Q. What is the minimum time frame to respond to procurement advertisements?

A. In conformity with the terms stated in the Public Procurement Rule 2004 rule 13, the minimum time frame is not less than 15 days for the purpose of competitive national bidding and 30-day time period for the purpose of competitive international bidding. The related agencies have the authority to extend the time period depending on the procurement nature.

Q. What is the procedure for the agencies to calculate the response time?

A. The calculation starts from the date when the advert is either posted on the PPRA website or published in the press. There are some cases where it is mandatory to advertise in both the paper and website. For such cases, according to the terms of 2004 Public Procurement Rules, rule 12 states that the calculation of the time period is from the date it publishes in the newspaper.

Q. Does a procuring agency have the authority to set or fix the bid security amount?

A. No, A procuring agency doesn’t have any authority or right to fix the amount. However, Rule 25 of Public Procurement Rules 2005 gives agencies the right to request bidders to provide security not more than 5% of the bid’s price.

Q. Does a procuring agency have the right to reject bids without providing a reason?

A. According to Rule 31 (s1) of Public Procurement Rules 2004, procuring agencies have the right to reject any or all bids at any given time. In case of rejection, it is necessary for the agency to give bidders immediate notice of rejection. The bidders can further request to agency to reveal the cause of rejection, but they are not liable for this action.

Q. What step will a procuring agency take on if all the prices considerably surpass the calculated cost or market value?

A. According to Rule 33 of Public Procurement Rules 2004, procuring agencies have the right to cancel bids before acceptance and call bidders for rebidding under rule 34.

Q. Can a procuring agency negotiate to reduce the bid’s price or call for new bids?

A. Rule 40 doesn’t permit a procuring agency to negotiate with any bidder with the lowest bid, or with any other bidder.

Q. Can a procuring agency negotiate with bidders, regardless of them being the lowest?

A. According to Rule 40 of Public Procurement Rules 2004, a procuring agency is not allowed to have any sort of negotiations with any of the bidders.

Q. In cases where a procuring agency enters into a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Transparency International Pakistan that allows to look over and examine the contracts they are about to sign, would this coincide with the PPRA mandate by the Civil Society Organization and does it comply with the PPRA Ordinance 2002 and Public Procurement Rules 2004?

A. Just PPRA’s mandate is in place through Ordinance 2002. This ordinance controls and monitors public procurement laws, rules and their application. Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) doesn’t get involved in any line clearance functions, and this function isn’t outsourced to Civil Society Organization either. Public sector companies that sign any MOU agreements, do it at their own risk.

Q. What is the procedure to upload tender documents on Public Procurement Regulatory Authority website?

A. Following are three ways you can upload tender documents on the website:

Request a user ID and get a password by emailing at info@ppra.org.pk

There is an option to send soft copies of documents via courier at “IT Section Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, 1st Floor FBC Building G5/2 Islamabad.”

Or submit documents via email at info@ppra.org.pk

Q. Should all yearly requirements get advertised on the website in advance or just the main requirements?

A. According to rule 9, it is necessary to get advertised on both the PPRA website and the organization’s website who is in a deal with potential bidders. Under rule 12, whenever required, detailed information about the procurement processing must be made.

Q. If a tender of procured good is above 100,000 and the maximum limit of 2,000,000 is uploaded on the PPRA’s site, should the agency advertise it in print?

A. No there is no need for the agency to advertise it in print when the value of a tender of procured goods falls in the range of Rs.100, 000 to 2,000,000.

Q 1. In a case where only a single tender is received after an advertised tender notice, is it necessary to get that tender accepted or should the agency advertise it again?

Q 2. What a procuring agency should do in case of only one bid?

Q 3. In case of no bids or tenders, what steps should a procuring agency take? Should they advertise again? Or hire direct contracting?

A 1. If the advertisement is correct, there is no limit of minimum bids or tenders under PP Rules 2004. That means, even single tender or bid can be taken into consideration if it meets the criteria written in the tender notice and doesn’t violate any rule or policy by the Federal Government. The agency, however, must take into account rule no. 4 – Principles of Procurement, while making any decision.

