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DANIDA – Procurement of Tarpaulins - Uganda

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Danida

Procurement of Tarpaulins - Uganda

Contract Notice 2015/S 212-384849

File no. 2015-17950 October2015

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DANIDA – Procurement of Tarpaulins - Uganda

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS

1.Introduction

2.Eligibility of the Tenderer

3.The Tender Documents

4. Preparation of the Tender

5.Submission of the Tender

6.Tender Opening

7.Tender Evaluation

8.Award

ANNEX A: CRITERIA AND METHOD OF EVALUATION

LETTER OF TENDER

AGREEMENT

BUYER’S ACCEPTANCE

APPENDIX TO THE AGREEMENT

SCHEDULE OF PRICES INCLUDING DELIVERY DETAILS

CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

FORM OF ADVANCE PAYMENT SECURITY

INTRODUCTION

TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS

“Tender Dossier” means the invitation and documents issued to the Tenderers in connection with the tendering.

“Tender” or “Tender document” means the document forming the tender submitted by the Tenderer.

Other terms shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Instructions to Tenderers and the Contract Documents.

Introduction

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DANIDA – Procurement of Tarpaulins - Uganda

INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS
  1. Introduction

1.1.These instructions to tender relate to a contract notice published by the office for Official Publications of the European Commission.

1.2.The Tender Dossier comprises:

(i) Instructions to Tenderers, and Annex A: Criteria and Method of Evaluation.

(ii)Letter of tender, with its appendices

(iii)Form of Agreement, and Form of Appendix to the Agreement

(iv)Schedule of prices including delivery details

(v)Conditions of Contract

(vi)Technical Specifications

(vii)Format for guarantees

1.3.The Instructions to Tenderers prescribe the procedures to be followed until the Buyer either enters into an agreement with a Tenderer or advises him that the Buyer does not intend to do so. These Instructions should not form any part of the Tenderer's Tender or the Contract.

1.4.Words and expressions defined in Clause 1 of the Conditions of Contract (General Provisions) shall have the same meanings in these Instructions.

1.5.The Tenderer shall bear all its costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the Tender and clarifications of a Contract, including visits, interviews, and other actions mentioned or implied in these Instructions.

1.6.The Buyer will not be responsible or liable for such costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the tendering process. The Buyer reserves the right to accept or reject any tender, or to annul the tendering process and reject all Tenders, without incurring liability to any Tenderer and without notifying any tenderer of the reasons for the Buyer's action.

1.7.Tender procedures are subject to the law of Denmark and the rules applicable hereunder.

2.Eligibility of the Tenderer

2.1.Any possible requirement to the eligibility of the tendererare stipulated in thecontract notice published by the office for Official Publications of the European Commission.

2.2The Tenderer shall notify the Buyer, as soon as practicable, of any change in the information submitted (including changes in the composition of the Tenderer or the legal status and place of establishment, grounds for exclusion, potential conflicts of interest, economic and financial standing, and technical capability/capacity of the Tenderer or its members).

Any significant change in such information may disqualify the Tenderer from participation in the Tender and award of contract.

2.3If the Tenderer is an association as a joint venture, consortium or other unincorporated grouping of two or more legal entities (here called a joint venture) the following shall apply:

(i)The Tender shall be signed by all members of the joint venture.

(ii)The members shall attach to the Tender a letter of intent including

-a definition of the roles and percentage input in monetary terms of each member of the joint venture,

-a statement that the members of the joint venture will undertake, jointly and severally, the obligations of the joint venture under the contract if awarded,

-a statement that the members of the joint venture appoint and authorise the lead member (named) with authority to bind the joint venture, and to act on its behalf in all matters in connection with or arising out of this Agreement,

-a statement that the joint venture shall, upon the award of contract, submit for approval of the Buyer, a proper joint venture agreement detailing the role, input and responsibilities of the members as well as the administration and financing of the joint venture,

-a statement that the composition or constitution of the joint venture shall not be altered without prior written consent by the Buyer.

