A. Introduction 

1. Scope of Bids
   1. The Procuring Agency (PA), as indicated in the Bids Data Sheet (BDS) invites Bids through EPADS v2.0 for the provision of Non-Consultancy Services for as specified in the BDS and in Section  Evaluation Criteria, Specifications & Schedule of Requirements. The name, identification, and number of items/deliverables are provided in the BDS. Single Stage-Two Envelope procedure of the open competitive method shall be used. The successful Bidders will be expected to provide the services within the specified period and timeline(s) as stated in the BDS.
2. Source of Funds
   1. Source of funds is referred in Clause-1 of Invitation for Bids.
3. Fraud & Corruption
   1. As defined under Rule 2(1)(f) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.
4. Eligible Bidders
   1.  A bidder is eligible to participate in a procurement process if the bidder:
      1. possesses or has access to the technical competence, financial resources, equipment and other physical facilities, personnel, managerial capability, experience and reputation necessary to complete the procurement contract;
      2. has the legal capacity to enter into a procurement contract;
      3. is not insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up and its activities or affairs are not suspended or being administered under any Act, by a court or by a judicial officer;
      4. is not the subject of legal proceedings for any of the matters mentioned in sub-rule (c);
      5. has fulfilled or has made substantial arrangements satisfactory to the relevant authorities, to fulfil its obligations to pay taxes and social security (where applicable) other contributions of its employees; and
      6. has not, or in the case of a company, its owners and beneficial owners, directors or officers have not, been convicted of a criminal offence related to:
         1. its professional conduct; or
         2. a bidder (or, in the case of a company, its key individuals such as owners, beneficial owners, directors, or officers) must not have engaged in any prohibited practice, such as fraud, corruption, collusion, or coercion, within the time period stated in the bidding documents, which can be up to three years before the start of the procurement process. Additionally, the bidder must not have been debarred (i.e., banned) from participating in public procurement processes in Pakistan or by any international organization or country. If they have, they are ineligible to participate in the current bidding.
   2. The procuring agency may require a bidder participating in the procurement process to provide the prescribed documentary evidence or other information to satisfy itself that the bidder is qualified in accordance with the criteria in sub-clause (1).
   3. A procuring agency shall set out in the bidding document all the criteria for qualification to be applied in accordance with sub-clause (1).
   4. Except as permitted under the Ordinance, Rules and Regulations, the procuring agency shall not establish a criterion for eligibility of a bidder that:
      1. discriminates against or among a bidder or against categories of bidders; or
      2. is not required for the performance of the procurement contract; or
      3. is not related to the avoidance or management of legal, reputational or economic risk to the procuring agency unless it is in the national interest to do so, and the criteria is set out in the bidding documents.
   5. A procuring agency shall assess the eligibility of a bidder for participation in the procurement process against the criteria for qualification under sub-clause (1).
   6. In the case of a joint venture, consortium, or association, all members shall be jointly and severely liable for the execution of the contract in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. The joint venture, consortium, or association shall nominate a lead member as nominated in the BDS,
   7.  who shall have the Authority to conduct all business for and on behalf of any and all the members of Joint venture, consortium, or association during the bidding process, and in case of award of contract, during the execution of the contract.
   8. The appointment of the lead Member  in the joint venture, consortium, or association shall be confirmed by submission of valid power of Attorney to the procuring agency.
   9. Subject to the limits specified in the BDS, the procuring agency may allow bidders to participate in the form of a Joint Venture (JV). However, each party in the JV must individually meet the eligibility criteria specified in the BDS
   10. No Bidder can be a sub-contractor while submitting a Bids individually or as a member of a joint venture in the same Bidding process.
5. Qualification of the Bidder
   1. All Bidders shall provide in Section VI, Bid Forms, a preliminary description of the proposed work method and schedule, including drawings and charts, as necessary.

