A Procuring Entity may require bid securities, in order to deter irresponsible bids and encourage bidders to fulfill the conditions of their bids. The bidding documents shall clearly state any requirement for a bid security and specify the acceptable forms of the bid security. The value of any required bid security shall be expressed as a fixed amount or as a percentage of the bid price.
In determining the amount of bid security required, the Procuring Entity should then take into account the cost to bidders of obtaining a bid security, the estimated value of the contract and the risk of bidders being deterred to bid or to fulfill the conditions of their bids. The amount shall be high enough to deter irresponsible bids, but not so high as to discourage competition. The bidding documents shall state that bid securities must be:
In accordance with the format and wording provided in the bidding document;
In a form acceptable to the Procuring Entity, which may be:
- Cash;
- A bank guarantee;
- A letter of credit;
- An Insurance Company Bond where approved by PPOA or
Period of validity of tenders
The period of validity of a tender shall be stated in calendar days from the date of opening of the tender. For purposes of this regulation, a calendar day includes any day of the week including Saturday, Sunday and a public holiday. Bid securities issued by the insurance companies shall be on demand terms. The Procuring Entity has to release bid securities promptly to unsuccessful bidders before expiry of the term of the security on formation of a contract with successful bidder and submission of any required performance security. The bid security of the successful bidder shall not be released, until the contract or any required performance security has been received (where such a performance security is required).
The conditions for forfeiture of a bid security shall be specified in the bidding documents. The bidding documents shall state that bidders may withdraw, substitute or modify their bids at any time prior to the deadline for submission of bids, without forfeiting the bid security. The bidding documents shall state the procedures to be followed for withdrawal, substitution or modification.
In exceptional circumstances, the procuring entity may solicit the tenderer‘s consent to an extension of the period of tender validity. The request and responses thereto shall be made shall in writing. The tender security shall also be suitably extended. A tenderer may refuse the request without forfeiting its tender security.
Modifications to Tenders
Before the deadline for submitting tenders, a bidder who has already submitted his bid may change or withdraw it. The change or the withdrawal must be submitted in writing before the deadline for submitting tenders and following the instruction to bidders for submitting tenders. After the deadline for submitting tenders, a bidder who submitted a bid cannot change it and any attempt or offer to change the substance of the tender maybe considered as a cause for debarment. Reciprocally, it is strictly forbidden for the Procuring Entity or any officer to attempt to have the substance of a tender changed.
Should modifications to the tenders be necessary, the Procuring Entity has to provide copies of the tender documents to all persons who have received or purchased the Bidding Documents and should consider extending the deadline for submission to
TIP:
Modifications to the Bidding Documents should be advertised on the PPOA and Procuring Entity’s Websites
