Standard tender documents have been developed by the PPOA and must be used with minor necessary modifications. Use of other tender documents developed by a procuring entity shall require approval of the PPOA.
The bidding documents are an essential interaction document between the Procuring Entity and the potential bidders the bidding documents officially specify the procurement requirements and the proceedings in a legally binding manner. It is therefore critical to dedicate sufficient time and care for their preparation.
The bidding documents have to provide bidders with all the information they may require in order to submit bids that are responsive to the needs of the Procuring Entity. At this stage, the bidder is not seeking information to make up his decision on whether he will respond to the tender, but is seeking direction to respond technically and financially, be responsive and be competitive. If not, in the case where many bidders would compete but not in accordance with the specifications, it may mean that the tender proceedings have to be declared non responsive for lack of effective competition. Effective competition is thus achieved by designing with care the bidding document to reflect the requirements and the specifications that are essential to the success of the project and that permits clear, unambiguous comparison to these specifications and amongst the bids.
With these principles in mind, the bidding documents should contain:
- A clear description of the goods, works or services required;
- If works are being procured, relevant drawings and bills of quantities prepared by qualified professionals;
- The general and specific conditions to which the contract will be subject, including any requirement for performance security ;
- Instructions to tenderers on the preparation of bids, including any standard forms to be submitted and the required documentary evidence and information including:
- The forms for tenders;
- The number of copies to be submitted with the original tender;
- Any requirement that tender security be provided and the form and
- amount of any such security;
Any requirement that evidence be provided of the qualifications of the person submitting the tender; An explanation of where and when tenders must be submitted, a statement that the tenders will be opened immediately after the deadline for submitting them and an explanation of where the tenders will be opened; Instructions on the sealing, packaging, labelling and submission of bids, including
the location and deadline for submission and procedures for the withdrawal, modification or replacement of bids; A statement that those submitting tenders or their representatives may attend the opening of tenders; A statement of the period during which tenders must remain valid.
Any applicable preference programs and the margin of preference to be applied; Information on the methodology for the evaluation of bids, the evaluation criteria to be applied and the manner in which the criteria shall be applied (with clear scale and scoring);
Information on the procedure for contract award, including the requirement for publication of a notice of proposed award and the bidders‘ right to appeal; A statement that the Procuring Entity may, at any time, terminate the procurement proceedings without entering into a contract; The type of contract to be awarded ; The terms and conditions of the proposed contract; and Information on the Government‘s policy on fraudulent activities corrupt practices. A statement on the bidder right to appeal under administrative review.
The bidding documents must detail all specific conditions and requirements. In describing the specific requirements of the procurement, the Procurement Unit is responsible to provide the necessary advice to the End-User Department so that specifications are clear, give a correct and complete description of what is being procured and allow for fair and open competition among those who may wish to participate in the procurement proceedings. Such specifications may relate to the performance rather than to design or descriptive characteristics. To the extent possible, they should as much as possible be based on national or international standards but should not refer to a particular trademark, name, patent, design, type, producer or service provider or to a specific origin unless there is no other sufficiently precise or intelligible way of describing the requirements. In such an event, the requirements should allow for equivalents to what is referred to.
