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Assam Public Procurement Act, 2017

(Assam Act No. 24 of 2017)

Last Updated 12th February, 2020 [ass308]

Preamble

(i) timely delivery of its intended outcomes with efficiency, economy, professionalism and public accountability from its officers and staff;

(ii) the highest standards of transparency, fairness, equality towards its bidders;

(iii) support to policies of the State on social, economic and environmental issues; and

(iv) assurance to public and other stakeholders regarding probity and integrity of the process.

Chapter I

Preliminary

(a) "bid" means a formal offer made in pursuance of an invitation by a procuring entity and includes any tender, proposal (technical or financial) or quotation;

(b) "bidder" means any person, company, firm, agency, institution, etc., participating in a procurement process of a procuring entity for procurement of goods, works or services;

(c) "bidder registration documents" means the documents issued by a procuring entity, including any amendments thereto, that set out the terms and conditions of registration proceedings and includes the invitation to register;

(d) "bidding documents" means documents for procurement of goods, works or services issued by the procuring entity, including any amendments thereto, that set out the terms and conditions of the given procurement and includes the invitation to bid; The term "bidding document" also includes the "request for proposal" and "request for quotation" documents used for hiring consultancy and non-consultancy services;

(e) "bid security" means a security provided to the procuring entity by a bidder for securing the fulfillment of any obligation in terms of the provisions of the bidding documents;

(f) "competent authority" means a person, body of persons, organs or an agency competent to take actions as may be referred to or directed to it by the Authority under this Act or the Rules or Guidelines made hereunder or by the provisions of any other law for the time being in force;

(g) "e-procurement" means the electronic process where in the physical tendering activity is carried out online using the Internet and associated technologies;

(h) "electronic reverse auction" means an online real-time purchasing technique utilized by the procuring entity to select the successful submission, which involves presentation by bidders of successively lowered bids during a scheduled period of time and the automatic evaluation of bids;

(i) "Framework agreement procedure" means a procedure conducted in two stages: a first stage to select a supplier (or suppliers) or a contractor (or contractors) to be a party (or parties) to a framework agreement with a procuring entity, and a second stage to award a procurement contract under the framework agreement to a supplier or contractor party;

(j) "Framework agreement" means an agreement between the procuring entity and the selected supplier (or suppliers) or contractor (or contractors) concluded upon completion of the first stage of the framework agreement procedure;

(k) "Closed framework agreement" means a framework agreement to which no supplier or contractor or State Agency acting as Consortium on behalf of PPP registered MSE to the framework agreement that is not initially a party to the framework agreement may subsequently become a party;

(l) "Open framework agreement" means a framework agreement to which a supplier (or suppliers) or a contractor (or contractors) in addition to the initial parties may subsequently become a party or parties;

(m) "Framework agreement procedure with second-stage competition" means a procedure under an open framework agreement or a closed framework agreement with more than one supplier or contractor in which certain terms and conditions of the procurement that cannot be established with sufficient precision when the framework agreement is concluded are to be established or refined through a second-stage competition;

(n) "Framework agreement procedure without second-stage competition" means a procedure under a closed framework agreement in which all terms and conditions of the procurement are established when the framework agreement is concluded;

(o) "goods" includes all articles, material, commodities, electricity, livestock, furniture, fixtures, raw material, spares, instruments, software, machinery, equipment, industrial plant, vehicles, aircraft, ships, railway rolling stock and any other category of goods, whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form, purchased or otherwise acquired for the use of a procuring entity as well as services or works incidental to the supply of the goods if the value of services or works or both does not exceed that of the goods themselves;

(p) "invitation to bid" means a document published by the procuring entity inviting bids relating to the subject-matter of procurement and any amendment thereto and includes notice inviting tender and request for proposal;

(q) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

(r) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(s) "pre-qualification" means the procedure set out to identify, prior to inviting bids, the bidders that are qualified;

(t) "pre-qualification documents" means the documents issued by a procuring entity, including any amendments thereto, that set out the terms and conditions of the pre-qualification proceedings and includes the invitation to pre-qualify;

