Acronyms................................................................................................................................ *

Guidance Notes on the use of Standard Bidding Documents and the User Guide.......... *

-Purpose of the Standard Bidding Document............................................................................... *

-Purpose of the User Guide...................................................................................................*

-When to Use the Standard Bidding Documents for Goods.........................................................*

-Structure of the Standard Bidding Documents............................................................................*

-Rules for drafting Bidding Documents.........................................................................................*

Summary of the Bidding Process...........................................................................................*

-Preparing and Issuing a Bidding Document.................................................................................*

-Bid Preparation and Submission.................................................................................................. *

-Bidding Period and Bid Receipt................................................................................................... *

-Bid Opening................................................................................................................................... *

-Bid Evaluation............................................................................................................................. *

-Bid Acceptance and Contract Award and Placement...............................................................*

Guidance Notes for the preparation of Invitation to Bid Notices or Letters...................*

-Invitation to Bid Notices...............................................................................................................*

-Standard Format for Invitation to Bid Notices..........................................................................*

-Invitation to Bid Letters...............................................................................................................*

Guidance Notes on the Preface Section...............................................................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 1.Instructions to Bidders........................................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 2. Bid Data Sheet.....................................................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 3. Evaluation and Qualification Criteria.............................*

Guidance Notes on Section 4. Bidding Forms....................................................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 5. Eligible Countries...............................................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 6. Statement of Requirements................................................*

-List of Goods and Related Services..............................................................................................*

-Delivery and Completion Schedule..............................................................................................*

-Technical Specifications and Compliance Sheet.........................................................................*

-Drawings.........................................................................................................................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 7. General Conditions of Contract........................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 8. Special Conditions of Contract.........................................*

Guidance Notes on Section 9. Contract Forms..................................................................*

[Input of Information to be Completed by the Procuring Entity at award of Contract]

Agreement.............................................................................................................................*

Guidance Notes on the Letter of Acceptance.......................................................44

Guidance Notes on Letters to unsuccessful Bidders......................................................... 45

 

 

 

 

Acronyms

 

 

BDS Bid Data Sheet

BD Bidding Document

DCS Delivery and Completion Schedule

EQC Evaluation and Qualification Criteria

GCC General Conditions of Contract

ICC International Chamber of Commerce

IFB Invitation for Bids

Incoterms International Commercial Terms

ITB Instructions to Bidders

PE Procuring Entity

LGRS List of Goods and Related Services

SBD Standard Bidding Document

SCC Special Conditions of Contract

SR Statement of Requirement

TSCS Technical Specification Compliance Sheet

 

 

Guidance Notes on the use of Standard Bidding Documents and the User Guide

Purpose of the Standard Bidding Document

The purpose of the SBD is to provide Procuring Entities (PEs) with one standard draft containing basic contractual provisions and safeguards which are required by the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in the execution of public procurement and the use of public funds.

The Standard Bidding Document for the Procurement of Goods has been designed to:

(i) Simplify the drafting of a specific bidding document for Procurement of Goods and Related Services by Procurement Units;

(ii) Minimise the time required by the Tender Committee to approve Bidding Documents prior to release;

(iii) Reduce Bidders’ time and effort in the preparation of Bids; and

(iv) Facilitate and simplify the evaluation and comparison of bids and Contract award; by the Procuring Entity.

The key feature of the SBD is that it can be used with minimum changes, as it does not contain explanations, footnotes or examples that should not form part of the Bidding Document.

Purpose of the User Guide

This User Guide has been prepared to provide guidance to public officials in the correct use of the Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) for Goods as a model for preparing an individual Bidding Document (BD).

Users should ensure that the correct User Guide is referred to. Different User Guides have been produced for each SBD including those for the Procurement of Services and Works. Users should refer to the header and footer of each page of the User Guide to ascertain this.

