Act Info:
On and from the date ofcommencement of this Act no Procurement Entity shall procure goods or servicesexcept by inviting Tenders for supply.
Section 6 - Procurement Entities to follow Procedure
No tender shall be invited, processed or accepted by a Procurement Entity after the commencement of this Act except in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Act or the rules made thereunder.
Section 7 - Tender Bulletin Officers
(1) The Government may by notification appoint an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Secretary to Government of the concerned department to be the State Tender Bulletin Officer for the State in respect of that Department where the procurement of that department covers more than one district.
(2) Deputy Commissioner of the District shall be the District Bulletin Officer.
Section 8 - Publication of Tender Bulletin
(1) The State Tender Bulletin Officer, or as the case may be, the District Tender Bulletin Officer shall on receipt of intimation relating to notice of invitation of tender from tender inviting authority or information relating to details of acceptance of tender under section 13 or rejection of tender under section 14 from the tender Accepting Authority, publish within the prescribed time, the State Tender Bulletin or as the case may be District Tender Bulletin.
(2) The Tender Bulletin shall be made available for sale in the office of the Tender Bulletin Officer and in such other places as the Tender Bulletin Officer deems fit to make available.
Section 9 - Tender Inviting Authority and Tender Accepting Authority
(1) The Procurement Entity may, by order, appoint, -
(i) one or more of officers or a Committee of Officers to be the Tender Inviting Authority for any specified area, specified procurement or specified class of goods or services, and
(ii) one or more of officers or a Committee of Officers to be the Tender Accepting Authority for any specified area or Specified Procurement, specified class of goods and services:
Provided that where a multi-member Committee is already appointed for any Procurement Entity for discharging the function of accepting tenders, such Committee shall be deemed to be a Tender Accepting Authority appointed under this Act.
Section 10 - Tender Scrutiny Committee
The Tender Accepting Authority may constitute a Tender Scrutiny Committee consisting of such persons as it deems fit to scrutinise tenders above five crores in the case of the Public Works, Irrigation and Minor Irrigation Departments of the Government and above rupees one crore in other cases.
Section 11 - Opening of Tenders
(1) The Procurement entity may authorise either the Tender Inviting Authority or the Tender Accepting Authority or any other Officer to openthe Tenders and draw up a list of Tenderers responding to the notice inviting tender, in each case.
(2) The Authority, or as the case may be the officer referred to in sub-section (1) shall open the tender, draw up a list of tenderers in the prescribed manner and unless it is also the Tender Accepting Authority, forward the tenders along with the list of tenderers, to the Tender Accepting Authority.
Section 12 - Duties of Tender Inviting Authority
(1) It shall be the duty ofevery Tender Inviting Authority,-
(a) to take out notice invitingtenders at the behest of the Procurement Entity in the prescribed manner;
(b) to communicate the noticeinviting tenders by marking a copy thereof to the Tender bulletin Officerconcerned immediately after issue of the notice;
(c) to cause publication ofnotice inviting tenders in the prescribed manner; and
(d) to supply the Schedule ofRates and Tender Documents to every intending tenderer who has applied to getsuch documents.
(2) The Tender InvitingAuthority shall take out notices, communications and publications required tobe taken out under this section in such form, in such manner, by such mode andat such time and interval as may be prescribed and different manner and mode ofpublication may be prescribed for different procurements depending on the valueof the procurement.
(3) The Tender InvitingAuthority shall collect all the details received in response to the noticeinviting tender, within the time stipulated and unless it is itself authorisedto open the tender shall compile and forward all the tenders received to theAuthority or Officer authorised to open the tenders.
Section 13 - Acceptance of Tender
The Tender Accepting Authority shall, after following such procedure as may be prescribed pass order accepting the tender and shall communicate the information relating to acceptance of tender together with a comparative analysis and reasons for accepting of tender to the procurement entity and the Tender Bulletin Officer:
Provided that where the Tender Accepting Authority consists of single officer who is due to retire within the next six months, from the date fixed for the acceptance for tender, he shall not act to accept the tender without obtaining prior approval of the Procurement Entity:
Provided further that subject to such general or special order as may be issued by the Government from time to time, the Tender Accepting Authority may before passing order accepting a tender negotiate with lowest tenderer.
Section 14 - General rejection of tenders
(1) The Tender Accepting Authority may at any time before passing an order of acceptance under section 13 reject all the tenders on the ground of changes in the scope of procurement, failure of anticipated financial resource, accidents, calamities or any other ground as may be prescribed which would render the procurement unnecessary or impossible and report the same to the Procurement Entity.
(2) The Procurement Entity shall thereafter communicate the fact of the rejection under this section to all the Tenderers and also cause the same to be published in the Tender Bulletin.
Section 15 - Power to give directions
It shall be competent for the Government to give appropriate directions to the Procurement Entity or the Authorities under this Act in order to secure and maintain transparency at any stage of the process of procurement, and it shall be duty of the Procurement Entity or such authority to comply with the directions.
Section 16 - Appeal
(1) Any tenderer aggrieved by an order passed by the Tender Accepting Authority other than the Government under section 13 may appeal to the prescribed authority within thirty days from the date of receipt of the order:
Provided that the prescribed authority may, in its discretion allow further time not exceeding thirty days for preferring any such appeal, if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal in time.
(2) The prescribed authority may after giving opportunity of being heard to both the parties pass such order thereon as it deems fit and such order shall be final.
(3) The prescribed authority shall as far as possible dispose of the appeal within thirty days from the date of filing thereof.
Section 17 - Power to obtain information
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, the Government may with a view to ensuring transparency call for and obtain, from any Authority under this Act, any information relating to any matter in the process of procurement.
Section 18 - Power to call for records
The Government may at any time, with a view to ensuring transparency in the procurement process call upon any authority under this Act,-
(i) to produce records relating to invitation, processing and acceptance of tenders ;
(ii) to furnish the tender document, estimates/statements/accounts or statistics relating to such tenders; and
(iii) to furnish report on any specific point incidental to the procurement.