(u) "procurement" or "public procurement" means the acquisition by purchase, lease, licence or otherwise of works, goods or services, including award of Public Private Partnership projects, by a procuring entity whether directly or through an agency with which a contract for procurement services is entered into, but does not include any acquisition without consideration, and "procure" or "procured" shall be construed accordingly;

(v) "procurement contract" means a contract entered into between the procuring entity and a successful bidder concerning the subject-matter of procurement;

(w) "procurement process" means the process of procurement extending from the issue of invitation to pre-qualify or to register or to bid till the award of the procurement contract or cancellation of the procurement process, as the case may be;

(x) "procuring entity" means an entity referred to in sub-section (2) of section 3;

(y) "Public Private Partnership" means an arrangement between the State Government, statutory entity or any other government owned entity on one side and a private sector entity on the other, for the provision of public assets or public services or both, through investments being made or management being undertaken, or both investments being made and management being undertaken, by the private sector entity, for a specified period of time, where there is well defined allocation of risk between the private sector and the State Government, statutory entity or any other government owned entity, as the case may be, and the private entity receives performance linked payments that conform (or are bench-marked) to specified and pre-determined performance standards, measurable by the State Government, statutory entity or any other government owned entity, as the case may be, or its representative;

(z) "rate contract" means an agreement between a procuring entity and one or more bidders which specifies the terms and conditions including the price, for the supply of a subject-matter of procurement required on a recurring basis;

(za) "registered bidder" means any bidder who is on a list of registered bidders of the procuring entity maintained under section 19;

(zb) "services" means any subject-matter of procurement other than goods or works and includes physical, maintenance, professional, intellectual, consultancy and advisory services or any service classified or declared as such by a procuring entity and does not include appointment of any person made by any procuring entity;

(zc) "subject-matter of procurement" means any item of procurement whether in the form of goods, services or works;

(zd) "works" means all works associated with the construction, reconstruction, site preparation, demolition, repair, maintenance, or renovation or railways roads, highways or a building, an infrastructure, or structure or an installation or any construction work relating to excavation, drilling, installation of equipment and materials, as well as services or goods incidental or consequential to the works if the value of those services or goods does not exceed that of the works themselves;

(ze) "State Government" means the Government of Assam;

(zf) "Swiss Challenge" means a method of procurement in which an unsolicited proposal for a government project is received and third party are allowed to challenge the original proposal through open bidding, and then the original proponent is given a chance to counter-match the most advantageous/most competitive offer.

(a) any department of the State Government or its attached or subordinate office;

(b) any State Public Sector Enterprise owned or controlled by the State Government;

(c) any entity established or constituted by the Constitution of India whose expenditure is met from the Consolidated Fund of the State;

(d) any entity or board or corporation or authority or society or trust or autonomous entity (by whatever name called) established or constituted by an Act of the State Legislature or an entity owned or controlled by the State Government;

(e) any other entity which the State Government may, by notification, specify to be a procuring entity for the purpose of this Act, being an entity that receives substantial financial assistance from the State Government in so far as the utilization of such assistance towards procurement is concerned.

(f) any procurement support agency or procurement agent or procurement consultant involved in procurement on behalf of the procuring entities specified in clauses (a) to (e) above.

(a) any procurement the estimated cost or value of which is less than the threshold value as Finance Department of the State Government may, by notification, specify for different classes or categories of procurements or procuring entities;

(b) emergency procurement necessary for the management of any disaster, as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (Central Act No.53 of 2005);

(c) the procurement under Assembly and Parliamentary election urgency;

(d) procurement for the purposes of security or on strategic considerations that the State Government may, by general or special order, specify;

(e) procurement by a procuring entity under clause (b) to clause (e) of subsection (2) of section 3 from its subsidiary company or joint venture company in which such procuring entity has more than fifty percent share;

(f) any other procurement, as may be notified by Finance Department.

Chapter II

Procurement

A. General Principles

(a) effective and timely achievement of the planned outcomes of the procurement without excessive cost over-run;

(b) transparency (including consistency, objectivity, predictability openness), fairness (including appeal rights), equality (including nondiscrimination) in relations with the bidders;

(c) professionalism, economy and efficiency, from official involved in process;

(d) compliance with the code of integrity in public procurement as laid down by the State Government under section 11 of this Act by officer or employee of a procuring entity or a person participating in a procurement process.