B. Bidding Documents

1. Contents of Standard Bidding Document
   1. The Services required, bidding procedure, and terms and conditions of the contract are prescribed in the bidding document. In addition to the Invitation for Bids, the bidding document which should be read in conjunction with any addendum issued in accordance with ITB 6.1 include:
      
      Section I -Invitation to Bid
      Section II Instructions to Bidders (ITB)
      Section III Bid Data Sheet (BDS)
      Section IV Eligible Countries
      Section V Evaluation Criteria, Specifications, Schedule of Requirements, and Technical Specifications.
      Section VI Bidding Forms
      Section VII Fraud & Corruption
      Section VIII – Material & Non-material deviation
      Section IX  General Conditions of Contract (GCC)
      Section X  Special Conditions of Contract (SCC)
      Section XI  Contract Forms
   2. The Bidder is expected to examine all instructions, requirements, forms, terms and specifications in the bidding documents. Failure to furnish all the information required in the bidding document will be at the Service provider’s risk and may result in the rejection of his bids.
2. Clarifications
   1. Clarifications of the bidding documents may be requested in writing through EPADS v2.0 by any bidder up to three days prior to the deadline for the submission of bids.
      
      The procuring agency shall respond promptly and in writing to any request by a bidder for clarification of the bidding documents and, in any event, no later than two days prior to the deadline for the submission of bids or proposals. 
      
      Responses to requests for clarification shall be communicated simultaneously and in writing to all bidders participating in the procurement proceedings.
      
      No bidder shall be allowed to alter or modify his bid after the bids have been opened however, the procuring agency may seek and accept clarification to the bid that do not change the substance of the bid, through EPADS v2.0.
   2. Procuring Agency's response will be uploaded on the EPADS v2.0, including a description of the inquiry.
   3. Should the Procuring Agency deem it necessary to amend the bidding document as a result of a clarification, it shall do so following the procedure under ITB 8 .
   4. If indicated in the BDS, the bidder’s designated representative is invited at the bidder’s cost to attend a pre-bid meeting at the place, date and time mentioned in the BDS. During this pre-bid meeting, prospective bidder(s) may request clarification(s) regarding the schedule of requirements, the Evaluation Criteria or any other aspects of the bidding document.
   5. Minutes of the pre-bid meeting, if applicable, including the text of the questions asked by bidders, and the responses given, together with any responses prepared after the meeting will be uploaded on EPADS v2.0. Any modification to the bidding document that may become necessary as a result of the pre-bid meeting shall be made by the Procuring Agency exclusively through the use of an Addendum pursuant to ITB 8 . 
   6. To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of Bids of the Bidders, the Procuring Agency may, ask any Bidder for a clarification of its bid including breakdown of prices, through EPADS v2.0. Any clarification submitted by a bidder that is not in response to a request by the Procuring Agency shall not be considered.
      No change in the prices or substance of the bid shall be sought, offered, or permitted.
      The alteration or modification in the bid which in any way affect the following parameters will be considered as a change in the substance of a bid:
      1. evaluation & qualification criteria;
      2. required scope of work or specifications;
      3. all securities requirements;
      4. tax requirements;
      5. terms and conditions of bidding documents; and
      6. change in the ranking of the bidders.
         From the time of bid(s) opening to the time of contract award, if any bidder wishes to contact the procuring agency on any matter related to the bid, it should do so in writing or through electronic form that provides record of the content of communication.
3. Amendment of Bidding documents
   1. Before the deadline for submission of bids, the procuring agency for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective bidder or pre-bid meeting may modify the bidding documents by issuing addendum.
   2. Any addendum issued including the notice of any extension of the deadline shall be part of the bidding document pursuant to ITB 8 .1 shall be uploaded on EPADS v2.0 as well as Authority’s website. The procuring agency shall promptly publish the addendum at the procuring agency’s website indicated in the BDS:
      
      Provided that the bidder who had either already submitted his bid, shall have the right to withdraw his already submitted bid and submit the revised bid, prior to the original or extended bid submission deadline.
   3. To give prospective bidders reasonable time in which to take an addendum/corrigendum into account in preparing their bids, the Procuring Agency may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of bids:
      
      Provided that the Procuring Agency shall extend the deadline for submission of bids, if such an addendum is issued within last three (03) days of the bid submission deadline.

