Para 5.6.11 — WORKS_MANUAL

i) Offers have been invited in accordance with this manual and after following fair and reasonable procedures in prevailing circumstances; ii) He is satisfied that the selected offer will adequately meet the requirement for which it is being procured; iii) The price of the offer is reasonable and consistent with the quality required; and iv) The accepted offer is the most appropriate taking all relevant factors into account in keeping with the standards of financial propriety.

After the acceptance of these recommendations by the tender accepting authority, the Letter (Notification) of Award (LOA) can be issued.

5.6.11 Tender Committee Recommendations/ Report The TC has to make formal recommendations (Annexure 3) for the award of the contract to the bidder whose bid has been determined to be substantially responsive and the lowest evaluated bid, provided further that the bidder is determined to be qualified to perform the contract satisfactorily and his credentials have been verified. It is a good practice that TC should spell out salient terms and conditions of the offer

(s) recommended for acceptance. It should also be ensured by the TC that any deviation/ variation quoted by the contractor in his bid are not left un-deliberated and ruled upon in the TC; otherwise there may be delay in acceptance of the contract by the contractor. These recommendations are submitted for approval to the tender accepting authority. Since a nominee of Financial Adviser of the Department is usually a member of the Tender Committee, there is no need for the CA to consult the FA of the Department before accepting the TC recommendations. In any purchase decision, the responsibility of the CA is not discharged merely by selecting the cheapest offer or accepting TC recommendations but ensuring whether:

5.7 Award of Work 5.7.1 LOA to Successful Bidder Prior to the expiry of the period of bid validity, the successful bidder will be notified (briefly indicating therein relevant details such as quantity, specification of the goods ordered, prices, and so on) in writing by a registered letter or any other acknowledgeable and foolproof method that his bid has been accepted. Legally communication of acceptance of offer is considered complete as soon as it is submitted to Postal authorities (please refer to Para 2.8 of Appendix 2). A template for the Letter of Acceptance (or Notice of Award, or Acceptance of Tender) is given in Annexure 6. In the same communication, the successful tenderer is to be instructed to furnish the required performance security within a specified period [generally 14 (fourteen) days].

5.7.2 Publication of Tender Results and Return of EMD of Unsuccessful Bidders GFR 2017 (Rule 159) makes it mandatory to publish details of Bid award on the CPPP and also in the notice board/ bulletin/ website of the concerned ministry or department/ eProcurement Portal. In case publication of such information is sensitive from commercial or security aspects, dispensation may be sought from publishing of such results by obtaining sanction from the Secretary of the Department with the concurrence of the concerned Financial Advisor. In the case of Autonomous Bodies and Statutory Bodies’ approval of the Head of the Body with the concurrence of the Head of the Finance should be obtained in each such case. Statistical information on the number of cases in which exemption was granted and the value of the concerned contract should be intimated on a quarterly basis to the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure. Upon the successful bidder furnishing the signed agreement and performance security, each unsuccessful bidder will be promptly notified and their bid security be returned without interest within 30 (thirty) days of notice of award of contract. The successful contractor’s bid security shall be adjusted against the SD or returned as per the terms of the tender documents.

In respect of contracts upto Rupees ten lakh, where tender documents include the General Conditions of Contract (GCC), Special Conditions of Contract (SCC) and scope of work, the letter of acceptance will result in a binding contract.

In respect of contracts with estimated value more than Rupees ten lakh, a contract document should be executed, with all necessary clauses to make it a self contained contract. If, however, these are preceded by Invitation to Tender, accompanied by GCC and SCC, with full details of scope and specifications a simple one page contract can be entered into by attaching copies of the GCC and SCC, and details of scope and specifications, offer of the tenderer and letter of acceptance.

Contract document should be invariably executed in cases of turnkey works or agreements for maintenance of equipment, provision of services etc.

In cases, where PSUs compete with private firms in public tenders, publication of details of contracts awarded by the PSU concerned to various sub-vendors, suppliers, technology providers and other associates before firming up their offer, may hurt the interest of the PSU as the competitors may get to know the details of sub-venders, suppliers, technology providers and other associates as well as the price at which the contracts are placed. Therefore, in such cases, publication of details of contracts awarded may be dispensed with.