(a) the scope or quantity of procurement, if determined;

(b) Ensure that the need is neither artificially created nor exaggerated, with the intention to channel benefits to certain individual(s) or organization(s);

(c) ensure transparency and not restrict dialogue for determining solutions for the need only with certain individual(s) or organization(s) giving them undue advantage by way of access to inside information not disclosed or disclosed late to others;

(d) limitation on participation of bidders in terms of section 6, if any applicable, and justification thereof; and

(e) any other matter as may be prescribed.

(a) Every procurement entity shall prepare a Procurement Plan along with their proposal for Annual Budgetary Allocations for a Financial Year and the Plan shall be updated as per the approved Annual Budget Allocation for the entity. The updated Procurement Plan shall be approved by the concerned Administrative Department within 15 days of receipt of Budget Communication from the Finance Department of the State Government.

(b) The Procurement Plan, including its updates, shall set forth at the minimum the following:

(i) a brief description of goods, works, and/or non-consulting services for which procurement action is to take place during the respective financial year;

(ii) the proposed methods of procurement pursuant to the provisions in this Act and the Rules made thereunder;

(iii) any provision of preference in accordance to section 6 of the Act;

(iv) the review thresholds as per the DFP Rules of the State Government;

(v) the time schedule for key procurement activities; and

(vi) any other information.

(c) The Procurement Plan prepared pursuant to sub-clause (4)(a) of this section may be further updated by the procurement entity with approval of the concerned Administrative Department, provided that the updated shall remain within the approved Annual Budgetary Allocation for the procurement entity.

(d) The procuring entity shall publish the Procurement Plan prepared pursuant to sub-clause (4) of this section on the State Public Procurement Portal and in the website of the concerned procuring entity :

(a) the promotion of domestic industry;

(b) socio-economic policy of the Central Government or the State Government;

(c) any other consideration in public interest in furtherance of a duly notified policy of the Central Government or the State Government:

(a) to protect public order, morality or safety;

(b) to protect human, animal or plant life or their health;

(c) to protect intellectual property;

(d) to protect the essential security and strategic interest of India.

(a) The procuring entity may, however, lay down reasonable Eligibility Conditions for participation in the procurement process, as distinct from and in addition to any technical or financial qualification criteria, if prescribed, to ensure compliance with the Transparency and Code of Integrity as enunciated in section 4(l)(b) and (d). Rules and guidelines hereunder may lay down eligibility conditions that may be prescribed by procuring entities.

(b) Any bidder participating in the procurement process shall, -

(i) have fulfilled his obligation to pay such of the taxes payable to the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority as may be specified in the bidding documents, pre-qualification documents or bidder registration documents;

(ii) not be insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up, not have its affairs administered by a court or a judicial officer, not have its business activities suspended and must not be the subject of legal proceedings for any of the foregoing reasons;

(iii) not have, and their directors and officers not have, been convicted of any criminal offence related to their professional conduct or the making of false statements or misrepresentations as to their qualifications to enter into a procurement contract within a period of three years preceding the commencement of the procurement process, or not have been otherwise disqualified pursuant to debarment proceedings;

(iv) not have a conflict of interest as may be prescribed and specified in the pre-qualification documents, bidder registration documents or bidding documents, which materially affects fair competition;

(v) fulfill any other Eligibility Condition as may be prescribed, in terms of sub-section (5) (a) above.

(a) possess the necessary professional, technical, quality assurance, financial and managerial resources, certification and experience and competencies required, if any, by the bidding documents, pre-qualification documents or bidder registration documents, as the case may be, issued by the procuring entity;

(b) fulfill any other qualifications as may be prescribed.

(a) every procuring entity shall initiate the procurement process only after technical, administrative and budgetary approvals are accorded and after obtaining the approval of the authority which has the necessary financial powers to initiate such value and category of procurement as per the rules and guidelines made under this Act.

