Para 8.1.1 — NONCONSULT_MANUAL

2. These considerations can be best addressed through competition exclusively between qualified shortlisted firms or individuals in which selection is based on the quality of the proposal and, where appropriate, on the cost of services to be provided. Such procurement needs to be done in a two-phase process. In the first phase of procurement (the EOI stage), the qualified firms are shortlisted transparently. In the second phase bids (Technical and Financial) are solicited from such shortlisted bidders to select the winning bidder. Care should be taken to avoid formation of unreasonable qualification criteria prior to shortlisting of bidders that may lead to restricted participation.

3. (Rule 183

(ii) of GFR 2017) For procurement above Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty) Lakhs shortlisting is done in an openly advertised competitive shortlisting process called Expression of Interest (EoI), giving equal opportunity to all interested bidders to be considered for shortlisting. Under EoI the "Request for Expression of Interest" (REoI) is advertised on Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) and on Government E-Market (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. A complete Services and Activities Schedule should be ready before requesting EoI. Attention of known reputed Service Providers may also be separately drawn wherever possible. The advertisement must include, among other things, the last date of submission of EoI, how to get/ download copy of the EoI document including Services and Activities Schedule, contact information of the Procuring Entity with the name of contact person, and so on. In case it is felt that likely Service Provider may not be available in India, the EoI process may be done on Global Tender Enquiry (GTE) process, by sending REoI notice to foreign embassies in India and Indian embassies in relevant countries. Please see restriction on floating GTE for tenders below Rs. 200 Crore, in the Manual of Procurement of Goods, second Edition. 2024.

8.1.1. Expression of Interest (EOI) Process 1. Unlike Procurement of Consultancy Services, procurement of Non-consultancy services is done by a simpler process akin to those of procurement of Goods and Works. (Rule 206 of GFR 2017). It is normally done in Single Stage Two-envelope Tendering containing Technical and Financial bids. In highly technical and complex services, where quality is important (say in studies like seismic surveys, airborne data acquisition etc), there is a danger of low-quality bids getting selected for award of contract by quoting unsustainably low price. In such situations, to ensure that competition is not vitiated by low-quality bids, competition may be restricted only among equally qualified bidders. Therefore, instead of publicly inviting all interested bidders to present their bids; the EOI shortlisting process (similar to procurement of consultancy services) involves obtaining limited number of proposals from a pre-qualified firms that, in the Procuring Entity’s view of experience, are capable and can be trusted to deliver the required services at the desired level of quality.

Chapter 8: Special Types of Non-Consultancy Procurements 4. Adequate time should be allowed for getting responses from interested bidders. The Procuring Entity shall make available copies of the EoI document to the interested bidders on its website/ eProcurement portal (GeM/ CPPP).

5. Important Conditions of EoI: Similar to Model Tender Document for Procurement of Consultancy Services, eligibility and qualification criteria for shortlisting should be specified in the EOI document.

6. (Rule 201

(i) of GFR 2017) In procurements of Non-consultancy services below Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty) Lakhs, shortlisting is done without a formal published Expression of Interest (EoI), akin to a Limited Tender Enquiry (LTE) process. To start with, the preparation of a long list of potential service providers may be done on the basis of formal or informal enquiries from other Ministries or Departments or Organisations involved in similar activities, Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Association of non-consultancy firms etc. The Procuring Entity should scrutinise the preliminary long list of likely contractors as identified above and shortlist the prima facie eligible and capable contractors from the long list. The number of service providers in this moderated long-list should not be less than three. In case sufficient service providers cannot be located, then the responses may be called from lesser number of bidders, but not less than three in any case, after taking CA's approval. If the complexity of the project so justifies, a formal EoI may be advertised as in sub-para 3) above, even for procurements below Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty) Lakhs, with the approval of CA.

7. Empanelment of Service Providers: To smoothen this shortlisting for NC services below Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty) Lakhs, Procuring entities who do frequent procurement of Nonconsultancy services, may consider preparation of a panel of qualified Service Providers, after evaluation of their credentials, on the lines of registration of vendors in procurement of goods. Performance of such empanelled contractors should be reviewed periodically. The list of registered contractors shall be updated on a regular basis. The category/ class of contractors may be upgraded/ downgraded, or contractors may be de-listed based on their performance. Empanelment of contractors shall be done in a fair and equitable manner, preferably online after giving due publicity78.

8. The EoI document shall contain following sections: a) Letter of Invitation: It shall include a copy of the advertisement whereby service providers are invited to submit their EoI. b) Instructions to the Bidders: It may include instructions regarding nature of job; submission requirement; requirement of bid processing fees; if any; last date of submission; place of submission; and any related instruction; c) Description of Services - Brief Purpose and Scope of Work: This may include brief purpose/objective statement; Service Outcomes Statement; broad scope of work including Time-frames; inputs to be provided by the Procuring Entity; and expected deliverables of the assignment. This may also include the place of execution of the assignment. The request for EoI shall not include the Services and Activities Schedule. d) Qualification/ Shortlisting Criteria: This may clearly lay down the qualification/ shortlisting criteria which shall be applied by the Procuring Entity for short listing the service providers. The REoI should ask for sufficient information so that the Procuring Entity may evaluate the service providers’ capabilities and eligibility to undertake the assignment. Information should include:

(a) core business and years in business;

(b) qualifications in the field of the assignment;

(c) technical and managerial organisation of the firm; and

(d) general qualifications and number of key staff. In addition, the service providers should indicate information relating to their eligibility and any conflict of interest that they know may impact objective performance and impartial advice for their services. Service Providers should not be asked about their approach to the services or to submit any curricula vitae of key personnel, because these documents will be dealt with in the Tender stage. No legal documents such as certificates of incorporation of the firm, powers of attorney, financial statements, or translations of standard brochures should be requested. Given the often-large number of submissions, the advertisement should stress the importance of brevity of the information to be sent.

e) A sample format for seeking an EoI is given at MTD for Procurement of Consultancy Services.