C. Preparation of Bids

1. Documents Constituting the Bids
   1. The bids prepared by the bidders shall constitute the following components: -
      1. Forms of bid and Bid Prices completed in accordance with ITB 10 and 11;
      2. Documentary evidence established in accordance with ITB 8 that services to be provided by the bidder are eligible services, and conform to the bidding documents;
      3. Documentary evidence established in accordance with ITB 9 that the bidder is eligible and/or qualified for the subject bidding process;
      4. Documentary evidence established in accordance with ITB 9.3 that the bidder has been authorized to provide the services;
      5. Bid security or Bids Securing Declaration furnished in accordance with ITB 14; and
      6. Any other document required in the BDS.
2. Documents Establishing Eligibility of the Services and Conformity to bidding documents
   1. To establish the conformity of the Non-Consulting Services to the Bidding document, the bidder shall furnish as part of its bid the documentary evidence that services provided conform to the requirements.
   2. Standards for the provision of the Non-Consulting Services are intended to be descriptive only and not restrictive.
3. Documents Establishing Eligibility and Qualification of the Bidder
   1. Pursuant to ITB 8, the bidder shall furnish, as part of itsbid, all those documents establishing the bidder’s eligibility to participate in the bidding process and/or its qualification to perform the contract if its bid is accepted.
   2. The documentary evidence of the bidder’s eligibility to bids shall establish to the satisfaction of the procuring agency that the bidder, at the time of submission of its bid, is from an eligible country as defined in Section-IV titled as “Eligible Countries”.
   3. The documentary evidence of the bidder’s qualifications to perform the contract if its bid is accepted shall establish to the satisfaction of procuring agency that:
      1. the bidder has the financial, technical, and supply/production capability necessary to perform the Contract, meets the qualification criteria specified in BDS.
      2. that the bidder meets the qualification criteria listed in the Bids Data Sheet.
4. Form of Bid
   1. The bidder shall fill the Form of Bid furnished in the bidding documents. The Bid Forms must be completed without any alterations to its format and no substitute shall be accepted.
5. Bids Prices
   1. The Bids Prices quoted by the bidder in the Forms of Bid and in the price schedule shall conform to the requirements specified or exclusively mentioned hereafter in the bidding document.
   2. All items in the Schedule of Requirements must be listed and priced separately in the Price Schedules. If a Price Schedule shows items listed but not priced and neither explicitly mentioned, their prices shall be construed to be included in the prices of other items.
   3. The Bid price to be quoted in the Forms of Bid in accordance with ITB 12 shall be the total price of the bid, excluding any discounts offered.
   4. The bidder shall indicate on the appropriate Price Schedule, the unit prices (where applicable) and total bid price of the services, it proposes to provide under the contract.
   5. Prices quoted by the bidder shall be fixed during the currency of the contract and not subject to variation on any account. A bid submitted with an adjustable price will be treated as non-responsive and shall be rejected pursuant to ITB 28, unless otherwise price adjustment is permissible under Conditions of the Contract.  (May be reviewed)
6. Price Adjustment
   1. Price adjustment shall not be applicable on the contract with less then 12 months period.
   2. Procuring agency may increase the remuneration of the human resources involved in non-consultancy services upto maximum 15% on annual basis. 
   3. Procuring agency shall incorporate the provisions to allow wage rate in compliance with Federal Government’s minimum wage notification, subject to the condition that clause 11.2 shall not be applicable in that case.
7. Bids Currencies
   1. Prices shall be quoted in Pakistani Rupees unless otherwise specified in the BDS.
8. Bid Validity Period
   1. Bid(s) shall remain valid for the period specified in the BDS after the bid submission deadline prescribed by the Procuring Agency. A Bid valid for a shorter period shall be rejected by the Procuring Agency as non-responsive. The period of bid validity will be determined from the complementary bid securing instrument i.e. the expiry period of bid security or bid securing declaration as the case may be.
9. Bid Security or Bid Securing Declaration
   1. Unless otherwise specified in the BDS, the bidder shall furnish as part of its bid, in the amount and currency specified in the BDS or Bid Securing Declaration on the format provided in Section VI (Bid Forms) The scanned copy of the Bids Security shall be uploaded in the EPADS v2.0 while submitting bid, whereas the original forms of Bid Security shall be submitted to the procuring agency before the bid submission deadline. The bidder who failed to submit the original bid security before the submission deadline shall be disqualified straightaway. 
   2. The Bid Security or Bid Securing Declaration is required to protect the Procuring Agency against the risk of Bidder’s conduct which would warrant the security’s forfeiture, pursuant to ITB 17.5
   3. The Bid Security shall be payable promptly upon written demand by the Procuring Agency in case any of the conditions listed in 14.5 are invoked.
   4. Unsuccessful Bidders’ Bid Security will be discharged or returned as promptly as possible after the award of contract, however in no case later than thirty (30) days after the expiration of the period of Bid Validity prescribed by the Procuring Agency pursuant to ITB 13. The Procuring Agency shall make no claim to the amount of the Bid Security, and shall promptly return the Bid Security document, whichever of the following that occurs earliest:
      1. the expiry of the Bid Security;
      2. the entry into force of a procurement contract and the provision of a Performance Guarantee, for the performance of the contract if such a guarantee, is required by the bidding document;
      3. the rejection by the Procuring Agency of all Bids;
      4. the withdrawal of the Bid prior to the deadline for the submission of bids, unless the bidding document stipulate that no such withdrawal is permitted.
   5. The Bid Security may be forfeited or the Bid Securing Declaration executed:
      1. if a bidder:
         1. withdraws its bid during the period of bid validity as specified by the Procuring Agency, and referred by the bidder in the Forms of Bid, except as provided for in the ITBs; or
         2. does not accept the correction of errors pursuant to ITB 26; or
      2. in the case of a successful bidder fails:
         1. to sign the contract in accordance with ITB 32; or
         2. to furnish Performance Guarantee in accordance with ITB 33.
   6. The bid security shall be valid for a period specified in BDS. Bids with shorter bid security validity period shall be rejected straight away.
10. Alternative Bids by Bidders
    1. Alternatives will not be considered, unless specifically allowed for in the BDS.
    2. When alternative times for completion are explicitly invited, a statement to that effect will be included in the BDS and the method of evaluating different time schedules will be described in Evaluation and Qualification Criteria.
11. Withdrawal, Substitution, and Modification of Bids
    1. Before Bids submission deadline, any bidder may withdraw, substitute, or modify his bid after it has been submitted.
12. Format and Signing of Bids
    1. The bidder shall prepare and submit his bid with due diligence after carefully reading all the terms and conditions before submission through EPADS v2.0.
    2. Any interlineations, erasures, or overwriting shall be valid only if they are signed by the person(s) signing the forms of bid.

