Para 3.5 — NONCONSULT_MANUAL

2. Any supplier, contractor, consultant or service provider that claims to have suffered or is likely to suffer loss or injury as a result of a decision/ action/ omission of the Procuring Entity may make an application for its review within a period of Five (5) days from its date, or any other time period, that may be specified in the tender documents, to the designated officer named in the tender documents in this regard (or the Head of the Procuring Entity, if not so specified), specifying the ground

(s) and the relevant clauses of the tender documents. Unsuccessful Bidders may seek de-briefing regarding the rejection of their bid, in writing or electronically, within Five (5) days, or any other time period, that may be specified in the tender documents, of the declaration of techno-commercial or financial evaluation results.

3. Only a directly affected bidder can represent in this regard: a) Only a bidder who has participated in the concerned procurement process, i.e., prequalification, bidder registration or bidding, as the case may be, can make such representation. b) In case the pre-qualification bid has been evaluated before the bidding of Technical/ financial bids, an application for review in relation to the technical/ financial bid may be filed only by a bidder who has qualified in the pre-qualification bid; c) In case the technical bid has been evaluated before the opening of the financial bid, an application for review in relation to the financial bid may be filed only by a bidder whose technical bid is found to be acceptable. d) The following decisions of the procuring entity in accordance with the provision of internal guidelines shall not be subject to review: i) Determination of the need for procurement; ii) Selection of the mode of procurement or tendering system; iii) Choice of selection procedure; iv) Complaints against specifications except under the premise that they are either vague or too specific to limit competition may be permissible. v) Provisions limiting the participation of bidders in the procurement process in terms of government policies. vi) Provisions regarding purchase preferences to specific categories of bidders in terms of policies of the Government vii) The decision to enter into negotiations with the L1 bidder; viii) Cancellation of the procurement process except where it is intended to subsequently re-tender the same requirements; ix) Issues related to ambiguity in contract terms shall not be taken up after a contract has been signed; all such issues should be highlighted before the vendor/contractor consummates the contract.

3.5. Grievances and its Redressal: 1. Procuring Entities shall provide a suitable clause in their Tender Documents for the redressal of grievances of bidders.

4. This grievance redressal is beside the avenue of complaints to the vigilance department of the procuring organisation or judicial remedies. 5. If received during the processing of the tender, the officer receiving the application shall forward it to the TC/Convener of TC for its examination on merits and action as considered necessary. An interim reply may be sent that the application will be kept in view in the tender evaluation, and a final response shall be given only after the declaration of the award of the contract. The Tender Committee shall place the application on record, including its analysis and action taken thereon, in the TC minutes/ report to the Competent Authority. After the award, the competent authority shall respond to the aggrieved party as per sub-para 6) below. 6. If such grievance is received after the declaration of the award of the contract, the officer receiving the application shall forward the application to the Competent Authority of the tender for his examination on merits and action as considered necessary. Such post award grievance must be redressed and closed within 30 days of receipt of the grievance. If the Competent Authority finds the complaint to have substance, appropriate and feasible remedial measures should be initiated as per sub-para 7) or 8) below. 7. If the grievance is resolved or if the grievance is found to be unwarranted, the aggrieved party shall be informed by the officer receiving the application of the final decision without disclosing confidential details. 8. Based on such representation, if the Competent Authority is satisfied that there has been a contravention of procurement guidelines in this case, he may initiate such action as, in his opinion, is necessary to rectify the contravention, including: a) If the grievance is due to inadequacy of procurement guidelines or a lack of understanding of the staff, remedial action to address such lacunae may be initiated without repercussions to the concerned staff. b) Annulment or reconsideration of the procurement proceedings; c) cancellation of the resultant procurement contract, if legally feasible; d) In case any individual staff is found responsible, suitable disciplinary proceedings should be initiated against such staff under the conduct rules. e) In case the complicity of any bidder is proved, i) removal of the concerned firm from the list of registered firms ii) debarment of the bidders, if warranted iii) reporting the matter to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in case of anticompetitive actions by the bidder.

f) Handing over the case to CVO if there are aspects that require investigations.