PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
RULES 2004
N O T I F I C A T
I O N
----------------------------
S.R.O. 432(I)/2004.- In exercise
of the powers conferred by section 26 of the
Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance,
2002 (XXII of 2002), the Federal Government
is pleased to make the following rules, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement.-
(1) These rules may be called
the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.
(2) They shall come into force
at once.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
2. Definitions.-
(1) In these rules, unless there
is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) “bid” means
a tender, or an offer, in response to an invitation,
by a person, consultant, firm, company or an
organization expressing his or its willingness
to undertake a specified task at a price;
(b) “bidder” means
a person who submits a bid;
(c) “competitive bidding”
means a procedure leading to the award of a
contract whereby all the interested persons,
firms, companies or organizations may bid for
the contract and includes both national competitive
bidding and international competitive bidding;
(d) “contractor”
means a person, consultant, firm, company or
an organization who undertakes to supply goods,
services or works;
(e) “contract” means
an agreement enforceable by law;
(f) “corrupt and fraudulent
practices” includes the offering, giving,
receiving, or soliciting of any thing of value
to influence the action of a public official
or the supplier or contractor in the procurement
process or in contract execution to the detriment
of the procuring agencies; or misrepresentation
of facts in order to influence a procurement
process or the execution of a contract, collusive
practices among bidders (prior to or after bid
submission) designed to establish bid prices
at artificial, non-competitive levels and to
deprive the procuring agencies of the benefits
of free and open competition and any request
for, or solicitation of anything of value by
any public official in the course of the exercise
of his duty;
(g) “emergency”
means natural calamities, disasters, accidents,
war and operational emergency which may give
rise to abnormal situation requiring prompt
and immediate action to limit or avoid damage
to person, property or the environment;
(h) “lowest evaluated
bid” means,-
(i) a bid most closely conforming
to evaluation criteria and other conditions
specified in the bidding document; and
(ii) having lowest evaluated
cost;
(i) “Ordinance”
means the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority
Ordinance, 2002 (XXII of 2002);
(j) “repeat orders”
means procurement of the same commodity from
the same source without competition and includes
enhancement of contracts;
(k) “supplier” means
a person, consultant, firm, company or an organization
who undertakes to supply goods, services or
works; and
(l) “value for money”
means best returns for each rupee spent in terms
of quality, timeliness, reliability, after sales
service, up-grade ability, price, source, and
the combination of whole-life cost and quality
to meet the procuring agency’s requirements.
(2) The expressions used but
not defined in these rules shall have the same
meanings as are assigned to them in the Ordinance.
3. Scope and applicability.-
Save as otherwise provided,
these rules shall apply to all procurements
made by all procuring agencies of the Federal
Government whether within or outside Pakistan.
4. Principles of procurements.-
Procuring agencies, while engaging in procurements,
shall ensure that the procurements are conducted
in a fair and transparent manner, the object
of procurement brings value for money to the
agency and the procurement process is efficient
and economical.
5. International and
inter-governmental commitments of the Federal
Government.- Whenever these rules are in conflict
with an obligation or commitment of the Federal
Government arising out of an international treaty
or an agreement with a State or States, or any
international financial institution the provisions
of such international treaty or agreement shall
prevail to the extent of such conflict.
6. Language.-
(1) All communications and documentation
related to procurements of the Federal Government
shall either be in Urdu or English or both.
Except where a procuring agency is situated
outside the territories of Pakistan and procurements
are to be made locally, the procuring agency
may use the local language in addition to Urdu
or English.
(2) Where the use of local language
is found essential, the original documentation
shall be in Urdu or English, which shall be
retained on record; for all other purposes their
translations in local language shall be used:
Provided that such use of local
language ensures maximum economy and efficiency
in the procurement.
(3) In case of the dispute reference
shall be made to the original documentation
retained on record.
7. Integrity pact.-
Procurements exceeding the prescribed
limit shall be subject to an integrity pact,
as specified by regulation with approval of
the Federal Government, between the procuring
agency and the suppliers or contractors.
PROCUREMENT PLANNING
8. Procurement planning.-
Within one year of commencement
of these rules, all procuring agencies shall
devise a mechanism, for planning in detail for
all proposed procurements with the object of
realistically determining the requirements of
the procuring agency, within its available resources,
delivery time or completion date and benefits
that are likely to accrue to the procuring agency
in future.