The SBD contains guidance notes for Bidders (or Financial Institutions) only, which are mainly in Sections 4, 6 and 9. These notes should not be deleted from the Bidding document when drafting an individual Bidding Document as they are intended to guide and assist Bidders in completion of the Document concerned.

All the explanations and notes necessary for PEs to use the SBD are contained in this User Guide.

All guidance notes, in both the bidding document and the user guide, are found between square brackets in bold e.g. [insert general description of goods].

This User Guide is not part of the Bidding Document and is not intended for issue to Bidders.

When to Use the Standard Bidding Documents for Goods

Procurement Method

This SBD for the Procurement of Goods is suitable for use under Open National Tendering, either with or without pre-qualification. It is also suitable for use under Restricted Tendering. An alternative SBD is available for Open and Restricted International Tendering.

For procurement using the Request for Quotations method, the Request for Quotations and Purchase Order documents should normally be used.

Type and Scope of Contract

This Document should be used when the PE intends to place a Lump Sum contract.

This SBD is suitable for any scope of intended contract including simple supply and deliver contracts and those for supply, delivery, installation and commissioning. Alternative specialised SBDs are available for the procurement of text books, health sector goods and IT systems.

Structure of the Standard Bidding Documents

The SBD is divided into nine separate Sections and a Preface. Procuring Entities are required to use all Sections of the Standard Bidding Document to produce an individual Bidding Document for issue to Bidders. The Standard Bidding Document comprises:

Preface

Part 1 Bidding Procedures

Section 1. Instructions to Bidders (ITB)

Section 2. Bid Data Sheet (BDS)

Section 3. Evaluation and Qualification Criteria (EQC)

Section 4. Bidding Forms

Section 5. Eligible Countries

Part 2 Supply Requirements

Section 6. Statement of Requirements

Part 3 Contract

Section 7. General Conditions of Contract (GCC)

Section 8. Special Conditions of Contract (SCC)

Section 9. Contract Forms

Each section is provided as a separate electronic document, removing the difficulties of drafting long documents. Collation of the sections is accomplished by reading the preface and manually inserting the relevant sections into each part of the preface pages.

Rules for drafting Bidding Documents

It is important that Procuring Entities always use the original Standard Bidding Document to commence drafting a new Bidding Document for each new procurement requirement. Therefore, the original SBD should not be amended in any way.

The SBDs have been designed to require the minimum of input or changes to the document so that a final Bidding Document can be produced with minimum time and effort.

Most importantly the provisions in

Section 1 Instructions to Bidders and

Section 7 General Conditions of Contract

must be used with their text unchanged.

Any data or information that Sections 1 or 7 require are to be included respectively in

Section 2 Bid Data Sheet and

Section 8 Special Conditions of Contract

Data and information contained in the remaining Sections should be modified as follows:

Section 3 Evaluation and Qualification Criteria This section must be completed with details of the evaluation criteria, and any qualification criteria, to be applied. Examples are provided in this User Guide.

Section 4 Bidding Forms The Forms in this section are to be completed by the Bidder. No changes to the standard forms should be made by the PE.

Section 5 Eligible Countries A standard wording is included for Government funded procurement. Changes may be made where the procurement is subject to donor rules or where the Government has introduced any different or additional rules on eligibility.

Section 6 Schedule of Requirement The tables should be completed with details of the goods and related services required.

Section 9 Contract Forms Procuring Entities are required to include the Contract Form in the Bidding Document. Details do not need to be completed until the contract award stage.

This User Guide contains a section corresponding to each section of the SBD. It also includes an initial section on how to prepare the Invitation to Bid Notice or letter.

In drafting Bidding Documents using the SBDs, users should not:

Delete any Section or page breaks,

Make any changes to the headers of the SBD,

Make any changes to the footers of the SBD.

