Bid coordination: The bidders collude to the quote same or similar rates that are much higher than the reasonable price to force the buyer to settle the procurement at exorbitant prices. b) Cover bidding: Cover bidding is designed to give the appearance of genuine competition by way of supporting bids for the leading bid-rigger. c) Bid suppression: Bid suppression means that a company does not submit a bid for final consideration in support of the leading bid-rigger. d) Bid rotation: In bid-rotation schemes, conspiring firms continue to bid but they agree to take turns being the winning (i.e., lowest qualifying) bidder in a group of tenders of a similar nature. e) Market allocation: Competitors carve up the market and agree not to give competitive bids for certain customers or in certain geographic areas. there is provision of stringent penalties. Regular training should be held for officers involved in procurement to detect and mitigate such practices and also use of the competition law against such bidders.
9.2 Selection of Individual Consultants 1. Individual consultants are normally employed on assignments for which a) Teams of personnel is not required; b) No additional outside professional support is required, and c) The experience and qualifications of the individual are the paramount requirement.
2. When in a Project, continuity for downstream work is essential, the initial RfP shall outline this prospect, and, if practical, the factors used for the selection of the consultant should take the likelihood of continuation into account. Continuity in the technical approach, experience acquired, and continued professional liability of the same consultant may make continuation with the initial consultant preferable to a new competition subject to satisfactory performance in the initial assignment. For such downstream assignments, the Procuring Entity shall ask the initially selected consultant to prepare technical and financial proposals on the basis of ToR furnished by the Procuring Entity, which shall then be negotiated.
3. If the initial assignment was not awarded on a competitive basis or if the downstream assignment is substantially larger in value, a competitive process shall normally be followed in which the consultant carrying out the initial work is not excluded from consideration if it expresses interest.
4. For selecting a consultant under this method, the Procuring Entity should prepare a full justification and take the approval of the competent authority as per the Annexure 2: Schedule of Procurement Powers (SoPP).
5. While selecting the consultant under this method, the Procuring Entity shall ensure that the consultant has the requisite qualification and experience to undertake the assignment. Normally the Procuring Entity shall adopt the same short-listing criteria as applied to similar assignments while evaluating the EoI.
6. Its CFA's (Competent Financial Authority) responsibility to ensure that a statement of all selections by nominations, every month are to be reported to Secretary/ Head of Ministry/ Department.
2. The procedures for selecting individual consultants are similar to, but much simpler than, those for selecting teams of consultants from a firm. Process of selection of Individual consultants entails:
a) Preparing a Consultancy Services package including the ToR, time frame, number of person-months, budget, EoI Short-listing criteria and getting it approved by the CA;
Chapter 9: Special Types of Engagements 9.1 Single Source Selection (SSS) 1. Selection of consultants through direct negotiations does not provide the benefits of competition in regard to quality and cost, lacks transparency in selection, and could encourage unacceptable practices. The reasons for SSS and selection of a particular consultant must be recorded and approved by the CA as per the delegation of powers laid down at in DPFR/ SoPP, prior to single tendering. Powers of procurement of SSS must be severely restricted. Therefore, single-source selection shall be used only in exceptional circumstance, where it is inescapable over competitive selections as discussed in sub-paras below.
b) Advertising: Advertisement in such case should be given on Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) at www.eprocure.gov.in and on Government eMarketplace (GeM). An organisation having its own website should also publish all its advertised tender enquiries on the website. The advertisements for invitation of tenders should give the complete web address from where the bidding documents can be downloaded. c) Method of Selection: They shall be selected through comparison of qualifications of at least three candidates among those who have expressed interest in the assignment or have been approached directly by the Procuring Entity. Capability is judged on the basis of academic background, experience, and, as appropriate, knowledge of the local conditions, such as local language, culture, administrative system, and government organisation. Selection will be carried out by the CEC which will award marks for educational qualifications and experience and select the most suitable candidate for the assignment. The CEC may also interview candidates and award marks for their performance in the interview and recommend the remuneration to be paid. d) Direct Negotiation: Individual consultants may be selected on a direct negotiation basis with due justification in exceptional cases such as:
(a) tasks that are a continuation of previous work that the consultant has carried out and for which the consultant was selected competitively;
(b) emergency situations resulting from natural disasters; and
(c) when the individual is the only consultant qualified for the assignment. Individual consultants may be (among others) independent consultants; consultants recruited from firms; or consultants recruited from academic, government, or international agencies. e) Staff or Associates of Consultancy Firms: If the candidate is permanent staff or associates of a Consultancy firm the conflict-of-interest provisions described in these guidelines shall apply to the parent firm.