9. Limitation on splitting
or regrouping of proposed procurement.-
Save as otherwise provided and
subject to the regulation made by the Authority,
with the prior approval of the Federal Government,
a procuring agency shall announce in an appropriate
manner all proposed procurements for each financial
year and shall proceed accordingly without any
splitting or regrouping of the procurements
so planned. The annual requirements thus determined
would be advertised in advance on the Authority’s
website as well as on the website of the procuring
agency in case the procuring agency has its
own website.
10. Specifications.-
Specifications shall allow the
widest possible competition and shall not favour
any single contractor or supplier nor put others
at a disadvantage. Specifications shall be generic
and shall not include references to brand names,
model numbers, catalogue numbers or similar
classifications. However if the procuring agency
is convinced that the use of or a reference
to a brand name or a catalogue number is essential
to complete an otherwise incomplete specification,
such use or reference shall be qualified with
the words “or equivalent”.
11. Approval mechanism.-
All procuring agencies shall
provide clear authorization and delegation of
powers for different categories of procurement
and shall only initiate procurements once approval
of the competent authorities concerned has been
accorded.
PROCUREMENT ADVERTISEMENTS
12. Methods of advertisement.-
**(1) Procurements over one
hundred thousand rupees and up to the limit
of two million rupees shall be advertised on
the Authority’s website in the manner
and format specified by regulation by the Authority
from time to time. These procurement opportunities
may also be advertised in print media, if deemed
necessary by the procuring agency:
**Provided that the lower financial
limit for advertisement on Authority’s
website for open competitive bidding shall be
the prescribed financial limit for request for
quotations under clause (b) of rule 42.
**(2) All procurement opportunities
over two million rupees should be advertised
on the Authority’s website as well as
in other print media or newspapers having wide
circulation. The advertisement in the newspapers
shall principally appear in at least two national
dailies, one in English and the other in Urdu.
(3) In cases where the procuring
agency has its own website it may also post
all advertisements concerning procurement on
that website as well.
(4) A procuring agency utilizing
electronic media shall ensure that the information
posted on the website is complete for the purposes
for which it has been posted, and such information
shall remain available on that website until
the closing date for the submission of bids.
13. Response time.-
**(1) The procuring agency may
decide the response time for receipt of bids
or proposals (including proposals for pre-qualification)
from the date of publication of an advertisement
or notice, keeping in view the individual procurement’s
complexity, availability and urgency. However,
under no circumstances the response time shall
be less than fifteen days for national competitive
bidding and thirty days for international competitive
bidding from the date of publication of advertisement
or notice. All advertisements or notices shall
expressly mention the response time allowed
for that particular procurement along with the
information for collection of bid documents
which shall be issued till a given date, allowing
sufficient time to complete and submit the bid
by the closing date:
Provided that no time limit
shall be applicable in case of emergency.
(2) The response time shall
be calculated from the date of first publication
of the advertisement in a newspaper or posting
on the web site, as the case may be.
(3) In situations where publication
of such advertisements or notices has occurred
in both electronic and print media, the response
time shall be calculated from the day of its
first publication in the newspapers.
14. Exceptions.-
**It shall be mandatory for
all procuring agencies to advertise all procurement
requirements exceeding prescribed financial
limit which is applicable under sub-clause (i)
of clause (b) of rule 42. However under following
circumstances deviation from the requirement
is permissible with the prior approval of the
Authority,-
(a) the proposed procurement
is related to national security and its publication
could jeopardize national security objectives;
and
(b) the proposed procurement
advertisement or notice or publication of it,
in any manner, relates to disclosure of information,
which is proprietary in nature or falls within
the definition of intellectual property which
is available from a single source.
PRE-QUALIFICATION, QUALIFICATION
AND DIS-QUALIFICATION OF SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTORS
15. Pre-qualification of suppliers and contractors.-
(1) A procuring agency, prior
to the floating of tenders, invitation to proposals
or offers in procurement proceedings, may engage
in pre-qualification of bidders in case of services,
civil works, turnkey projects and in case of
procurement of expensive and technically complex
equipment to ensure that only technically and
financially capable firms having adequate managerial
capability are invited to submit bids. Such
pre-qualification shall solely be based upon
the ability of the interested parties to perform
that particular work satisfactorily.