(b) however, procuring entity to save time, may initiate advance actions of procurement in anticipation of administrative and budgetary approvals, under certain circumstances and following procedures prescribed with the approval of an authority designated in this regard in the rules made under this Act, provided that the procurement process shall stop short of any financial or contractual commitment, even in such cases unless administrative and budgetary approvals have been obtained,

(c) the Government shall lay down the circumstances, procedures and designated authority for initiating such advance procurement under clause (b) above.

(a) bid documents of Bidders and certified copy of contract agreement with the successful bidders;

(b) description of the subject-matter of the procurement under section 12;

(c) statement of the reason for choice of a procurement method other than open competitive bidding under sub-section (4) of section 29;

(d) particulars of the participating bidders;

(e) written requests for clarifications and any responses thereto including during pre-bid conferences;

(f) bid prices and other financial terms;

(g) summary of the evaluation of bids;

(h) details of any appeal under section 38, and the related decisions;

(i) any other information or record as may be prescribed.

(a) prohibiting,-

(i) any offer, solicitation or acceptance of any bribe, reward or gift or any material benefit, either directly or indirectly, in exchange for an unfair advantage in the procurement process or to otherwise influence the procurement process;

(ii) any omission, including a misrepresentation that misleads or attempts to mislead so as to obtain a financial or other benefit or avoid an obligation;

(iii) any collusion, bid rigging or anti-competitive behaviour to impair the transparency, fairness and progress of the procurement process;

(iv) improper use of information shared between the procuring entity and the bidders with an intent to gain unfair advantage in the procurement process or for personal gain;

(v) any financial or business transactions between the bidder and any officer or employee of the procuring entity, who are directly or indirectly related to tender or execution process of contract;

(vi) any coercion including impairing or harming or threatening to do the same, directly or indirectly, to any party or to its property to influence the procurement process;

(vii) any obstruction of any investigation or audit of a procurement process;

(viii) making false declaration or providing false information for participation in, -

(a) tender process or to secure a contract;

(b) disclosure of conflict of interest;

(c) disclosure by the bidder of any previous transgressions with any entity in India or any other country during the last three years or of any debarment by any other procuring entity.

(a) exclusion of the bidder from the procurement process;

(b) calling off of pre-contract negotiations and forfeiture or encashment of bid security;

(c) forfeiture or encashment of any other security or bond relating to the procurement;

(d) recovery of payments made by the procuring entity along with interest thereon at bank rate;

(e) cancellation of the relevant contract and recovery of compensation for loss incurred by the procuring entity;

(f) debarment of the bidder from participation in future procurements of the procuring entity for a period not exceeding three years under section 46.

(a) be such as to meet the essential needs of the procuring entity;

(b) to the extent practicable -

(i) be objective, functional, generic and measurable;

(ii) set out the relevant technical, quality and performance characteristics;

(iii) not indicate a requirement for a particular trade mark, trade name or brand and in case it is essential to mention, the word or equivalent" shall be invariably used after the trade mark, trade name or brand;

(c) be drawn up in accordance with guidelines as may be prescribed.

(a) call for bids in which the technical, quality and performance aspects, commercial terms and conditions and the financial aspects including the price are contained in a single envelope; or

(b) if it is of the opinion that it is essential to evaluate the technical aspects of a bid before considering its financial aspect, call for bids in two envelopes, namely:

(i) the techno-commercial bid containing the technical, quality and performance aspects, commercial terms and conditions and all other details and documents sought in the tender, except the price and relevant financial details; and

(ii) the financial bid containing financial aspects including the price.

(a) the price;

(b) the cost of operating, maintaining and repairing goods or works, the time for delivery of goods, completion of works or provision of services, the characteristics of the subject-matter of procurement, such as the functional characteristics of goods or works and the environmental characteristics of the subject-matter, the terms of payment and of guarantees in respect of the subject-matter of procurement; and

(c) where relevant, the experience, reliability and professional and technical competence of the bidder and of the personnel to be involved in providing the subject-matter of procurement.