D. Submission of Bids

1. Submission of Bids through EPADS v2.0 before Dead deadline
   1. The Technical and Financial Bids as the case may be, shall be submitted in the due portion of the EPADS v2.0, before bid submission deadline. The bid submission option shall be automatically disabled once the deadline is over.
   2. The Procuring Agency may, under exceptional circumstances and at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of bids by amending the Bidding Documents in accordance with ITB 8. In such a case, all rights and obligations of the Procuring Agency and the Bidders that were previously subject to the original deadline shall thereafter be subject to the revised deadline.

E. Opening and Evaluation of Bids

1. Opening & Evaluation of Bids by the Procurement Cell
   1. As per Rule 10 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025
      (PA to establish a Procurement Cell which shall carryout  procurements a per Rule 10 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025)
2. Opening & Evaluation of Bids by the Bid Evaluation Committee
   1. As per Rule 11 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025
      (PA to constitute odd number Bid Evaluation Committee for the purpose of bid opening and evaluation of all procurements with an estimated value up to two billion rupees)
3. Third Party Validation
   1. In compliance with Rule 12 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025, the third-party validation committee or firm shall validate all procurements above five hundred million and up to two 2 billion rupees. The third-party validation shall be conducted at specifications, bidding documents preparation, technical (if any) & final evaluation stages.
4. External Bid Evaluation Committee
   1. As per Rule 13 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025, procurements with an estimated value above two billion rupees shall be opened and evaluated by the Procuring Agency’s notified External Bid Evaluation Committee.
5. Opening of Bids
   1. The Procuring Agency will open all bids through EPADS, in the presence of bidders’ or their representatives who choose to attend, and other parties with a legitimate interest in the bid proceedings at the place, on the date and at the time, specified in the BDS. The Bidders’ representatives present shall sign attendance sheet as proof of their attendance.
   2. The bids shall be opened one at a time, and the following read out and recorded: (a) the name of the bidder; (c) the presence of a bid security, if required; and (d) any other details as the procuring agency may consider appropriate.
   3. No bid will be rejected at the time of bid opening except for bids whose bid security has not been provided to the procuring agency before submission deadline.
   4. The procuring agency shall prepare minutes of the bid opening. The record of the bid opening shall include, as a minimum: the name of the bidder and the bid price, if applicable.
6. Confidentiality
   1. Information relating to the examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of bids and recommendation of contract award shall not be disclosed to bidders or any other person(s) not officially concerned with such process, until the time of the announcement of the respective evaluation report.
   2. Any effort by a bidder to influence the procuring agency processing of bids or award decision may result in the rejection of his bid.
7. Preliminary Examination of Bids
   1. Prior to the detailed evaluation of bids, the procuring agency will determine whether each bid:
      1. meets the eligibility criteria defined in ITB 3;
      2. has been prepared as per the format and contents defined by the procuring agency in the bidding document;
      3. is accompanied by the required securities; and
      4. is substantially responsive to the requirements of the bidding document.
   2. The procuring agency will confirm that the documents and information specified under ITB 9,10 and 11 have been provided in the bids. If any of these documents or information is missing, or is not provided in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders, the bids shall be rejected.
   3. If a bid is not substantially responsive, it will be rejected by the procuring agency and may not subsequently be evaluated for complete technical responsiveness.