2.4No such member in a joint venture or sole Tenderer shall participate in the preparation of another Tenderer’s Tender for the same assignment. If any member is found to have participated in two or more Tenders, other than alternative Tenders from the same Tenderer, all such Tenders will be rejected.

2.5However, any entity may be proposed as a prospective sub-contractor by more than one Tenderer.

2.6Whenever an entity is to be associated as a sub-contractor or member in a joint venture, the major part of the Contract must be rendered by the legal entity or joint venture.

2.7Tenderers shall not be eligible for the assignment if this would conflict with their prior or current obligations to other Buyers, or may place them in a position of not being able to carry out the assignment in the best interest of the Buyer.

A Tenderer (if a joint venture any of its members) who may be affected by a potential conflict of interest shall attached to his Tender notify the Buyer of the details of this conflict of interest.

Tenderers shall be disqualified from tendering and entering into a contract if there could be potential conflict between the Tenderer's activities under the supply contract and the Tender's activities in providing services or carrying out works for the same program/component/project.

3.The Tender Documents

3.1The Tender shall be responsive to the complete Tender Dossier which comprises the documents listed in Clause 1 above and any Addenda to Tender Dossier which may be issued as described in this Clause 3. The Tenderer shall scrutinise each document immediately upon receipt and shall promptly give notice, to the party who issued the document, of any pages that appear to be missing.

3.2The Tenderer must carefully examine documents of the Tender Dossier. Failure to comply with these Instructions or with any other tendering requirements will be at the Tenderer’s risk.

3.3If the Tenderer requires any clarification of the Tender Dossier, he shall give notice to the contact point(s) as stated in section I of the Contract Notice. The notice must be in writing in the language as specified in section IV.3.6) of the Contract Notice. Requests that cannot be answered six days before the Tender Submission Date will not be answered.

3.4The Buyerwill respond to the notice by issuing

(i)the text of the question or request for clarification and

(ii)the clarification.

This response shall be in writing and shall give no indication of the identity of the Tenderer who requested the clarification. Requests for clarification and responses shall be sent to all prospective Tenderers who received the Tender Dossier, but shall not constitute amendments to the Tender Dossier.

Requests for clarification and responses will be posted on the website of the Buyer: if issued. It is the responsibility of the Tenderer to obtain clarifications issued by the Buyer.

3.5If amendments are made to the Tender Dossier the Buyerwill issue an addendum to the Tender Dossier. Each addendum to the Tender Dossier will be posted as mentioned in 3.4 above. Each addendum shall be binding upon the Tenderers. It is the responsibility of the Tenderer to obtain addenda issued by the Client.

3.6At any time the Buyer may similarly issue an addendum to the Tender Dossier that postpones the Tender Submission Date. In this event, all rights and obligations of the Buyer and the Tenderers previously related to the original date shall thereafter be subject to the amended date.

Individual meetings or communications (except for requests for clarifications) by the Tenderers with the Buyer or the Recipient are not allowed.

4. Preparation of the Tender

4.1The Tenderer should obtain for himself, on its own responsibility, all information, which may be necessary for preparing the Tender and entering into the Agreement.

4.2The Tender and all communications between the Tenderer and the Buyer shall be typed or written in indelible ink in the language specified in section IV.3.6 of the Contract Notice. Supporting documentation submitted by the Tenderer may be in another language if he also submits an appropriate translation of all its relevant passages into the language specified in the Contract Notice.

4.3The Tender Dossier issued to the Tenderer, including any amendments instructed in an Addendum to Tender Dossier, shall be used without further changes.

4.4The Tender to be submitted by each Tenderer shall comprise theLetter of Tender including documentation as listed in the Letter of Tender.

4.5The Tenderer shall also submit the following supplementary information accompanying, but not forming part of his Tender

(i)Any proposals for subcontracting the supply of any Goods and associated Services.

