Para 7.4.2 — GOODS_MANUAL

GOODS_MANUAL

7.4.2 Evaluation of Eligible Techno-commercial Bids 1. Evaluation of Qualification Criteria: a) In evaluating the techno-commercial bid, conformity to the eligibility/ qualification criteria, technical specifications, and Quality Assurance; and commercial conditions of the offered Goods to those in the Tender Document is ascertained. Additional factors incorporated in the Tender Document shall also be considered in the manner indicated therein. This determination will, inter-alia, consider the bidder’s financial, technical, and production capabilities to satisfy all Procuring Entity’s requirements as incorporated in the tender document. Such determination of qualification criteria shall be based upon scrutiny and examination of all relevant data and details submitted by the bidder in its bid, as well as such other allied information as deemed appropriate by the Procuring Entity. The determination shall not consider the qualifications of other firms such as the Bidder’s subsidiaries, parent entities, allied firms, subcontractors (other than specialized subcontractors if permitted in the bidding document), or any other firm
(s) different from the Bidder. b) As per paras 1.11.5-2-b) and 5.1.3-7-c), the condition of prior turnover and prior experience may be relaxed107 for Startups (only to startups recognized by the Department of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT)) subject to meeting quality & technical specifications and making suitable provisions in the tender document (Rule 173
(i) of GFR 2017). Startups may be MSMEs or otherwise. Such relaxation can be provided in the case of procurement of works as well. It is further clarified that such relaxation is not optional but has to be ensured, except in case of procurement of items related to public safety, health, critical security operations and equipment, etc) where adequate justification exists for the Procuring Entity not to relax such criteria.
2. Evaluation of Technical Suitability: The description, specifications, drawings, and other technical terms and conditions are examined by TC in general and by a technical member of the TC in particular. Nobody outside the TC should be allowed to determine this evaluation. The tender document should clearly state whether alternative offers/makes/models would be considered or not, and, in the absence of an express statement to the effect, these should not be allowed. An important document is the exceptions/deviation form submitted by the bidder. It is important to judge whether an exception/deviation is minor or major. Minor exceptions/deviations may be waived following the criteria laid down in para 7.3.4-6 above.
3. Evaluation of Bid involving Sample/ Demos: (Please refer to para 2.2.1-9, discouraging evaluation of samples/ demos after bid opening). Evaluation of Techno-commercial bids should not be done based on the evaluation of samples or demos, in view of the subjectivity involved. If a purchaser’s reference sample has been displayed for prospective bidders to illustrate the desired indeterminable characteristics, the contract should mention that final supplies must meet such characteristics of the reference sample in addition to the specifications/drawings. If required, a provision for the submission of a pre-production sample matching the purchaser’s reference sample by the successful bidder
(s) may be stipulated before giving clearance for bulk production of the supply. Para 5.3-3-g) should be followed during the bid-opening process. There should be a time limit for submission and approval of pre-production sample. In case the contractor is not able to come up with a satisfactory pre-production sample matching the purchaser’s reference sample within the stipulated time-limit or a reasonable extension thereof, a provision should be provided for cancellation of the contract without repercussion on either side.
4. Evaluation of Commercial Conditions: Bidder must comply with all the Commercial and other clauses of the Tender Document. The Procuring Entity shall also evaluate the commercial conditions quoted by Bidder to confirm that all terms and conditions stipulated in the Tender Document have been accepted without substantive omissions/ reservations/ exception/ deviation by the Bidder. Deviations from or objections or reservations to critical provisions identified in the Tender Documents will be deemed to be a material deviation. If critical provisions are not explicitly stated in the Tender document then these shall be taken to be Governing laws and Jurisdiction, Contractor’s Obligations and Restrictions of its Rights, Performance Bond/ Security, Force Majeure, Taxes & Duties, and Code of Integrity). Only minor deviations may be accepted/allowed, provided these do not constitute substantive deviations as per para 7.3.4-2 above.