(2) A procuring agency while
engaging in pre-qualification may take into
consideration the following factors, namely:-
(a) relevant experience and
past performance;
(b) capabilities with respect
to personnel, equipment, and plant;
(c) financial position;
(d) appropriate managerial capability;
and
(e) any other factor that a
procuring agency may deem relevant, not inconsistent
with these rules.
16. Pre-qualification
process.-
(1) The procuring agency engaging
in pre-qualification shall announce, in the
pre-qualification documents, all information
required for pre-qualification including instructions
for preparation and submission of the pre-qualification
documents, evaluation criteria, list of documentary
evidence required by suppliers or contractors
to demonstrate their respective qualifications
and any other information that the procuring
agency deems necessary for pre-qualification.
(2) The procuring agency shall
provide a set of pre-qualification documents
to any supplier or contractor, on request and
subject to payment of price, if any.
Explanation.- For the purposes
of this sub-rule price means the cost of printing
and providing the documents only.
(3) The procuring agency shall
promptly notify each supplier or contractor
submitting an application to pre-qualify whether
or not it has been pre-qualified and shall make
available to any person directly involved in
the pre-qualification process, upon request,
the names of all suppliers or contractors who
have been pre-qualified. Only suppliers or contractors
who have been pre-qualified shall be entitled
to participate further in the procurement proceedings.
(4) The procuring agency shall
communicate to those suppliers or contractors
who have not been pre-qualified the reasons
for not pre-qualifying them.
17. Qualification of
suppliers and contractors.-
A procuring agency, at any stage
of the procurement proceedings, having credible
reasons for or prima facie evidence of any defect
in supplier’s or contractor’s capacities,
may require the suppliers or contractors to
provide information concerning their professional,
technical, financial, legal or managerial competence
whether already pre-qualified or not:
Provided that such qualification
shall only be laid down after recording reasons
therefor in writing. They shall form part of
the records of that procurement proceeding.
18. Disqualification
of suppliers and contractors.-
The procuring agency shall disqualify
a supplier or contractor if it finds, at any
time, that the information submitted by him
concerning his qualification as supplier or
contractor was false and materially inaccurate
or incomplete.
19. Blacklisting of
suppliers and contractors.-
The procuring agencies shall
specify a mechanism and manner to permanently
or temporarily bar, from participating in their
respective procurement proceedings, suppliers
and contractors who either consistently fail
to provide satisfactory performances or are
found to be indulging in corrupt or fraudulent
practices. Such barring action shall be duly
publicized and communicated to the Authority:
METHODS OF PROCUREMENT
20. Principal method of procurement.-
Save as otherwise provided hereinafter,
the procuring agencies shall use open competitive
bidding as the principal method of procurement
for the procurement of goods, services and works.
21. Open competitive
bidding.-
**Subject to the provisions
of rules 22 to 37 the procuring agencies shall
engage in open competitive bidding if the cost
of the object to be procured is more than the
prescribed financial limit which is applicable
under sub-clause (i) of clause (b) of rule 42
22. Submission of bids.-
(1) The bids shall be submitted
in a sealed package or packages in such manner
that the contents are fully enclosed and cannot
be known until duly opened.
(2) A procuring agency shall
specify the manner and method of submission
and receipt of bids in an unambiguous and clear
manner in the bidding documents.
23. Bidding documents.-
(1) Procuring agencies shall
formulate precise and unambiguous bidding documents
that shall be made available to the bidders
immediately after the publication of the invitation
to bid.
(2) For competitive bidding,
whether open or limited, the bidding documents
shall include the following, namely:-
(a) invitation to bid;
(b) instructions to bidders;
(c) form of bid;
(d) form of contract;
(e) general or special conditions
of contract;
(f) specifications and drawings
or performance criteria (where applicable);
(g) list of goods or bill of
quantities (where applicable);
(h) delivery time or completion
schedule;
(i) qualification criteria (where
applicable);
(j) bid evaluation criteria;
(k) format of all securities
required (where applicable);
(l) details of standards (if
any) that are to be used in assessing the quality
of goods, works or services specified; and
(m) any other detail not inconsistent
with these rules that the procuring agency may
deem necessary.