3. Retired Government Servants: a) 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. b) Engagement/ hiring of retired Government servants should be regulated as per DoE’s OM F.No. 3-25/2020-E.IIIA dtd 9th December 2020.

CONSULT_MANUAL

2. However, many organisations now process procurements on their own eProcurement Portals. In such cases, taking printouts and making a physical file just for records may be counter-productive, provided the portals have provisions for audit trails. The documents and records to be maintained electronically or physically will include the following:
a) documents pertaining to determination of need for procurement; b) description of the subject matter of the procurement; c) Statement of the justification for choice of a procurement method other than open competitive tendering; d) Documents relating to pre-qualification and registration of bidders, if applicable; e) Particulars of issue, receipt, opening of the bids and the participating bidders at each stage; f) Requests for clarifications and any reply thereof including the clarifications given during pre-bid conferences; g) Bids evaluated, and documents relating to their evaluation; and h) Contracts and Contract Amendments i) Complaint handling, correspondences with clients, consultants, banks.
3. In organisations where physical files are still maintained, the Procurement file should start with the Indent and related documents. All subsequent documents relating to procurement planning; Copy of Tender Document and documents relating to its and formulation, publishing and issue/ uploading; Bid Opening; Bids received; Correspondence and documents (including Technical Evaluation and CEC report) relating to pre-qualification, evaluation, Award of Contract; and finally, the Contract copy, should be kept on the file. In case of bulky Bids received, all bids received may be kept in a separate volume, with a copy of accepted bids later being put on the main volume. To maintain integrity of the records relating to Procurement, these files should be kept secure and for contract management a new volume of file may be opened to obviate frequent exposure of sensitive procurement file. In contract management volume, copies of successful bid, Tender Committee Report, Contract may also be kept for ready reference, besides correspondence and documents relating to Contract Management and its closure.
8.7.6 Audit Trails - Procurement Records 1. The procuring entity must maintain and retain audit trails, records and documents generated or received during its procurement proceedings, in chronological order, the files will be stored in an identified place and retrievable for scrutiny whenever needed without wastage of time.
8.8 RfP, Evaluation and Award Stage – Risks and Mitigation
Risks Mitigation 1. No key expert proposed from the main qualified partner in consortium/ JV: It is seen that though the shortlisting and contract is won by a consortium/ JV on the basis of qualifications of the main qualified partner firm, but no key experts (nor team leader) are proposed from that firm. As consultancy assignment is an intellectual product, the effective contribution of the qualified partner firm can only come from experts (in particular the team leader) who have worked for sufficient time with the main qualified consultant. RfP should specify that the team leader proposed should have worked for a sufficient number of years (say, two to three years) with the main qualifying firm. If this is not complied with it could be a ground for the proposal being termed as nonresponsive. 2. Request for substitution of key experts at the time of contract negotiation: After the firm is invited for negotiation, it asks for substitution of key staff in the contract. This is an unacceptable practice unless the selection process is unreasonably delayed. Any request for substitution should be examined very closely and agreed only if permitted by the RfP 3. Presence of one or more unsigned CVs in technical proposal: If a proposal contains one or more unsigned CVs, it should be scrutinised carefully. It can be that the CV is used without permission or commitment from the concerned key expert. If few CVs are not signed by the key expert, the evaluation should be carried without considering these unsigned CVs and, if this firm is still a winner, clarification may be sought at the negotiation stage for resolution. In no case substitution of such key experts be agreed to at the contract negotiation stage. If most of the CVs are not signed by the respective proposed key experts, the proposal should be termed as non-responsive and rejected at the technical evaluation stage. 4. Evaluation of bids is subjective or leaves room for manipulation and biased assessments. Some CEC members may not be independent or neutral or may have conflict of interest (CoI). CEC should give an undertaking at the appropriate time (as per para 8.2.4-3) that none of the members has any CoI with the companies/agencies participating in the tender process. Any member having an CoI with any company should refrain from participating in the CEC. Some members of a CEC may be subordinate to or related others in a strictly hierarchical organisation, so that they are not free to express independent views – such a situation