(a) pre-qualification documents, bidder registration documents, bidding documents and any amendments, clarifications including those pursuant to pre-bid conference, and corrigenda thereto;

(b) list of bidders that presented bids including during pre-qualification or bidder registration, as the case may be;

(c) list of pre-qualified and registered bidders, as the case may be;

(d) list of bidders excluded under section 25, with reasons;

(e) decisions under sections 38 and 39;

(f) details of successful bids, their prices and bidders;

(g) particulars of bidders who have been debarred by the State Government or a procuring entity together with the name of the procuring entity, cause for the debarment action and the period of debarment;

(h) any other information as may be prescribed.

(a) a brief description of subject-matter of procurement;

(b) in case of procurement of, -

(i) goods, its specifications including the nature, quantity, time and place of delivery;

(ii) works, the nature, completion time and location of the works;

(iii) services, the nature of the services, the time and location for providing service,

(c) any notice of limitation to participation of bidders in terms of section 6;

(d) the manner, date and time for submission of bids;

(e) any other information which is considered by the procuring entity relevant for the purpose.

(a) the need of the bidders for having a reasonable time to prepare and submit their bids; and

(b) the time frame envisaged for procurement.

(a) the bidder is not qualified in terms of section 7;

(b) the bid materially departs from the requirements specified in the bidding documents or it contains false information;

(c) the bidder submitting the bid, his agent or any one acting on his behalf, gave or agreed to give, to any officer or employee of the procuring entity or other governmental authority a gratification in any form, or any other thing of value, so as to unduly influence the procurement process;

(d) a bidder, in the opinion of the procuring entity, has a conflict of interest materially affecting fair competition.

(a) communicated to the concerned bidder in writing;

(b) published on the State Public Procurement Portal.

(a) at any time prior to the acceptance of the successful bid; or

(b) after the successful bid is accepted in accordance with sub-sections (4) and (5).

(a) cancel the relevant procurement process if the bid of the convicted bidder has been declared as successful but no procurement contract has been entered into;

(b) rescind the relevant contract or forfeit the payment of all or a part of the contract value if the procurement contract has been entered into between the procuring entity and the convicted bidder.

(a) where price is the only award criterion, the bid with the lowest bid price;

(b) where there are price and other award criteria, the most advantageous bid ascertained on the basis of the criteria and procedures for evaluating bids as specified in the bidding documents;

(c) where there are no financial criteria, the most advantageous bid ascertained on the basis of selected non-financial criteria or other parameters for evaluating bids as specified in the bidding documents.

B. Methods

(a) Open Competitive Bidding; or

(b) Limited Bidding; or

(c) Two Stage Bidding; or

(d) Single Source Procurement; or

(e) Electronic Reverse Auction; or

(f) Request for Quotations; or

(g) Spot Purchase; or

(h) Competitive negotiations; or

(i) Rate Contract or Government E-Market (GeM)

(j) Framework agreement, ox

(k) E-commerce; or

(l) community procurement for community driven schemes; or

(m) Swiss Challenge; or

(n) any other method of procurement notified by the State Government satisfying the principles of procurement contained in this Act and which the State Government considers necessary in public interest.

(a) the subject-matter of procurement can be supplied only by a limited number of bidders; or

(b) the time and cost involved to examine and evaluate a large number of bids may not be commensurate with the value of the subject-matter of procurement; or

(c) owing to an urgency brought about by unforeseen events, the procuring entity is of the opinion that the subject-matter of procurement cannot be usefully obtained by adopting the method of open competitive bidding; or

(d) procurement from a category of prospective bidders is necessary in terms of sub-section (2) of section 6.

(a) the procuring entity shall issue an invitation to bid by writing directly, and on the same day, to, -

(i) all the bidders who can supply the subject-matter of procurement in terms of clause (a) of sub-section (1); or

(ii) all the bidders who are registered for the subject-matter of procurement with the procuring entity or with any other procuring entity, where procuring entity uses the list of registered bidders of such other procuring entity in terms of sub-section (5) of section 19; or

(iii) an adequate number of bidders who can supply the subject-matter of procurement selected in a non-discriminatory manner to ensure effective competition, in case of clause (b) of sub-section (1);

(b) a procuring entity may allow all prospective bidders who fulfill the qualification criteria laid down for the procurement, whether an invitation to bid has been issued to such a bidder or not, to participate in the bidding process.