(3) Any information, that becomes
necessary for bidding or for bid evaluation,
after the invitation to bid or issue of the
bidding documents to the prospective bidders,
shall be provided in a timely manner and on
equal opportunity basis. Where notification
of such change, addition, modification or deletion
becomes essential, such notification shall be
made in a manner similar to the original advertisement.
(4) Procuring agencies shall
use standard bidding documents as and when notified
by regulation by the Authority:
Provided that bidding documents
already in use of procuring agencies may be
retained in their respective usage to the extent
they are not inconsistent with these rules,
and till such time that the standard bidding
documents are specified by regulations.
(5) The procuring agency shall
provide a set of bidding documents to any supplier
or contractor, on request and subject to payment
of price, if any.
Explanation.- For the purpose
of this sub-rule price means the cost of printing
and providing the documents only.
24. Reservations and
preference.-
(1) Procuring agencies shall
allow all prospective bidders to participate
in procuring procedure without regard to nationality,
except in cases in which any procuring agency
decides to limit such participation to national
bidders only or prohibit participation of bidders
of some nationalities, in accordance with the
policy of Federal Government.
(2) Procuring agencies shall
allow for a preference to domestic or national
suppliers or contractors in accordance with
the policies of the Federal Government. The
magnitude of price preference to be accorded
shall be clearly mentioned in the bidding documents
under the bid evaluation criteria.
25. Bid security.-
The procuring agency may require
the bidders to furnish a bid security not exceeding
five per cent of the bid price.
26. Bid validity.-
(1) A procuring agency, keeping
in view the nature of the procurement, shall
subject the bid to a bid validity period.
(2) Bids shall be valid for
the period of time specified in the bidding
document.
(3) The procuring agency shall
ordinarily be under an obligation to process
and evaluate the bid within the stipulated bid
validity period. However under exceptional circumstances
and for reason to be recorded in writing, if
an extension is considered necessary, all those
who have submitted their bids shall be asked
to extend their respective bid validity period.
Such extension shall be for not more than the
period equal to the period of the original bid
validity.
(4) Bidders who,-
(a) agree to extension of their
bid validity period shall also extend the validity
of the bid bond or security for the extended
period of the bid validity;
(b) agree to the procuring agency’s
request for extension of bid validity period
shall not be permitted to change the substance
of their bids; and
(c) do not agree to an extension
of the bid validity period shall be allowed
to withdraw their bids without forfeiture of
their bid bonds or securities.
27. Extension of time
for submission of bids.-
Where a procuring agency has
already prescribed a deadline for the submission
of bids and due to any reason the procuring
agency finds it necessary to extend such deadline,
it shall do so only after recording its reasons
in writing and in an equal opportunity manner.
Advertisement of such extension in time shall
be done in a manner similar to the original
advertisement.
OPENING, EVALUATION AND REJECTION
OF BIDS
28. Opening of bids.-
(1) The date for opening of
bids and the last date for the submission of
bids shall be the same. Bids shall be opened
at the time specified in the bidding documents.
The bids shall be opened at least thirty minutes
after the deadline for submission of bids.
(2) All bids shall be opened
publicly in the presence of the bidders or their
representatives who may choose to be present,
at the time and place announced prior to the
bidding. The procuring agency shall read aloud
the unit price as well as the bid amount and
shall record the minutes of the bid opening.
All bidders in attendance shall sign an attendance
sheet. All bids submitted after the time prescribed
shall be rejected and returned without being
opened.
29. Evaluation criteria.-
Procuring agencies shall formulate
an appropriate evaluation criterion listing
all the relevant information against which a
bid is to be evaluated. Such evaluation criteria
shall form an integral part of the bidding documents.
Failure to provide for an unambiguous evaluation
criteria in the bidding documents shall amount
to mis-procurement.
30. Evaluation of bids.-
(1) All bids shall be evaluated
in accordance with the evaluation criteria and
other terms and conditions set forth in the
prescribed bidding documents. Save as provided
for in sub-clause (iv) of clause (c) of rule
36 no evaluation criteria shall be used for
evaluation of bids that had not been specified
in the bidding documents.