Chapter 8: RfP Evaluation and Award of Contract
Risks Mitigation must be avoided when constituting the CEC. 5. Discriminating against a Best Value Bid: In case a bidder’s bid (not in the good books of the procuring entity) becomes the best value bid as per the evaluation criteria, some of the following actions may have risks of misuse. There is also a reverse risk in these actions if a favourite becomes best value bid: Mitigation for each type of risk is mentioned below. 6. Unwarranted retendering: Rejecting all bids and calling for retendering on the pretext of prices being high, change of specifications, budget not being available, and so on. In case a procurement is rebid more than once, approval of one level above the CA may be taken. Please also see the complaint mechanism. 7. Sudden quantity reduction/increase or splitting of quantity work at the time of award: Many organisations have provisions for change/ splitting in the bid quantity at the time of award. Some organisations vary quantity even without such provisions Bid conditions must specify a limit beyond which originally announced quantity/scope cannot be reduced/increased. If parallel contracts are envisaged, clear criteria for the splitting may be specified in the tender documents beforehand. 8. Unwarranted negotiations: negotiations are called without justification. Sometimes a counter-offer is made to discourage lowest acceptable bidder. Normally, there should be no posttender negotiations. In certain exceptional situations, for example, procurement of proprietary items, items with limited sources of supply, and items where there is suspicion of a cartel formation, negotiations may be held with L-1. In case of L-1 backing out, there should be retendering. 9. Unwarranted delays in finalizing or varying the terms of preannounce contract agreement: even after the CEC recommendations are accepted, signing of the contract is delayed on one pretext or the other. Although there is a standard contract form in the tender documents, the contract may be drafted in a fashion to favour or discourage the successful bidder. A target timeline of finalisation of procurement should be laid down. Delays and reasons thereof should be brought out before the CA on the file at the time of CEC’s acceptance or contract signing. The contract should be strictly as per the bid conditions and accepted offer. 10. Anti-competitive practices: Bidders, which would otherwise be expected to compete, secretly conspire to frustrate the buyer’s attempts to get VfM in a tender process. Anti-competitive conspiracies can take many forms. Sometimes the These strategies, in turn, may result in patterns that procurement officials can detect, and steps can be taken to thwart such attempts. Such anticompetitive activities come under the purview of the competition law, where
Manual for Procurement of Consultancy Services, Second Edition, 2025
Risks Mitigation officers involved in procurement may be part of such collusion. a) Bid coordination: The bidders collude to the quote same or similar rates that are much higher than the reasonable price to force the buyer to settle the procurement at exorbitant prices. b) Cover bidding: Cover bidding is designed to give the appearance of genuine competition by way of supporting bids for the leading bid-rigger. c) Bid suppression: Bid suppression means that a company does not submit a bid for final consideration in support of the leading bid-rigger. d) Bid rotation: In bid-rotation schemes, conspiring firms continue to bid but they agree to take turns being the winning (i.e., lowest qualifying) bidder in a group of tenders of a similar nature. e) Market allocation: Competitors carve up the market and agree not to give competitive bids for certain customers or in certain geographic areas. there is provision of stringent penalties. Regular training should be held for officers involved in procurement to detect and mitigate such practices and also use of the competition law against such bidders.
9.2 Selection of Individual Consultants 1. Individual consultants are normally employed on assignments for which a) Teams of personnel is not required; b) No additional outside professional support is required, and c) The experience and qualifications of the individual are the paramount requirement.