(a) the subject-matter of procurement is available only from a particular prospective bidder, or a particular prospective bidder has exclusive rights in respect of the subject-matter of procurement, such that no reasonable alternative or substitute source exists, and the use of any other procurement method would, therefore, not be possible; or

(b) owing to a sudden unforeseen event, there is an extremely urgent need for the subject-matter of procurement, and engaging in any other method of procurement would be impractical; or

(c) the procuring entity, having procured goods, equipment, technology or services from a supplier, determines that additional supplies or services must be procured from that supplier for reasons of standardization or because of the need for compatibility with existing goods, equipment, technology or services; or

(d) there is an existing contract for the subject-matter of procurement which can be extended for additional goods, works or services and that the procuring entity is satisfied that no advantage would be obtained by further competition, the prices are reasonable and provisions for such extension exist in the original contract; or

(e) the procuring entity determines that the use of any other method of procurement is not appropriate for the protection of national security interests; or

(f) procurement from a particular prospective bidder is necessary in terms of sub-section(2) of section 6; or

(g) subject-matter is of artistic nature; or

(h) subject-matter of procurement is of such nature as requires the procuring entity to maintain confidentiality, like printing of examination papers; or

(i) for procurement particular breed of livestock or seeds or seedlings available only in one source or when the required quantity is not available with single source but available at different sources; or

(j) the item is available as per the rate contract of the Director General of Supplies & Disposal's (DGS&D's).

(a) the procuring entity shall solicit a bid from a single prospective bidder;

(b) the procuring entity may engage in negotiations in good faith with the bidder;

(c) the procuring entity may procure the item as per the rate contract of the Director General of Supplies & Disposal's (DGS&D's), Government of India.

(a) it is not feasible for the procuring entity to formulate detailed specifications or identify specific characteristics for the subject-matter of procurement, without receiving inputs regarding its technical aspects from bidders; or

(b) the character of the subject-matter of procurement is subject to such rapid technological advances and market fluctuations to make open competitive bidding unfeasible; or

(c) the procuring entity seeks to enter into a contract for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development, except where the contract includes the production of items in quantities sufficient to establish their commercial viability or to recover research and development costs; or

(d) the bidder is expected to carry out a detailed survey or investigation and undertake a comprehensive assessment of risks, costs and obligations associated with the particular procurement.

(a) in the first stage of the bidding process, the procuring entity shall invite bids containing the technical aspects and contractual terms and conditions of the proposed procurement without a bid price;

(b) all first stage bids, which are otherwise eligible, shall be evaluated in accordance with the procedure laid down in the rules through an appropriate committee constituted by the procuring entity;

(c) the committee may hold discussions with the bidders and if any such discussion is held, equal opportunity shall be given to all bidders to participate in the discussions;

(d) in revising the relevant terms and conditions of the procurement, the procuring entity shall not modify the fundamental nature of the procurement itself, but may add, amend or delete any specifications of the subject-matter of procurement or criterion for evaluation;

(e) notwithstanding anything contained in sections 29 and 30, in the second stage of the bidding process, the procuring entity shall invite bids from all those bidders whose bids at the first stage were not rejected, to present final bid with bid prices in response to a revised set of terms and conditions of the procurement;

(f) any bidder, invited to bid but not in a position to supply the subject-matter of procurement due to changes in the specifications, may withdraw from the bidding proceedings without forfeiting any bid security that he may have been required to provide or being penalized in any way, by declaring his intention to withdraw from the procurement proceedings with adequate justification.

(a) it is feasible for the procuring entity to formulate a detailed description of the subject-matter of the procurement;

(b) there is a competitive market of bidders anticipated to be qualified to participate in the electronic reverse auction, such that effective competition is ensured; and

(c) the criteria to be used by the procuring entity in determining the successful bid are quantifiable and can be expressed in monetary terms.

(a) the procuring entity shall invite bids to the electronic reverse auction by causing an invitation to be published in accordance with sub-section (5) of section 29 or issued in accordance with sub-section (2) of section 30, as the case may be;

(b) the invitation shall, in addition to the information as set out in section 20, include details relating to -

(i) access to and registration for the auction;

(ii) opening and closing of auction;

(iii) norms for conduct of the auction;

(iv) any other information as may be relevant to the method of procurement.