In using the SBD, users should copy all the files (Preface and Sections 1-9) to a new directory and using the "save as" facility save as a new file. It is recommended to use the procurement reference number as this will appear automatically in the footer of the document, ie: Gds-SBD-OpenTender-Section2, save as File-11091-Gds-SBD-OpenTender-Section2. This will appear on the bottom right of the footer on every page of that document. This will ensure that there is a linkage between the hard copy and the computer reference.

Summary of the Bidding Process

The Proclamation and Directives on Public Procurement detail the full procurement processes, rules and procedures and the procurement methods to be followed by Procuring Entities. The Proclamation and Directives must be complied with at all times.

The relevant parts of the bidding process are summarised here as follows:

Selection of Bidders;

Preparation and Issue of Bidding Documents;

Bidding Period and Bid Receipt;

Bid Opening;

Bid Evaluation; and

Bid Acceptance, Contract Award and placement.

Selection of Bidders

The method for selection of Bidders will depend on the procurement method being used and whether or not a pre-qualification has been conducted.

Where Open Tendering is used without pre-qualification, the PE must publish an Invitation to Bid notice, so that bidding is open to all interested bidders. A standard format, with guidance notes on its completion, is provided later in this User Guide. The Invitation to Bid Notice must be approved by the Tender Committee before publication.

The notice must be published in at least one national newspaper of general circulation. Notices should also be published on the Internet, wherever possible.

PEs should also ensure that bidding documents are finalised and approved before publishing the Invitation to Bid notice, to avoid any delays in the process.

Where Open Tendering is used with pre-qualification, the bidders invited will be those selected during the pre-qualification process. There is therefore no need to publish an Invitation to Bid notice, but the bidding document should be accompanied by an Invitation to Bid letter. A sample letter, and guidance notes on completing it, are included later in this User Guide. The letter should be approved by the Tender Committee, at the same time as the bidding document.

Where Restricted Tendering is used, the bidders invited will be those included on the shortlist. There is normally no need to publish an Invitation to Bid notice, but the bidding document should be accompanied by an invitation to bid letter. A sample letter and guidance notes on completing an invitation to bid letter are included later in this User Guide. The letter should be approved by the Tender Committee, at the same time as the bidding document.

The shortlist must include sufficient bidders to ensure effective competition and should be approved by the Tender Committee at the same time as the bidding documents.

 

Preparing and Issuing a Bidding Document

The Procurement Unit is responsible for the preparation and issue of the Bidding Document, but must obtain approval of the document from the Tender Committee, before issuing the document or publishing any Invitation to Bid Notice.

The Procurement Unit must use the appropriate SBD, as this is a mandatory requirement for contracts to be funded by the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

In deciding the deadline for Bid Submission, the Procurement Unit shall allow Bidders sufficient time for obtaining and studying the Bidding Document, preparing complete and responsive bids and submitting the bids. Procuring Entities are required to comply with the minimum bidding periods given in the Regulations.

Where a Bid Notice has been published, the PE must issue Bidding Documents promptly to all Bidders who request them and pay any required fees. A record must be kept of the Bidders to whom Bidding Documents have been issued. Receipts must be issued for all fees paid.

Where the Bidding Document is issued to pre-qualified or short-listed bidders, the documents must be issued to all bidders at the same time and must be issued early enough to ensure compliance with the minimum bidding period given in the Directives. A record must be kept of the issue of all bidding documents.

The Procuring Entity and Bidder should keep in mind that:

The Procuring Entity is responsible for the preparation and issuing of the Bidding Document.

The Procuring Entity shall use the SBD issued by the Public Procurement Agency, as this is a mandatory requirement for contracts funded by Public Funds.

The Procuring Entity should prepare Bidding Documents using the published version of the SBD without suppressing or adding text to the sections of the document to be used without modification, which are Section 1 Instructions to Bidders (ITB) and Section 7 General Conditions of Contract. All information and data particular to each individual bidding process must be provided by the Procuring Entity in the following sections of the Bidding Document:

Section 2, Bid Data Sheet

Section 3, Evaluation and Qualification Criteria

Section 4, Bidding Forms

Section 5, Eligible Countries

Section 6, Statement of Requirements

Section 8, Special Conditions of Contract

Section 9, Contract Forms

(d) The Procuring Entity shall allow Bidders sufficient time for studying the Bidding Document, preparing complete and responsive bids and submitting the bids.

