Para 5.1.2 — GOODS_MANUAL

5.1.2 Tender Documents 1. The tender document is the fundamental document in the public procurement process, as after the award of the contract, it becomes part of the contract agreement. A carefully prepared tender document avoids delays and complaints. This will also attract more bidders to formulate and submit their competitive bids with confidence. Hence, it is worth spending time and effort on this, even in cases of urgency. 2. Provisions/ clauses in the tender document should be clear, self-contained, and comprehensive without any ambiguity to avoid differences in interpretation and possible disputes, time overrun, cost overrun and quality compromises. While tender documents should be complete in themselves and may be slightly different for various categories of procurements, these must necessarily address the essential aspects mentioned below (Rule 173 of GFR 2017). Model Tender Documents, issued by the DoE, which comply with all these requirements, may be used, with due customisation: a) Description of the subject matter of procurement, its specifications/ drawings including the quality/ nature/ quality assurance, quantity, time and place or places of delivery/ completion; b) Limitation or preference for participation by bidders in terms of Government policies; c) The procedure, as well as the date, time, and place for obtaining, submitting, and opening of the bids; d) Suitable provisions for enabling a bidder to question the bidding conditions, bidding process and/or rejection of its bid. These provisions should include a time frame in which the procuring entity will address the bidder’s questions; e) Criteria for determining the responsiveness of bids, criteria as well as factors to be considered for evaluating the bids on a common platform and the criteria for awarding the contract to the responsive, most advantageous (lowest/highest as the case may be) bidder should be clearly indicated in the tender documents; f) The eligibility criteria should take care of the supplier’s eligibility to participate in the Tender process.

g) The qualification criteria for the bidders should consider their capability to perform the resultant contract successfully, balancing considerations of quality, time, and cost. h) Commercial terms and conditions, e.g., payment terms, tax implications, respective obligations of the procuring entity and the suppliers, and compliance framework for statutory and other norms. The provision of price variation, wherever considered appropriate, and the methodology for calculation shall be clearly stipulated in the tender document. i) The tender document should include a clause that “if a firm quotes NIL charges/consideration”, the bid shall be treated as unresponsive and will not be considered.” j) Procedures for redressal of grievances or complaints from aggrieved bidders; k) If applicable, the Integrity Pact clause and format to be signed shall be included; l) Suitable provision for settlement of disputes, if any, emanating from the resultant contract should be kept in the tender document and m) Essential terms of the procurement contract include a suitable clause mentioning that the resultant contract will be interpreted under Indian laws.

3. Procuring entities may issue instructions regarding the appropriate delegation of authority for approval of the Tender Documents before these are floated/ uploaded. 4. Eligibility criteria specify the criteria that a bidder should meet to be considered a responsive bid to be evaluated further beyond the preliminary evaluation/ screening of bids. Please refer to para 5.2.2-1 below. 5. Qualification Criteria: Qualification criteria determine the capability of bidders (who have passed the eligibility criteria) to perform the contract. Only those bidders who meet the qualification criteria, go to the next step of evaluation for award of contract. Qualification criteria should be clear and fair in regard to the specific circumstances of the procurement. Public authorities should also keep the experience, technical and financial criteria broadbased so that bidders with experience in items/ goods of a similar nature can participate. Appropriate parameters should be prescribed in the qualification criteria for bidders to enable the selection of the right type of bidders in the public interest, balancing considerations of quality, time, and cost. (please refer to para 5.1.3-7). 6. Evaluation Criteria: Evaluation criteria are the final filter used to select the bidders (who have passed the qualification criteria) for the award of the contract. Depending on the requirement and value-for-money (VfM) considerations, the Procuring Entity may consider including, besides price, in the evaluation criteria in the Tender Document, one or more additional criteria, e.g., quality, technical merit, aesthetic and functional characteristics, environmental characteristics, running costs, cost-effectiveness, after-sales service and technical assistance, delivery date and delivery period or period of completion etc. No criteria shall be used for the evaluation of tenders that cannot be verified. 7. Open online tendering should be the default method to ensure efficiency of procurement. Public authorities should also keep the experience criteria broad based so that bidders with experience in similar nature of items/ goods can participate. 8. The Procuring Entity should allow enough time to the bidders to prepare their proposals. The time allowed shall depend on the assignment, but normally shall not be less than three weeks. In cases where participation of international service providers is contemplated, a period of not less than four weeks should normally be allowed. 9. Tender documents should invariably reserve the Procuring Entity’s right without assigning a) reject any or all of the Bids or b) cancel the tender process, or c) abandon the procurement of the Services, or d) issue another tender for identical or similar Services.