(a) procurement of readily available commercial-off-the-shelf goods that are not specially produced to the particular description of the procuring entity and for which there is an established market; or

(b) physical services that are not specially provided to the particular description of the procuring entity and are readily available in the market; or

(c) procurement of any goods or works or services which are urgently required for maintenance or emergency repairs.

(a) a quotations in sealed envelopes shall be requested simultaneously from as many potential bidders as practicable, subject to a minimum of three, for submission within a given date and time:

(b) each bidder shall be permitted to give only one quotation;

(c) the successful quotation shall be the lowest priced quotation meeting the needs of the procuring entity as set out in the request for quotations.

(a) owing to an urgency brought about by unforeseen events, the procuring entity is of the opinion that the subject-matter of procurement cannot be usefully obtained by adopting the method of open competitive bidding or any other method; or

(b) the subject-matter of procurement involves livestock, cotton, oilseeds or such other agricultural produces whose prices fluctuate frequently and in the opinion of the procuring entity the subject-matter of procurement cannot be usefully obtained by adopting the method of open competitive bidding or any other method.

(a) purchase of the subject-matter of procurement under this section shall be made through a purchase committee within the procuring entity and in such cases the purchase committee shall record a certificate to the effect that it is satisfied that the subject-matter of procurement is of requisite quality and are priced at the prevailing market rate;

(b) to ensure effective competition, an adequate number, not being less than three, of potential bidders selected in a non-discriminatory manner shall be included in procurement process;

(c) an equal opportunity shall be given to all bidders to participate in the negotiations.

(a) A procuring entity may choose to engage in a rate contract procedure in accordance with the rules as may be made in this behalf, under this Act where it determines that, -

(i) the need for the subject-matter of procurement is expected to arise on an indefinite or repeated basis during a given period of time;

(ii) by virtue of the nature of the subject-matter of procurement, the need for it may arise during a given period of time.

(b) A procuring entity may award a rate contract on the basis of open competitive bidding or by means of other procurement methods in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(c) Subject to the rules as may be made in this behalf, the procedure for rate contract shall include the following, namely:

(i) the manner in which rate contract is to be entered into, including selection of the method of bidding to be followed; and

(ii) the manner in which a procurement contract has to be entered into using rate contract procedure.

(a) Director General Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) hosts an online Government e-Market Place (GeM) on pilot basis, for common use goods and services. The electronic and online procurement process on GeM is end-to-end from placement of supply order to payment to suppliers.

(b) Government Procuring Entities (including State Government entities) at their option may view, compare and directly purchase online, the Products and services offered by various suppliers on GeM under such conditions, as may be prescribed by the Government.

(c) The procedure and details of procurement through the GeM shall be such as may be prescribed by the Government.

Chapter III

Appeals

(a) determination of need of procurement in terms of section 5;

(b) provisions limiting participation of bidders in the bid process in terms of the provisions of section 6;

(c) the decision of whether or not to enter into negotiations in terms of section 15;

(d) cancellation of a procurement process in terms of section 26;

(e) applicability of the provisions of confidentiality under section 49.

Chapter IV

Offences and Penalties

(a) interferes with or influences any procurement process with the intention of securing any wrongful gain or undue advantage for any prospective bidder or bidder; or

(b) interferes with the procurement process with the intention of causing any unfair disadvantage for any prospective bidder or bidder; or

(c) engages in any action or lobbying, directly or indirectly, with the objective of unduly restricting fair competition; or

(d) intentionally influences any procuring entity or any officer or employee thereof or willfully or fraudulently makes any assertion or representation that would restrict or constrain fair competition in any procurement process; or

(e) engages a former officer or employee of a procuring entity as an employee, director, consultant, adviser or otherwise, within a period of one year after such former officer or employee was associated with a procurement in which the employer had an interest; or

(f) engages in any form of bid-rigging, collusive bidding or anti-competitive behaviour in the procurement process; or

(g) intentionally breaches confidentiality referred to in section 49 for any undue gain, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to fifty lakh rupees or ten per cent of the assessed value of procurement, whichever is less.