5. Declaration of Successful Bidders: In a single envelope/cover tender, TC proceeds to evaluate the price aspects without a reference to CA at this stage. However, in case of a multiple envelop tender, the TC prepares a recommendation for a techno-commercial bid (Annexure 14) to declare successful bidders. For each proposal, the report also should substantiate the results of the evaluation and indicate technical weaknesses or deviations from the terms set out in the Tender Documents and comment on their acceptability. The CA may ask the TC to explain the report but should not request that evaluation be changed. It should review the TC’s evaluation of each proposal (on technical, contractual, and other aspects). The CA should decide how any acceptable deviation in each proposal should be handled during contract formulation, in case that proposal is ranked first. The technical evaluation report is a confidential document, and its contents shall not be disclosed. All records relating to the evaluation shall be retained until completion of the project and its audit. In such cases, after the approval of CA, the results of the Technocommercial bid evaluation are to be announced (including informing the failed Bidders). In the case of two-packet or two-stage tendering, Bid securities of unsuccessful bidders during the first stage, i.e., technical evaluation, etc., should be returned within 30 days of declaration of result of the first stage, i.e., technical evaluation etc, in terms of Para 6.1.1. The date/ time and place (or on the portal in case of e-procurement) are announced for the opening of Financial Bids in the presence of technically suitable bidders who are willing to attend the bid opening. Such a date should be two to five (5) days after the announcement.
2. Evaluation of Multiple Schedules/ Requirements: Whether evaluation shall be done destination-wise/ item-wise/ Schedule-wise or on the total of all destinations/ items/ schedules would depend on evaluation criteria in the Tender Document.
a) In case the list of requirements contains more than one schedule/ package, the responsive, technically suitable bids shall be evaluated and compared separately for each schedule. The bid for a schedule will not be considered if the complete list of goods in that schedule is not included in the bid. However, bidders have the option to quote for any one or more schedules and offer unconditional discounts for individual schedules. b) If there is only a list of items without grouping into schedules, evaluation of the financial ranking of bids shall be done for each item separately, and Bidder has the option to submit its quotation for any one or more items and also to offer unconditional discounts for individual items. However, Bidder shall quote for all the destinations included in an item quoted, c) if there is only one item in the schedule of requirements with several destinations, evaluation of the financial ranking of bids shall be done separately for each destination included in that item, and the Bidder has the option to submit its quotation for any one or more destinations and, also, to offer unconditional discounts for individual destinations. d) Discounts mentioned in a) to c) above, wherever applicable, shall be considered for deciding the lowest evaluated bid for schedules/ items/ destinations, respectively. However, any conditional discounts are not considered for the ranking, as detailed in sub-para 9) below.
Evaluation of Financial Bids and Ranking of Bids In general: 1. Unless otherwise stipulated, evaluation of the financial bids shall be on the price criteria only. Financial Bids of all Techno-commercially suitable bids are evaluated and ranked to determine the lowest priced bidder, based on the total outgo from the buyer’s pocket (please refer to para 6.6-3 – including GST, transportation, insurance, price of incidental Works/ Services, customs duty, marine insurance, and freight, agency commission, as applicable). For CPSE availing Input Tax Credit, the price shall be “Net of GST”, considering the Input Tax Credit on the GST portion to be availed by the CPSE.
3. Unless explicitly announced beforehand in the tender documents, the quoted price should not be loaded based on deviations in commercial conditions. If it is decided to incorporate such clauses, these should be unambiguous and clear – and thereafter, there should be no relaxation during evaluation. Moreover, sometimes, while purchasing sophisticated and costly equipment, machinery, and so on, the procuring entity also gives special importance to factors such as high-quality performance, environmental-friendly features, low running cost, low maintenance cost, and so on. To take care of this, relevant details are to be incorporated in the tender document, and the criteria adopted to assess the benefit of such features while evaluating the offers are also to be clearly stipulated in the tender document so that the bidders are aware of it and quote accordingly. While evaluating such offers, these aspects must also be considered. Such details, whenever considered necessary, should be evolved by the competent technical authority for incorporation in the tender document so that there is no ambiguity and/or vagueness in them; 4. Unless otherwise stipulated, the comparison of the responsive bids shall be on total outgo from the Procuring Entity’s pocket for the procurement to be paid to the supplier or any third party, including all elements of costs (please refer to para 6.6-3)) as per the terms of the proposed contract, including any taxes, duties, levies etc, freight insurance etc. Therefore, it should normally be on a CIF/ FOR destination basis, duly delivered, commissioned, as the case may be: a) In the case of goods manufactured in India or goods of foreign origin already located in India, GST, and any other duties/levies, etc., which will be contractually payable (to the bidder) on the goods are to be added; b) In the case of goods of foreign origin offered from abroad, customs duty and other similar import duties/taxes, which will be contractually payable (to the bidder) on the goods, are to be added (please refer to para 7.5.2 below); 5. As per policies of the Government from time to time, the purchaser reserves his option to give price/ purchase preferences as indicated in the tender document; 6. If the bids have been invited on a variable price basis, they will be evaluated, compared, and ranked based on the position prevailing on the deadline of bid submission and not based on any future date. If a Bidder submits a firm price quotation against the requirement of a variable price quotation, that bid shall be prima facie acceptable and considered further, taking the price variation asked for by the Bidder as nil. 7. Rarely, there may be a tie at the lowest bid (L-l) position between two or more start-up/ non-start-up bidders. It must be first determined whether it is a case of Cartel formation or anti-competitive practices, as per para 7.6.8 below, and if so, it shall be dealt with accordingly. If this is not a case of cartel formation, in such cases the decision will be taken in the following manner: i) In case one of the L1 bidders is MSE owned by SC/ST or a Women Entrepreneur, then 25% quantity order reserved for MSEs will be placed on the MSE owned by SC/ST or a Women Entrepreneur subject to fulfilment of other tender conditions. ii) If one of the L1 bidders is MSE, other than MSE owned by SC/ST or a Women Entrepreneur then an order shall be placed on such MSE bidders. iii) In all other scenarios, the order shall be placed on the L1 bidder having a higher turnover in the previous financial year. In case there is a tie at the lowest bid (L-1) position between only startup bidders and none of them has past turnover, the order will be placed on the startup that was registered earlier with the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy. b) For Tenders issued through the GeM Portal: The tie-breaker methodology available on the GeM portal is to be followed. 8. If the price bid is ambiguous so that it may very well lead to two equally valid total price amounts, then the bid should be treated as unresponsive; 9. Sometimes, certain bidders offer suo motu discounts/ rebates after the opening of the tender (techno-commercial or financial). Such discounts/ rebates should not be considered for ranking the offer, but if such a firm does become L1 at its original offer, such suo motu discounts/ rebates must be incorporated in the contracts. This also applies to conditional rebates, for example, rebates for faster payments, and so on;
Evaluation of Concurrent Application: MSE and Make-in-India Policies The concurrent application of the two procurement preference orders, i.e., the MSE Procurement Order of 2012 and the PPP-MII Order, may create confusion for the procuring entities on how to evaluate the bids falling within the purview of both policies. To bring predictability both to the procuring entities and bidders, DoE has issued guidelines108, in this regard. These guidelines are explained in Annexure 34, along with examples in the annex thereto.

GOODS_MANUAL

7.4.2 Evaluation of Eligible Techno-commercial Bids 1. Evaluation of Qualification Criteria: a) In evaluating the techno-commercial bid, conformity to the eligibility/ qualification criteria, technical specifications, and Quality Assurance; and commercial conditions of the offered Goods to those in the Tender Document is ascertained. Additional factors incorporated in the Tender Document shall also be considered in the manner indicated therein. This determination will, inter-alia, consider the bidder’s financial, technical, and production capabilities to satisfy all Procuring Entity’s requirements as incorporated in the tender document. Such determination of qualification criteria shall be based upon scrutiny and examination of all relevant data and details submitted by the bidder in its bid, as well as such other allied information as deemed appropriate by the Procuring Entity. The determination shall not consider the qualifications of other firms such as the Bidder’s subsidiaries, parent entities, allied firms, subcontractors (other than specialized subcontractors if permitted in the bidding document), or any other firm
(s) different from the Bidder. b) As per paras 1.11.5-2-b) and 5.1.3-7-c), the condition of prior turnover and prior experience may be relaxed107 for Startups (only to startups recognized by the Department of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT)) subject to meeting quality & technical specifications and making suitable provisions in the tender document (Rule 173
(i) of GFR 2017). Startups may be MSMEs or otherwise. Such relaxation can be provided in the case of procurement of works as well. It is further clarified that such relaxation is not optional but has to be ensured, except in case of procurement of items related to public safety, health, critical security operations and equipment, etc) where adequate justification exists for the Procuring Entity not to relax such criteria.
2. Evaluation of Technical Suitability: The description, specifications, drawings, and other technical terms and conditions are examined by TC in general and by a technical member of the TC in particular. Nobody outside the TC should be allowed to determine this evaluation. The tender document should clearly state whether alternative offers/makes/models would be considered or not, and, in the absence of an express statement to the effect, these should not be allowed. An important document is the exceptions/deviation form submitted by the bidder. It is important to judge whether an exception/deviation is minor or major. Minor exceptions/deviations may be waived following the criteria laid down in para 7.3.4-6 above.