Bid Preparation and Submission

The Bidder is responsible for the preparation and submission of its Bid. During this stage, the Procuring Entity shall:

Promptly respond to requests for clarifications from Bidders and amend, as needed, the Bidding Documents.

Amend the Bidding Documents only with the appropriate approvals in accordance with the Procuring Entity’s procedures and the Public Procurement Proclamation.

Bidding Period and Bid Receipt

The Bidder is responsible for the preparation and submission of its Bid. During the bidding period, the Procuring Entity shall:

Hold any pre bid meeting and issue minutes promptly;

Promptly respond to requests for clarifications from Bidders;

Issue amendments to the Bidding Documents if necessary;

Receive and record sealed bids from Bidders or make a Bid Box available up to the deadline for bid submission;

Close bidding at the precise date and time of the deadline and ensure that no late bids are received;

Keep all bids received secure until the time for bid opening.

Bid Opening

The Tender Committee of the Procuring Entity is responsible for the Bid Opening, which is a critical event in the bidding process. The Tender Committee must remember that inappropriate procedures at Bid Opening are usually irreversible and may require cancellation of the Bidding Process with the consequent delays and waste of time and resources.

Best Bid-Opening Practices to Observe

The Tender Committee, in observance of best practices, shall:

Conduct the Bid Opening strictly following the procedures as specified in the ITB Sub-Clause 27 for all bids received not later than the date and time of the bid submission deadline. The term "Bid Opening" can be misleading because a bid for which a Bid Withdrawal or Bid Substitution notice was received on time shall not be opened, but returned unopened to the Bidder. The sequence in which bids are handled and opened is crucial.

Ensure that all bids that were received on time are accounted for, before starting the Bid Opening, as bids that are not opened and read out at Bid Opening shall not be further considered.

Not reject any bid at Bid Opening, except for late bids received after the date and time of bid submission deadline.

Examine the bids at Bid Opening in accordance with the provisions of ITB Sub-Clause 32. The Procuring Entity shall, however, verify at Bid Opening the validity of the documentation (Power of Attorney or other acceptable equivalent document as specified in ITB Sub-Clause 26), confirming the validity of a bid modification, bid withdrawal, or bid substitution, because a withdrawn or substituted bid shall not be opened and in consequence not read out and, therefore, they shall not be further considered by the Procuring Entity. Similarly, a bid modification shall be opened and read out to modify a bid that was received on time.

Bid Evaluation

The Tender Committee, assisted by a Technical Committee if required, is responsible for the evaluation of all bids received. The Tender Committee must remember that mistakes committed at bid evaluation may later prompt complaints from Bidders, requiring re-evaluation of the bids, with the consequent delays and waste of time and resources.

The Tender Committee shall:

· Maintain the bid evaluation process strictly confidential

· Reject any attempts or pressures to distort the outcome of the evaluation, including fraud and corruption

· Strictly apply only and all of the evaluation and qualification criteria specified in the Bidding Documents to determine the lowest evaluated bid and to make a recommendation for award of contract.

 

 

 

Upon completion of the Bid Evaluation, the Tender Committee shall be requested to make a Contract Award recommendation to the head of the Procuring Entity. It is important to note that the Contract Award decision by the head of the Procuring Entity is not a contract, it is a decision to award a contract to the bidder who submitted the lowest evaluated bid.

Bid Acceptance and Contract Award and Placement

Bid acceptance and award and placement of a contract can be confusing for both parties if there is not a precise and specified procedure for award of contracts. The procedure specified in the Proclamation and Directives provides a sequence of events based on the need to recognise Bidders’ rights to appeal against the conduct of the evaluation and the need for a contract to be placed as soon as is practical after a decision to award has been approved. The following procedure is required under the Proclamation and Directives:

 

· The head of the Procuring Entity makes a contract award decision, based on the recommendation of the Tender Committee.