(a) withdraws from the procurement process after opening of financial bids; or

(b) withdraws from the procurement process after being declared the successful bidder; or

(c) fails to enter into procurement contract after being declared the successful bidder; or

(d) fails to provide performance security or any other document or security required in terms of the bidding documents after being declared the successful bidder, without valid grounds, shall, in addition to the recourse available in the bidding documents or the contract, be punished with fine which may extend to fifty lakh rupees or ten per cent of the assessed value of procurement whichever is less.

(i) "company" means a body corporate and includes a limited liability partnership, firm, registered society or co-operative society, trust or other association of individuals; and

(ii) "director" in relation to a limited liability partnership or firm, means a partner in the firm.

(a) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Central Act No. 49 of 1988); or

(b) under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Central Act No. 45 of 1860) or any other law for the time being in force, for causing any loss of life or property or causing a threat to public health as part of execution of a public procurement contract.

(a) in case of a person who is employed in connection with the affairs of the State and is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the State Government, of that Government.

(b) in the case of any other person, of the authority competent to remove him from his office.

Chapter V

Miscellaneous

(a) impede enforcement of any law;

(b) affect the security or strategic interests of India;

(c) affect the intellectual property rights or legitimate commercial interests of bidders;

(d) affect the legitimate commercial interests of the procuring entity in situations that may include when the procurement relates to a project in which the procuring entity is to make a competitive bid, or the intellectual property rights of the procuring entity.

(a) to maintain and update the State Public Procurement Portal set up under section 17;

(b) to arrange for training and certification specified in terms of section 48;

(c) to recommend to the State Government measures for effective implementation of the provisions of this Act;

(d) to provide guidance, consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules and guidelines made thereunder, to the procuring entities with respect to the matter relating to public procurement;

(e) to study different methods of public procurement and prepare and recommend standard bidding documents, pre-qualification documents or bidder registration documents;

(f) subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 28, encourage procuring entities to adopt electronic procurement; and

(g) to discharge such other functions as may be assigned to it by the State Government consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules and guidelines made thereunder.

(a) on any individual by, -

(i) delivering it to the person personally; or

(ii) leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the address of the place of residence or business of the person last known;

(b) on a body corporate by leaving it at, or sending it by post to. the registered office of the body corporate.

(i) procurements covered under sub-section (4) of section 3;

(ii) matters to be decided while determining need for procurement under section 5;

(iii) circumstances in which participation of bidders may be limited under section 6;

(iv) identification and treatment of conflict of interest situations under section 7;

(v) additional qualifications to be fulfilled by bidders under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 7;

(vi) time frame for various stages of the process of procurement under section 9;

(vii) information or record of procurement proceedings required to be maintained under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 10;

(viii) code of integrity under section 11;

(ix) guidelines for drawing up the description of the subject-matter of procurement under section 12;

(x) evaluation criteria under sub-section (1) of section 14;

(xi) maintenance of records of trials and testing under sub-section (2) of section 14;

(xii) provisions relating to price negotiations under section 15;

(xiii) terms and conditions of procurement contracts under section 16;

(xiv) information to be provided on the State Public Procurement Portal under section 17;

(xv) procedure for pre-qualification under section 18;

(xvi) procedure and conditions for registration of bidders under section 19;

(xvii) provisions relating to content of bidding documents under section 20;

(xviii) standard conditions of bidding documents including its form under sub-section (3) of section 20;

(xix) procedure for submission, opening and evaluation of bids, including constitution of committees for those purposes under section 24;

(xx) procedure in respect of various methods of procurement under section 28;

(xxi) manner of publication of bid under sub-section (5) of section 29;

(xxii) provisions relating to monetary value for procurement through request for quotations and spot purchase under section 34;

(xxiii) form, manner and fee for appeals under section 38;

(xxiv) procedure to be followed while hearing appeal under section 38;

(xxv) professional standards, training and certification for officials dealing with procurement matters under section 48;

(xxvi) provisions relating to bid securities, performance securities, inspection of works, goods and services, modification and withdrawal of bids, and contract management;

(xxvii) any other matter which is required to be prescribed by the State Government for carrying out the provisions of this Act.