3. Evaluation of Bid involving Sample/ Demos: (Please refer to para 2.2.1-9, discouraging evaluation of samples/ demos after bid opening). Evaluation of Techno-commercial bids should not be done based on the evaluation of samples or demos, in view of the subjectivity involved. If a purchaser’s reference sample has been displayed for prospective bidders to illustrate the desired indeterminable characteristics, the contract should mention that final supplies must meet such characteristics of the reference sample in addition to the specifications/drawings. If required, a provision for the submission of a pre-production sample matching the purchaser’s reference sample by the successful bidder
(s) may be stipulated before giving clearance for bulk production of the supply. Para 5.3-3-g) should be followed during the bid-opening process. There should be a time limit for submission and approval of pre-production sample. In case the contractor is not able to come up with a satisfactory pre-production sample matching the purchaser’s reference sample within the stipulated time-limit or a reasonable extension thereof, a provision should be provided for cancellation of the contract without repercussion on either side.
4. Evaluation of Commercial Conditions: Bidder must comply with all the Commercial and other clauses of the Tender Document. The Procuring Entity shall also evaluate the commercial conditions quoted by Bidder to confirm that all terms and conditions stipulated in the Tender Document have been accepted without substantive omissions/ reservations/ exception/ deviation by the Bidder. Deviations from or objections or reservations to critical provisions identified in the Tender Documents will be deemed to be a material deviation. If critical provisions are not explicitly stated in the Tender document then these shall be taken to be Governing laws and Jurisdiction, Contractor’s Obligations and Restrictions of its Rights, Performance Bond/ Security, Force Majeure, Taxes & Duties, and Code of Integrity). Only minor deviations may be accepted/allowed, provided these do not constitute substantive deviations as per para 7.3.4-2 above.
5. Declaration of Successful Bidders: In a single envelope/cover tender, TC proceeds to evaluate the price aspects without a reference to CA at this stage. However, in case of a multiple envelop tender, the TC prepares a recommendation for a techno-commercial bid (Annexure 14) to declare successful bidders. For each proposal, the report also should substantiate the results of the evaluation and indicate technical weaknesses or deviations from the terms set out in the Tender Documents and comment on their acceptability. The CA may ask the TC to explain the report but should not request that evaluation be changed. It should review the TC’s evaluation of each proposal (on technical, contractual, and other aspects). The CA should decide how any acceptable deviation in each proposal should be handled during contract formulation, in case that proposal is ranked first. The technical evaluation report is a confidential document, and its contents shall not be disclosed. All records relating to the evaluation shall be retained until completion of the project and its audit. In such cases, after the approval of CA, the results of the Technocommercial bid evaluation are to be announced (including informing the failed Bidders). In the case of two-packet or two-stage tendering, Bid securities of unsuccessful bidders during the first stage, i.e., technical evaluation, etc., should be returned within 30 days of declaration of result of the first stage, i.e., technical evaluation etc, in terms of Para 6.1.1. The date/ time and place (or on the portal in case of e-procurement) are announced for the opening of Financial Bids in the presence of technically suitable bidders who are willing to attend the bid opening. Such a date should be two to five (5) days after the announcement.
2. Evaluation of Multiple Schedules/ Requirements: Whether evaluation shall be done destination-wise/ item-wise/ Schedule-wise or on the total of all destinations/ items/ schedules would depend on evaluation criteria in the Tender Document.
a) In case the list of requirements contains more than one schedule/ package, the responsive, technically suitable bids shall be evaluated and compared separately for each schedule. The bid for a schedule will not be considered if the complete list of goods in that schedule is not included in the bid. However, bidders have the option to quote for any one or more schedules and offer unconditional discounts for individual schedules. b) If there is only a list of items without grouping into schedules, evaluation of the financial ranking of bids shall be done for each item separately, and Bidder has the option to submit its quotation for any one or more items and also to offer unconditional discounts for individual items. However, Bidder shall quote for all the destinations included in an item quoted, c) if there is only one item in the schedule of requirements with several destinations, evaluation of the financial ranking of bids shall be done separately for each destination included in that item, and the Bidder has the option to submit its quotation for any one or more destinations and, also, to offer unconditional discounts for individual destinations. d) Discounts mentioned in a) to c) above, wherever applicable, shall be considered for deciding the lowest evaluated bid for schedules/ items/ destinations, respectively. However, any conditional discounts are not considered for the ranking, as detailed in sub-para 9) below.