· The Procuring Entity notifies all Bidders of the result of the evaluation.

· After a period of five working days, if no complaint has been received by the Procuring Entity, the PE awards the contract by issuing a Letter of Acceptance to the successful bidder.

· The contract will be confirmed by issue of a full conformed Contract Document.

 

PEs should note that the Letter of Acceptance and the Contract Document should not contain any provisions or conditions which vary from those in the Bidding Document, or the Bidder’s Bid, including any subsequent clarifications. Any such modifications should be agreed by the Bidder in writing before a contract award decision is made.

The Contract Document comprises those papers contained at Section 9 of the Bidding Document and it is at the stage of contract award that these can be completed.

 

Guidance Notes for the preparation of Invitation to Bid Notices or Letters

Invitation to Bid Notices

Invitation to Bid Notices must be published under the Open Tendering method, unless a pre-qualification has been conducted. They are designed to provide information that enables potential bidders to decide whether to participate in a bidding process. Apart from the essential items listed in the draft below, the Invitation to Bid Notice should also indicate any important bid evaluation criteria (for example, the application of a margin of preference in bid evaluation) or qualification requirement (a minimum level of turnover or experience).

The Invitation to Bid Notice is for publication purposes only and is not a part of the Bidding Documents.

Standard Format for Invitation to Bid Notices

[Brief Description of the Goods and Related Services]

Procurement Reference number: [Insert Procurement Reference number]

1. The [insert name of Procuring Entity] has funds within the Procuring Entity’s budget to be used for the procurement of [insert description of Goods and related services to be procured].

2. The [insert name of Procuring Entity] invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the supply and delivery of [insert description of Goods and related services to be procured]. ^1,2

3. Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the open tendering procedures contained in the Public Procurement Proclamation of the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries.³

4. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from [insert name of Procuring Entity] and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below at 7(a) from [insert office hours]. ⁴

5. A complete set of Bidding Documents in Amharic may be purchased by interested bidders at the address below at 7(b) and upon payment of a non-refundable fee⁵ of Ethiopian Birr [insert amount]. The method of payment will be [insert method of payment]⁶. The document will be sent by [insert delivery method]. No liability will be accepted for loss or late delivery.

6. Bids must be delivered to the address below at 7(c) at or before [insert time and date]. [If appropriate, include the following: All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of Ethiopian Birr (insert amount).⁷] Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 7(d) at [insert time and date].⁸

7 (a) Address documents may be inspected at: [Insert address and contact details]

(b) Address documents will be issued from: [Insert address and contact details]

(c) Address Bids must be delivered to: [Insert address and contact details]

(d) Address of Bid Opening: [Insert address and contact details]

Notes

A brief description of the type of Goods and Related Services should be provided, including quantities, location of project, and other information necessary to enable potential bidders to decide whether to respond to the invitation. If Bidding Documents

 

 

require bidders to have specific experience or capabilities, such restrictions should be included in this paragraph.

2. [Insert if applicable]. The delivery/completion period is [insert no. of days/months/ years or dates].

3. Occasionally, contracts may be financed out of special funds or subject to a scheme that would further restrict eligibility to a particular group of Bidders or countries. When this is the case, it should be mentioned in this paragraph. Also indicate any margin of preference that may be granted as specified in the Bidding Documents.

4. For example: 09:00 to 12:00 hours.

5. The fee, to defray printing and mailing/shipping costs, should be nominal. If no fee is to be charged ensure that this is stated

6. For example, cashier’s check, direct deposit to specified account no., etc.

7. The amount of bid security should be stated as a fixed amount. Alternatively, if a bid security is not required, the paragraph should so state.