(2) For the purposes of comparison
of bids quoted in different currencies, the
price shall be converted into a single currency
specified in the bidding documents. The rate
of exchange shall be the selling rate, prevailing
on the date of opening of bids specified in
the bidding documents, as notified by the State
Bank of Pakistan on that day.
(3) A bid once opened in accordance
with the prescribed procedure shall be subject
to only those rules, regulations and policies
that are in force at the time of issue of notice
for invitation of bids.
31. Clarification of
bids.-
(1) No bidder shall be allowed
to alter or modify his bid after the bids have
been opened. However the procuring agency may
seek and accept clarifications to the bid that
do not change the substance of the bid.
(2) Any request for clarification
in the bid, made by the procuring agency shall
invariably be in writing. The response to such
request shall also be in writing.
32. Discriminatory and
difficult conditions.-
Save as otherwise provided,
no procuring agency shall introduce any condition,
which discriminates between bidders or that
is considered to be met with difficulty. In
ascertaining the discriminatory or difficult
nature of any condition reference shall be made
to the ordinary practices of that trade, manufacturing,
construction business or service to which that
particular procurement is related.
33. Rejection of bids.-
(1) The procuring agency may
reject all bids or proposals at any time prior
to the acceptance of a bid or proposal. The
procuring agency shall upon request communicate
to any supplier or contractor who submitted
a bid or proposal, the grounds for its rejection
of all bids or proposals, but is not required
to justify those grounds.
(2) The procuring agency shall
incur no liability, solely by virtue of its
invoking sub-rule (1) towards suppliers or contractors
who have submitted bids or proposals.
(3) Notice of the rejection
of all bids or proposals shall be given promptly
to all suppliers or contractors that submitted
bids or proposals.
34. Re-bidding.-
(1) If the procuring agency
has rejected all bids under rule 33 it may call
for a re-bidding.
(2) The procuring agency before
invitation for re-bidding shall assess the reasons
for rejection and may revise specifications,
evaluation criteria or any other condition for
bidders as it may deem necessary.
35. Announcement of
evaluation reports.-
Procuring agencies shall announce
the results of bid evaluation in the form of
a report giving justification for acceptance
or rejection of bids at least ten days prior
to the award of procurement contract.
36. Procedures of open
competitive bidding.-
Save as otherwise provided in
these rules the following procedures shall be
permissible for open competitive bidding, namely:-
(a) Single stage – one
envelope procedure.-
Each bid shall comprise one
single envelope containing, separately, financial
proposal and technical proposal (if any). All
bids received shall be opened and evaluated
in the manner prescribed in the bidding document.
(b) Single stage – two
envelope procedure.-
(i) The bid shall comprise a
single package containing two separate envelopes.
Each envelope shall contain separately the financial
proposal and the technical proposal;
(ii) the envelopes shall be
marked as “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” and
“TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” in bold and
legible letters to avoid confusion;
(iii) initially, only the envelope
marked “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” shall
be opened;
(iv) the envelope marked as
“FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” shall be retained
in the custody of the procuring agency without
being opened;
(v) the procuring agency shall
evaluate the technical proposal in a manner
prescribed in advance, without reference to
the price and reject any proposal which does
not conform to the specified requirements;
(vi) during the technical evaluation
no amendments in the technical proposal shall
be permitted;
(vii) the financial proposals
of bids shall be opened publicly at a time,
date and venue announced and communicated to
the bidders in advance;
(viii) after the evaluation
and approval of the technical proposal the procuring
agency, shall at a time within the bid validity
period, publicly open the financial proposals
of the technically accepted bids only. The financial
proposal of bids found technically non-responsive
shall be returned un-opened to the respective
bidders; and
(ix) the bid found to be the
lowest evaluated bid shall be accepted.