2. When in a Project, continuity for downstream work is essential, the initial RfP shall outline this prospect, and, if practical, the factors used for the selection of the consultant should take the likelihood of continuation into account. Continuity in the technical approach, experience acquired, and continued professional liability of the same consultant may make continuation with the initial consultant preferable to a new competition subject to satisfactory performance in the initial assignment. For such downstream assignments, the Procuring Entity shall ask the initially selected consultant to prepare technical and financial proposals on the basis of ToR furnished by the Procuring Entity, which shall then be negotiated.
3. If the initial assignment was not awarded on a competitive basis or if the downstream assignment is substantially larger in value, a competitive process shall normally be followed in which the consultant carrying out the initial work is not excluded from consideration if it expresses interest.
4. For selecting a consultant under this method, the Procuring Entity should prepare a full justification and take the approval of the competent authority as per the Annexure 2: Schedule of Procurement Powers (SoPP).
5. While selecting the consultant under this method, the Procuring Entity shall ensure that the consultant has the requisite qualification and experience to undertake the assignment. Normally the Procuring Entity shall adopt the same short-listing criteria as applied to similar assignments while evaluating the EoI.
6. Its CFA's (Competent Financial Authority) responsibility to ensure that a statement of all selections by nominations, every month are to be reported to Secretary/ Head of Ministry/ Department.
2. The procedures for selecting individual consultants are similar to, but much simpler than, those for selecting teams of consultants from a firm. Process of selection of Individual consultants entails:
a) Preparing a Consultancy Services package including the ToR, time frame, number of person-months, budget, EoI Short-listing criteria and getting it approved by the CA;
Chapter 9: Special Types of Engagements 9.1 Single Source Selection (SSS) 1. Selection of consultants through direct negotiations does not provide the benefits of competition in regard to quality and cost, lacks transparency in selection, and could encourage unacceptable practices. The reasons for SSS and selection of a particular consultant must be recorded and approved by the CA as per the delegation of powers laid down at in DPFR/ SoPP, prior to single tendering. Powers of procurement of SSS must be severely restricted. Therefore, single-source selection shall be used only in exceptional circumstance, where it is inescapable over competitive selections as discussed in sub-paras below.
b) Advertising: Advertisement in such case should be given on Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) at www.eprocure.gov.in and on Government eMarketplace (GeM). An organisation having its own website should also publish all its advertised tender enquiries on the website. The advertisements for invitation of tenders should give the complete web address from where the bidding documents can be downloaded. c) Method of Selection: They shall be selected through comparison of qualifications of at least three candidates among those who have expressed interest in the assignment or have been approached directly by the Procuring Entity. Capability is judged on the basis of academic background, experience, and, as appropriate, knowledge of the local conditions, such as local language, culture, administrative system, and government organisation. Selection will be carried out by the CEC which will award marks for educational qualifications and experience and select the most suitable candidate for the assignment. The CEC may also interview candidates and award marks for their performance in the interview and recommend the remuneration to be paid. d) Direct Negotiation: Individual consultants may be selected on a direct negotiation basis with due justification in exceptional cases such as:
(a) tasks that are a continuation of previous work that the consultant has carried out and for which the consultant was selected competitively;
(b) emergency situations resulting from natural disasters; and
(c) when the individual is the only consultant qualified for the assignment. Individual consultants may be (among others) independent consultants; consultants recruited from firms; or consultants recruited from academic, government, or international agencies. e) Staff or Associates of Consultancy Firms: If the candidate is permanent staff or associates of a Consultancy firm the conflict-of-interest provisions described in these guidelines shall apply to the parent firm.
3. Retired Government Servants: a) 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. b) Engagement/ hiring of retired Government servants should be regulated as per DoE’s OM F.No. 3-25/2020-E.IIIA dtd 9th December 2020.

Para 8.7.6 — CONSULT_MANUAL

Original Rule Text

Para 8.7.6 — CONSULT_MANUAL

Original Rule Text