The place for bid opening may not necessarily be the same as that for issuance of documents or for bid submission. If they differ, each address must appear in paragraph 7 and be numbered. The text in the paragraph would then refer to address (1), (2), etc. Only one place and its address may be specified for submission, and it should be near the place where bids will be opened. Addresses should not be PO Boxes where physical submission or collection of a document is required.

 

Any further information relating to the proposed bidding process, such as the intention to hold a pre bid meeting should also be included as appropriate.

 

 

Invitation to Bid Letters

Invitation to Bid letters are issued to short-listed bidders under Restricted Tendering or where bidders have been pre-qualified. They are used to invite specific Bidders who are felt to have the prerequisite skills, capacity or qualifications to fulfil a requirement. The letter should be signed and the seal of the Procuring Entity should be affixed.

The Invitation to Bid Letter is not a part of the Bidding Documents.

Standard Format for Invitation to Bid Letters

{Letterhead paper with PE name and address}

[Name and address of selected Bidders – list all Bidders]

[Procurement Reference Number]

[Date]

Dear Sirs,

Invitation to Bid for [Brief Description of the Goods and Related Services]

1. The [insert name of Procuring Entity] has funds within the Procuring Entity’s budget to be used for the acquisition of the above referenced Goods.

2. The [insert name of Procuring Entity] invites sealed bids from eligible/pre-qualified [delete as applicable] bidders for the supply and delivery of these Goods. ^1,2

3. Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the open/restricted [delete as applicable] tendering procedures contained in the Public Procurement Proclamation of the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Bidding is open to the Bidders listed above for Goods from eligible source countries.³

4. A complete set of Bidding Documents in Amharic may be purchased by interested bidders at the address below at 6 (a) and upon payment of a non-refundable fee⁴ Ethiopian Birr [insert amount]. The method of payment will be [insert method of payment].⁵ The document will be sent by [insert delivery method]. No liability will be accepted for loss or late delivery.

5. Bids must be delivered to the address below at 6(b) at or before [insert time and date]. [If appropriate, include the following: All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of Ethiopian Birr (insert amount).⁶] Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 6 (c) at [insert time and date]. ⁷

6 (a) Address documents will be issued from: [Insert address and contact details]

(b) Address Bids must be delivered to: [Insert address and contact details]

(c) Address of Bid Opening: [Insert address and contact details]

Yours sincerely,

1. A brief description of the type of Goods and Related Services should be provided, including quantities, location of project, and other information necessary to enable potential bidders to decide whether to respond to the invitation. If Bidding Documents require bidders to have specific experience or capabilities, such restrictions should be included in this paragraph.

 

 

2. [Insert if applicable]. The delivery/completion period is [insert no. of days/months/ years or dates].

3. Occasionally, contracts may be financed out of special funds or subject to a scheme that would further restrict eligibility to a particular group of Bidders or countries. When this is the case, it should be mentioned in this paragraph. Also indicate any margin of preference that may be granted as specified in the Bidding Documents.

4. The fee, to defray printing and mailing/shipping costs, should be nominal.

5. For example, cashier’s check, direct deposit to specified account no., etc.

6. The amount of bid security should be stated as a fixed amount. Alternatively, if a bid security is not required, the paragraph should so state.

The place for bid opening may not necessarily be the same as that for bid submission. If they differ, each address must appear in paragraph 6. Only one place and its address may be specified for submission, and it should be near the place where bids will be opened.

 

It should be noted that the Invitation to Bid Letter should be addressed to all Bidders that have either pre-qualified or have been selected for restricted tendering so that each Letter indicates the names of all Bidders that have been invited to bid.

Additional information such as details of any proposed pre-bid meeting should also be included in the invitation to bid letter.

This Section of the Standard Bidding Document comprises five pages of which the first two pages are the cover sheets to the Bidding Document and the remaining three pages are separators or dividers for the three Parts of the Document. Only the first page of the Preface requires any inputs or text changes as illustrated below.