(c) Two stage bidding procedure.-
First stage
(i) the bidders shall first
submit, according to the required specifications,
a technical proposal without price;
(ii) the technical proposal
shall be evaluated in accordance with the specified
evaluation criteria and may be discussed with
the bidders regarding any deficiencies and unsatisfactory
technical features;
(iii) after such discussions,
all the bidders shall be permitted to revise
their respective technical proposals to meet
the requirements of the procuring agency;
(iv) the procuring agency may
revise, delete, modify or add any aspect of
the technical requirements or evaluation criteria,
or it may add new requirements or criteria not
inconsistent with these rules:
Provided that such revisions,
deletions, modifications or additions are communicated
to all the bidders equally at the time of invitation
to submit final bids, and that sufficient time
is allowed to the bidders to prepare their revised
bids:
Provided further that such allowance
of time shall not be less than fifteen days
in the case of national competitive bidding
and thirty days in the case of international
competitive bidding;
(v) those bidders not willing
to conform their respective bids to the procuring
agency’s technical requirements may be
allowed to withdraw from the bidding without
forfeiture of their bid security;
Second stage
(vi) the bidders, whose technical
proposals or bids have not been rejected and
who are willing to conform their bids to the
revised technical requirements of the procuring
agency, shall be invited to submit a revised
technical proposal along with the financial
proposal;
(vii) the revised technical
proposal and the financial proposal shall be
opened at a time, date and venue announced and
communicated to the bidders in advance; and
(viii) the revised technical
proposal and the financial proposal shall be
evaluated in the manner prescribed above. The
bid found to be the lowest evaluated bid shall
be accepted:
Provided that in setting the
date for the submission of the revised technical
proposal and financial proposal a procuring
agency shall allow sufficient time to the bidders
to incorporate the agreed upon changes in the
technical proposal and prepare their financial
proposals accordingly.
(d) Two stage - two envelope
bidding procedure.-
First stage
(i) the bid shall comprise a
single package containing two separate envelopes.
Each envelope shall contain separately the financial
proposal and the technical proposal;
(ii) the envelopes shall be
marked as “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” and
“TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” in bold and
legible letters to avoid confusion;
(iii) initially, only the envelope
marked “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” shall
be opened;
(iv) the envelope marked as
“FINANCIAL PROPOSAL” shall be retained
in the custody of the procuring agency without
being opened;
(v) the technical proposal shall
be discussed with the bidders with reference
to the procuring agency’s technical requirements;
(vi) those bidders willing to
meet the requirements of the procuring agency
shall be allowed to revise their technical proposals
following these discussions;
(vii) bidders not willing to
conform their technical proposal to the revised
requirements of the procuring agency shall be
allowed to withdraw their respective bids without
forfeiture of their bid security;
Second stage
(viii) after agreement between
the procuring agency and the bidders on the
technical requirements, bidders who are willing
to conform to the revised technical specifications
and whose bids have not already been rejected
shall submit a revised technical proposal and
supplementary financial proposal, according
to the technical requirement;
(ix) the revised technical proposal
along with the original financial proposal and
supplementary financial proposal shall be opened
at a date, time and venue announced in advance
by the procuring agency:
Provided that in setting the
date for the submission of the revised technical
proposal and supplementary price proposal a
procuring agency shall allow sufficient time
to the bidders to incorporate the agreed upon
changes in the technical proposal and to prepare
the required supplementary financial proposal;
and
(x) the procuring agency shall
evaluate the whole proposal in accordance with
the evaluation criteria and the bid found to
be the lowest evaluated bid shall be accepted.
37. Conditions for use
of single stage two envelope, two stage and
two stage two envelope bidding procedures.-
Single stage one envelope bidding
procedure shall ordinarily be the main open
competitive bidding procedure used for most
of the procurement. Other appropriate procedures
of open competitive bidding shall be selected
in the following circumstances, namely:-
(a) single stage two envelope
bidding procedure shall be used where the bids
are to be evaluated on technical and financial
grounds and price is taken into account after
technical evaluation;
(b) two stage bidding procedure
shall be adopted in large and complex contracts
where technically unequal proposals are likely
to be encountered or where the procuring agency
is aware of its options in the market but, for
a given set of performance requirements, there
are two or more equally acceptable technical
solutions available to the procuring agency;
and
(c) two stage two envelope bidding
method shall be used for procurement where alternative
technical proposals are possible, such as certain
type of machinery or equipment or manufacturing
plant
ACCEPTANCE OF BIDS AND AWARD
OF PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS
38. Acceptance of bids.-
The bidder with the lowest evaluated
bid, if not in conflict with any other law,
rules, regulations or policy of the Federal
Government, shall be awarded the procurement
contract, within the original or extended period
of bid validity.