A 2. In any case, where there is a single bidder whose price can’t be compared to claim it the lowest price, it could prove to be a wise decision. There are a few things to keep in mind while making such decisions:

• The market price
• A comparison of procured goods and services’ price or the procurement is done during the ongoing financial year.
• In any situation where prices seem to be increased beyond the limit, if time allows, there is an option for the agency to go for opportunity advertising once again.

A 3.  In such a situation, there seems to be one option: re-advertisements. If conditions meet the advertised opportunity, then there is an option of direct contacting.

Q. If the preferred contractor/ supplier, national or domestic, and the amount of preferred price is clearly mentioned, is there a need to clarify as to whether the preferred price should be in percentage or a figure?

A. According to the rule 42(a), “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.” Similarly, rule 42 (b) states, “Provided that procuring agencies convinced of the inadequacy of the financial limit prescribed for the request for quotations in undertaking their respective operations may approach the Federal Government for enhancement of the same with full and proper justifications.” According to these provisions, there is an option for the agency to send a proposal to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) board for consideration.

According to sub-rule C (iv), procuring agencies have the right to employ direct contracting for repeated orders, with the value not exceeding 15% of the procurement. It is still ambiguous whether this rule applies to equipment or spare parts’ procurement, as it is clearly written in rule 42 C(i) that a procuring agency can employ direct contracting only if the following conditions are met.

• The procurement of spare parts or supplementary services is from the original supplier or manufacturer
• The exact same parts or services aren’t available
• According to the rule C (iv), it is stated that if open and competitive bidding is involved in the procurement of parts or equipment and when the required material is available at multiple sources, any repeated order that doesn’t go above 15% of the procured parts or equipment is allowed.

Q. What record should be maintained for the purpose of audit?

A. The following discussed documents are required for the audit.

• Details of the demand, explaining the item’s nature and quantity that needs to be produced. Also, support it with a justification report.
• Purchase requisition, explaining the item’s nature and quantity that needs to be produced. The name or names of the consignee are also in the document.
• Documents of the tender
• The documents include consolidation of tender documents, tabulation statements, sales analysis, comparative statement, tender evaluation, technical committee documents, and competent authority’s approval.
• Purchase order file, including written detail of the ordered quantity, accepted rate, period of delivery, materials’ inspection, and analysis of chemicals, material acceptance based on the suitability report from the person to whom the material is delivered, and material delivery to the consignee.
• Receipt of material, clearly showing details and quantity of accepted material
• Maintenance of contractor bills. It has all the details of the materials supplied. There should be an original document of materials, receipt note, and an original copy of the sales tax invoice.
• Budget file, showing all the appropriation of purchases
• Approval of competent authority that allows making purchases and payments. Other documents required for audit include need assessment, the demand for actual quantities, and any difference between the purchased and required items along with a justification.
• Record of goods waiting to be planned or procured in a year prior to publishing advertisements.
• Record of procured spare parts/equipment from the original manufacturer or supplier, or the record of procurement dealing with good or service in a year
• Documents of tender/quotation with specifications
• If there are limited tenders, documents of the sealed quotation, comparative statements, and record of invitation are required
• Details of bidders who were involved in the purchase of tender documents, depositing of bids, and the process of tendering
• Record of bidders who gave the security amount to the agency
• Suppliers or contractors’ pre-qualification record
• Technical and financial bid evaluation report
• Details of newspapers in which the advertisements were published
• Cash deposit receipt received by the bidders
• Stock register, showing material purchase and specification entries
• Registers showing record and details of procured items and services along with the work done
• The record concerning requisitions made as well as the authority’s approval for allowed procurements
• Details of blacklisted contractors
• Supplier/contractor challan’s delivery
• Record of input cost evaluation of useful stores based on the usage of the project along with the equipment cost
• Instructions for the bidders
• Committees’ proceedings
• The final approval from the authority to procure from a specific bidder at specific rates.
• Letter of acceptance of accepted bidders
• Bank Guarantees
• If there are any imported goods, import invoices, inventories, indents, letter of credit, and shipping documents are required.
• Issue acknowledgements
• Record of pre-qualification of suppliers or contractors
• Inspection rates/ laboratory tests and sample’s analysis reports given by the supplier
• Proceedings of the tender opening committee
• Delegation of powers
• Codal requirements
• Sales-tax registered firms
• Test reports
• All current and updated rules, policies, instructions and regulations related to procurement