Para 8.7.6 - Fair Procurement | KartavyaDesk

Original Rule Text

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

What This Means

This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.

Key Points

• •Avoid unwarranted retendering to manipulate the selection process.
• •Quantity changes or splitting of work at the time of award must be justified and within pre-defined limits.
• •Post-tender negotiations are generally discouraged, except in specific cases like proprietary items or suspected cartels.
• •Contract finalization should adhere to a target timeline, and delays must be documented and justified.
• •Anti-competitive practices are strictly prohibited and fall under the purview of competition law.

Practical Example

This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.

Frequently Asked Questions

This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.