39. Performance guarantee.-
Where needed and clearly expressed
in the bidding documents, the procuring agency
shall require the successful bidder to furnish
a performance guarantee which shall not exceed
ten per cent of the contract amount.
40. Limitation on negotiations.-
Save as otherwise provided there
shall be no negotiations with the bidder having
submitted the lowest evaluated bid or with any
other bidder:
Provided that the extent of
negotiation permissible shall be subject to
the regulations issued by the Authority.
41. Confidentiality.-
The procuring agency shall keep
all information regarding the bid evaluation
confidential until the time of the announcement
of the evaluation report in accordance with
the requirements of rule 35.
42. Alternative methods
of procurements.-
A procuring agency may utilize
the following alternative methods of procurement
of goods, services and works, namely:-
(a) petty purchases.-
Procuring agencies may provide
for petty purchases where the object of the
procurement is below the financial limit of
twenty five thousand rupees. Such procurement
shall be exempt from the requirements of bidding
or quotation of prices:
Provided that the procuring
agencies shall ensure that procurement of petty
purchases is in conformity with the principles
of procurement prescribed in rule 4:
Provided further that procuring
agencies convinced of the inadequacy of the
financial limit prescribed for petty purchases
in undertaking their respective operations may
approach the Federal Government for enhancement
of the same with full and proper justifications.
(b) request for quotations.-
A procuring agency shall engage
in this method of procurement only if the following
conditions exist, namely:-
(i) the cost of object of procurement
is below the prescribed limit of **one hundred
thousand rupees:
**Provided that the respective
Boards of Autonomous bodies are authorized to
fix an appropriate limit for request for quotations
method of procurement subject to a maximum of
rupees five hundred thousand which will become
financial limit under this sub-rule:
(ii) the object of the procurement
has standard specifications;
(iii) minimum of three quotations
have been obtained; and
(iv) the object of the procurement
is purchased from the supplier offering the
lowest price:
Provided that procuring agencies
convinced of the inadequacy of the financial
limit prescribed for request for quotations
in undertaking their respective operations may
approach the Federal Government for enhancement
of the same with full and proper justifications;
(c) direct contracting.- A procuring
agency shall only engage in direct contracting
if the following conditions exist, namely:-
(i) the procurement concerns
the acquisition of spare parts or supplementary
services from original manufacturer or supplier:
Provided that the same are not
available from alternative sources;
(ii) only one manufacturer or
supplier exists for the required procurement:
Provided that the procuring
agencies shall specify the appropriate fora,
which may authorize procurement of proprietary
object after due diligence; and
(iii) where a change of supplier
would oblige the procuring agency to acquire
material having different technical specifications
or characteristics and would result in incompatibility
or disproportionate technical difficulties in
operation and maintenance:
Provided that the contract or
contracts do not exceed three years in duration;
(iv) repeat orders not exceeding
fifteen per cent of the original procurement;
(v) in case of an emergency:
Provided that the procuring
agencies shall specify appropriate fora vested
with necessary authority to declare an emergency;
*(vi) when the price of goods,
services or works is fixed by the government
or
any other authority, agency
or body duly authorized by the Government, on
its behalf, and
(vii) for purchase of motor
cars from local original manufacturers or their
authorized agents at manufacturer’s price.
(d) negotiated tendering.- A
procuring agency may engage in negotiated tendering
with one or more suppliers or contractors with
or without prior publication of a procurement
notification. This procedure shall only be used
when,-
(i) the supplies involved are
manufactured purely for the purpose of supporting
a specific piece of research or an experiment,
a study or a particular development;
(ii) for technical or artistic
reasons, or for reasons connected with protection
of exclusive rights or intellectual property,
the supplies may be manufactured or delivered
only by a particular supplier;
(iii) for reasons of extreme
urgency brought about by events unforeseeable
by the procuring agency, the time limits laid
down for open and limited bidding methods cannot
be met. The circumstances invoked to justify
extreme urgency must not be attributable to
the procuring agency:
Provided that any procuring
agency desirous of using negotiated tendering
as a method of procurement shall record its
reasons and justifications in writing for resorting
to negotiated tendering and shall place the
same on record.