Evaluation of Financial Bids and Ranking of Bids In general: 1. Unless otherwise stipulated, evaluation of the financial bids shall be on the price criteria only. Financial Bids of all Techno-commercially suitable bids are evaluated and ranked to determine the lowest priced bidder, based on the total outgo from the buyer’s pocket (please refer to para 6.6-3 – including GST, transportation, insurance, price of incidental Works/ Services, customs duty, marine insurance, and freight, agency commission, as applicable). For CPSE availing Input Tax Credit, the price shall be “Net of GST”, considering the Input Tax Credit on the GST portion to be availed by the CPSE.
3. Unless explicitly announced beforehand in the tender documents, the quoted price should not be loaded based on deviations in commercial conditions. If it is decided to incorporate such clauses, these should be unambiguous and clear – and thereafter, there should be no relaxation during evaluation. Moreover, sometimes, while purchasing sophisticated and costly equipment, machinery, and so on, the procuring entity also gives special importance to factors such as high-quality performance, environmental-friendly features, low running cost, low maintenance cost, and so on. To take care of this, relevant details are to be incorporated in the tender document, and the criteria adopted to assess the benefit of such features while evaluating the offers are also to be clearly stipulated in the tender document so that the bidders are aware of it and quote accordingly. While evaluating such offers, these aspects must also be considered. Such details, whenever considered necessary, should be evolved by the competent technical authority for incorporation in the tender document so that there is no ambiguity and/or vagueness in them; 4. Unless otherwise stipulated, the comparison of the responsive bids shall be on total outgo from the Procuring Entity’s pocket for the procurement to be paid to the supplier or any third party, including all elements of costs (please refer to para 6.6-3)) as per the terms of the proposed contract, including any taxes, duties, levies etc, freight insurance etc. Therefore, it should normally be on a CIF/ FOR destination basis, duly delivered, commissioned, as the case may be: a) In the case of goods manufactured in India or goods of foreign origin already located in India, GST, and any other duties/levies, etc., which will be contractually payable (to the bidder) on the goods are to be added; b) In the case of goods of foreign origin offered from abroad, customs duty and other similar import duties/taxes, which will be contractually payable (to the bidder) on the goods, are to be added (please refer to para 7.5.2 below); 5. As per policies of the Government from time to time, the purchaser reserves his option to give price/ purchase preferences as indicated in the tender document; 6. If the bids have been invited on a variable price basis, they will be evaluated, compared, and ranked based on the position prevailing on the deadline of bid submission and not based on any future date. If a Bidder submits a firm price quotation against the requirement of a variable price quotation, that bid shall be prima facie acceptable and considered further, taking the price variation asked for by the Bidder as nil. 7. Rarely, there may be a tie at the lowest bid (L-l) position between two or more start-up/ non-start-up bidders. It must be first determined whether it is a case of Cartel formation or anti-competitive practices, as per para 7.6.8 below, and if so, it shall be dealt with accordingly. If this is not a case of cartel formation, in such cases the decision will be taken in the following manner: i) In case one of the L1 bidders is MSE owned by SC/ST or a Women Entrepreneur, then 25% quantity order reserved for MSEs will be placed on the MSE owned by SC/ST or a Women Entrepreneur subject to fulfilment of other tender conditions. ii) If one of the L1 bidders is MSE, other than MSE owned by SC/ST or a Women Entrepreneur then an order shall be placed on such MSE bidders. iii) In all other scenarios, the order shall be placed on the L1 bidder having a higher turnover in the previous financial year. In case there is a tie at the lowest bid (L-1) position between only startup bidders and none of them has past turnover, the order will be placed on the startup that was registered earlier with the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy. b) For Tenders issued through the GeM Portal: The tie-breaker methodology available on the GeM portal is to be followed. 8. If the price bid is ambiguous so that it may very well lead to two equally valid total price amounts, then the bid should be treated as unresponsive; 9. Sometimes, certain bidders offer suo motu discounts/ rebates after the opening of the tender (techno-commercial or financial). Such discounts/ rebates should not be considered for ranking the offer, but if such a firm does become L1 at its original offer, such suo motu discounts/ rebates must be incorporated in the contracts. This also applies to conditional rebates, for example, rebates for faster payments, and so on;
Evaluation of Concurrent Application: MSE and Make-in-India Policies The concurrent application of the two procurement preference orders, i.e., the MSE Procurement Order of 2012 and the PPP-MII Order, may create confusion for the procuring entities on how to evaluate the bids falling within the purview of both policies. To bring predictability both to the procuring entities and bidders, DoE has issued guidelines108, in this regard. These guidelines are explained in Annexure 34, along with examples in the annex thereto.

Para 7.4.2 — GOODS_MANUAL

Original Rule Text

Para 7.4.2 — GOODS_MANUAL

Original Rule Text