4.6The Tender shall price the whole of the Goods and Services in accordance with the Tender Dossier. A Tender which excludes any part thereof shall be rejected as not responsive.

4.7The tables in the Appendix shall be fully priced, with a rate entered for each item of Goods and Services as applicable, and the total shall be carried forward to the Offer. All rates and prices shall be entered in the same currency as that which is named in the Offer.

4.8The completed Tender shall not have any alterations or erasures, except any which may be specified in an Addendum to Tender Dossier issued under Clause 3 of these Instructions. However, if alterations are necessary to correct errors made by the Tenderer, these corrections shall be endorsed with the signature of the person signing the Tender.

4.9Only one Tender may be submitted by each Tenderer.

4.10No alternative tenders are permitted.

4.11It is emphasized that the Buyer will not be able to engage in traditional negotiations with the Tenderers regarding the tenders submitted. With respect to negotiations, the Buyer will operate within the rules of negotiation set out, among others, in Council and Commission statement concerning Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993:

"The Council and the Commission state that in open and restricted procedures all negotiations with candidates or tenderers on fundamental aspects of contracts, variations in which are likely to distort competition, and in particular on prices, shall be ruled out; however, discussions with candidates or tenderers may be held but only for the purpose of clarifying or supplementing the content of their tenders of the requirements of the contracting authorities and provided this does not involve discrimination."

Hence, no contract or price negotiations as such shall be conducted and, therefore, the Tenderers should ensure that the wording of their tenders allows the contract to be concluded without prior negotiations between the tenderer and the contracting authorities.

It is thus of the utmost importance that the tenders are comprehensive and consider all relevant issues, contain all necessary information, and are precise in every respect.

5.Submission of the Tender

5.1The Tenderer shall prepare one original, onecopy and one CD ROM/USB stick of the documents comprising the Tender and supplementary information, as described in Clause 4 of these Instructions.

Each shall be submitted in an inner envelope within an outer envelope, with each document being clearly marked "ORIGINAL", "COPY" or "CD ROM/USB stick" as appropriate. In the event of any discrepancy between them, the ORIGINAL shall prevail.

The documents on the CD ROM/USB stick shall be in PDF format and as a single file only. Brochures shall not be included on the CD ROM/USB stick.

5.2The original of the Tender shall be signed by a person or persons duly authorised to bind the Tenderer. Proof of authorisation, in the form of a written power of attorney, shall be annexed to the Offer.

5.3The inner and outer envelopes shall be marked “Do not open” and be addressed as specified in the Contract Notice Annex A with the title attributed to the contracting authority as specified in the Contract Notice Section II.1.1) and the file reference number specified in the Contract Notice Section IV.3.1.

5.4The inner envelopes shall indicate the name and address of the Tenderer to enable the Tender to be returned unopened in the event of it being declared "late". The outer envelopes shall give no indication of the Tenderer.

5.5If a Tender is misplaced or opened prematurely because an envelope was not sealed and marked as instructed above, the Buyer shall not be responsible and the Tender may be rejected.

5.6The original, the copy and the CD ROM/USB stick of the Tender must be delivered to the address specified above no later than the time, on the Tender Submission Date, as stated in the contract notice IV 3.4). Tenders received thereafter will be returned unopened.

5.7The Tenderer may modify or withdraw its Tender after submitting it, if the modification or notice of withdrawal is received in writing before such prescribed time for submission of Tenders but not thereafter. The Tenderer’s modification or notice of withdrawal shall be prepared, sealed, marked and delivered in accordance with the provisions of this Clause 5, with the inner and outer envelopes additionally marked "MODIFICATION" or "WITHDRAWAL", as appropriate. In particular, the modification or notice of withdrawal shall be signed by a person or persons duly authorised to bind the Tenderer, and proof of authorisation shall be annexed.

5.8A Tender submitted other than as described in this Clause 5 may be rejected by the Buyer and returned to the Tenderer.