43. On account payments.-
All procuring agencies shall make prompt payments
to suppliers and contractors against their invoices
or running bills within the time given in the
conditions of the contract, which shall not
exceed thirty days.
44. Entry into force
of the procurement contract.-
A procurement contract shall
come into force,-
(a) where no formal signing
of a contract is required, from the date the
notice of the acceptance of the bid or purchase
order has been given to the bidder whose bid
has been accepted. Such notice of acceptance
or purchase order shall be issued within a reasonable
time; or
(b) where the procuring agency
requires signing of a written contract, from
the date on which the signatures of both the
procuring agency and the successful bidder are
affixed to the written contract. Such affixing
of signatures shall take place within a reasonable
time:
Provided that where the coming
into force of a contract is contingent upon
fulfillment of a certain condition or conditions,
the contract shall take effect from the date
whereon such fulfillment takes place.
45. Closing of contract.-
(1) Except for defect liability
or maintenance by the supplier or contractor,
as specified in the conditions of contract,
performance of the contract shall be deemed
close on the issue of over all delivery certificate
or taking over certificate which shall be issued
within thirty days of final taking over of goods
or receiving the deliverables or completion
of works enabling the supplier or contractor
to submit final bill and the auditors to do
substantial audit.
(2) In case of defect liability
or maintenance period, defect liability certificate
shall be issued within thirty days of the expiry
of the said period enabling the supplier or
contractor to submit the final bill. Except
for unsettled claims, which shall be resolved
through arbitration, the bill shall be paid
within the time given in the conditions of contract,
which shall not exceed sixty days to close the
contract for final audit.
MAINTENANCE OF RECORD
AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
46. Record of procurement proceedings.-
(1) All procuring agencies shall
maintain a record of their respective procurement
proceedings along with all associated documentation
for a minimum period of five years.
(2) Such maintenance of record
shall be subject to the regulations framed in
this regard from time to time.
47. Public access and
transparency.- As soon as a contract has been
awarded the procuring agency shall make all
documents related to the evaluation of the bid
and award of contract public:
Provided that where the disclosure
of any information related to the award of a
contract is of proprietary nature or where the
procuring agency is convinced that such disclosure
shall be against the public interest, it can
withhold only such information from public disclosure
subject to the prior approval of the Authority.
REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCES
AND SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
48. Redressal of grievances by the procuring
agency.-
(1) The procuring agency shall
constitute a committee comprising of odd number
of persons, with proper powers and authorizations,
to address the complaints of bidders that may
occur prior to the entry into force of the procurement
contract.
(2) Any bidder feeling aggrieved
by any act of the procuring agency after the
submission of his bid may lodge a written complaint
concerning his grievances not later than fifteen
days after the announcement of the bid evaluation
report under rule 35.
(3) The committee shall investigate
and decide upon the complaint within fifteen
days of the receipt of the complaint.
(4) Mere fact of lodging of
a complaint shall not warrant suspension of
the procurement process.
(5) Any bidder not satisfied
with the decision of the committee of the procuring
agency may lodge an appeal in the relevant court
of jurisdiction.
49. Arbitration.-
(1) After coming into force
of the procurement contracts, disputes between
the parties to the contract shall be settled
by arbitration.
(2) The procuring agencies shall
provide for a method of arbitration in the procurement
contract, not inconsistent with the laws of
Pakistan.
50. Mis-procurement.-
Any unauthorized breach of these
rules shall amount to mis-procurement.
51. Overriding effect.-
The provisions of these rules
shall have effect notwithstanding anything to
the contrary contained in any other rules concerning
public procurements:
Provided that the prevailing
rules and procedures will remain applicable
only for the procurement of goods, services
and works for which notice for invitation of
bids had been issued prior to the commencement
of these rules unless the procuring agency deems
it appropriate to re-issue the notice for the
said procurement after commencement of these
rules.
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*Amended vide Cabinet Division
No. 5/37/2005-M-III/Admin (PPRA), dated 27-01-2006
**Amended vide Cabinet Division No. 5/37/2005-M-III/Admin
(PPRA), dated 13-12-2006
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