5.9The Tender shall remain valid and open for acceptance for the period of 60 days from the Tender Submission Date. The Tenderer shall calculate the date on which validity expires and insert this expiry date in the second paragraph of the Letter of Tender. Prior to this expiry date; the Buyer may by written notice request the Tenderer to extend the validity period. The Tenderer may refuse the request, but shall not modify its Tender other than by extending its validity.

6.Tender Opening

6.1Tenders and other submissions, which are in accordance with Clause 5 of these Instructions, will be opened after the Tender Submission Date and time.

6.2The Tenderers' representatives are not permitted to attend the opening.

6.3Tenders for which the Buyer has received a valid notice of withdrawal in accordance with Clause 5 of these Instructions shall not be opened.

6.4The Tenders will be examined by the Buyer to determine whether they appear to be complete, properly signed, and generally in order.

6.5After this opening of Tenders, information relating to the examination, clarification, evaluation, and comparison of Tenders, and recommendations concerning award of the assignment shall not be disclosed to Tenderers or other persons not officially concerned with the tendering process.

Any effort by a Tenderer to influence the Buyer or the Agent in these processes may result in the rejection of the Tenderer’s Tender.

7.Tender Evaluation

7.1The Buyer will determine whether the Tenderer meets the Conditions for participation as specified in part III.2.of the Contract Notice. If a Tender does not meet the required minimum conditions, it shall be rejected by the Buyer.

7.2As a part of the detailed evaluation of Tenders, the Buyer will determine whether each Tender is substantially responsive to the requirements of the Tender Dossier.

7.3If a Tender is not substantially responsive to the requirements of the Tender Dossier, it will be rejected by the Buyer.

For the purpose of this clause, a substantially responsive Tender is a Tender compliant with all the terms, conditions, and specifications of the Tender Dossier without material deviation or reservation. A material deviation or reservation is one which affects in any substantial way the scope, quality, or performance of the Contract, or which limits in any substantial way, inconsistent with the Tender Dossier, the Buyer's rights or the Tenderer's obligations under the Agreement, and the rectification of which deviation or reservation would affect unfairly the competitive position of other Tenderers presenting substantially responsive Tenders.

7.4The Buyer will only evaluate and compare the Tenders that have been determined to be substantially responsive to the requirements of the Tender Dossier.

The Contract Notice, section II.1.9) will state whether alternative Tenders are permitted or not. If alternative Tenders are permitted, only the alternatives submitted by the Tenderer with the highest rated compliant and responsive Tender shall be considered as a basis for finalising a contract.

Responsive Tenders will first be checked by the Buyer for any arithmetic errors in computation and summation, and any errors will be corrected as follows:

(i)The amount entered in the Offer may be considered acceptable without any of the corrections and adjustments described in these sub-paragraphs. If there is any discrepancy between amounts in figures and in words, the amount in words will take precedence.

(ii)If there is a discrepancy between the amount entered in the Offer and the equivalent sum computed on the basis of the Appendix, the Buyer may make corrections and/or adjustments, applying the principles described in these sub-paragraphs. The Tenderer shall be notified accordingly, specifying each error, correction and adjustment. If the Tenderer does not accept these notified corrections and adjustments, his Tender may be rejected.

(iii)If there is a substantial discrepancy between a stated amount and the correct amount calculated by multiplying the stated unit rate by the quantity, and the rate seems to have been stated in error (inconsistent with the Tenderer's likely intentions), the stated unit rate shall be amended and the stated amount will be binding.

(iv)If there is a discrepancy between a stated amount and the correct amount calculated by multiplying the stated unit rate by the quantity, and either the discrepancy is not substantial or it is reasonable to assume that the stated rate is consistent with the Tenderer's intentions, the stated unit rate will be binding and the stated amount shall be amended.

(v)For lump sum items, the stated amounts will be binding ("unit" rates will be disregarded).

(vi)No discount will be considered unless the discount is carried to the Offer.