8. Examination of Terms and Conditions, Technical Evaluation
   1. The procuring agency shall evaluate the technical aspects of the bids submitted in accordance with ITB 21, to confirm that all requirements specified in  Evaluation Criteria, Technical Specifications and Schedule of Requirements,prescribed inthe bidding document have been met without material deviation or reservation.
   2. If after the examination of the terms and conditions and the technical evaluation, the procuring agency determines that the bid is not substantially responsive in accordance with ITB 21, it shall reject the bids.
9. Correction of Errors
   1. Bids determined to be substantially responsive will be checked for any arithmetic errors.  Errors will be corrected as follows: -
      1. if there is a discrepancy between unit prices and the total price that is obtained by multiplying the unit price and quantity, the unit price shall prevail, and the total price shall be corrected, unless in the opinion of the procuring agency there is an obvious misplacement of the decimal point in the unit price, in which the total price as quoted shall govern and the unit price shall be corrected;
      2. if there is an error in a total corresponding to the addition or subtraction of sub-totals, the sub-totals shall prevail and the total shall be corrected; and
      3. where there is a discrepancy between the amounts in figures and in words, the amount in words will govern.
      4. Where there is discrepancy between grand total of price schedule and amount mentioned on the Forms of bid, the amount referred in Price Schedule shall be treated as correct subject to elimination of other errors.
   2. The amount stated in the bid will be adjusted by the procuring agency in accordance with the above procedure for the correction of errors and, with the concurrence of the bidder that shall be considered as binding upon the bidder. If the Bidder does not accept the corrected amount, his bid will then be rejected, and the Bid Security may be forfeited or the Bid Securing Declaration may be executed in accordance with ITB 17.
10. Conversion to Single Currency
    1. As per Rule 30(2) of Public Procurement Rules, 2004.
11. Evaluation of Bids
    1. The procuring agency shall evaluate bids in accordance with Rule 30 of Public Procurement Rules, 2004 and compare only those bids determined to be substantially responsive, pursuant to ITB 24.
    2. In evaluating the Technical Bids of each Bidder, the Procuring Agency shall apply the evaluation criteria and methodologies specified in the Bid Data Sheet (BDS) and in accordance with the Statement of Requirements and Technical Specifications. No other evaluation criteria or methodologies shall be permitted.
    3. In case of tie of bids, the bidders shall be provided an opportunity to offer their best and final monetary offer through EPADS. However, in no case the rates shall be higher than the original financial bids.
    4. The Procuring agency evaluation of a bid will take into account:
       1. the bid price, excluding provisional sums and the provision, if any, for contingencies in the summary bill of quantities, but including day work items, where priced competitively;
       2. price adjustment for correction of arithmetic errors in accordance with ITB 26;
    5. converting the amount resulting from applying (a) and (b) above, if relevant, to a single currency in accordance with ITB 27;
    6. The estimated effect of the price adjustment provisions of the Conditions of Contract, applied over the period of execution of the Contract, shall not be taken into account in bid evaluation.
    7. If these bidding documents allow bidders to quote separate prices for different lots, and the award to a successful bidder of multiple lots, the methodology of evaluation to determine the lowest evaluated lot combinations in the Form of Bid, is specified in the BDS.
12. Determination of Most Advantageous Bids
    1. Selection technique will be adopted for determining the Successful Bid  in accordance with the criteria referred in the BDS or prescribed in the separate section titled as Evaluation Criteria.
13. Abnormally Low Financial Bids
    1. Procuring agency may reject a bid if it has determined that the price, in combination with other constituent elements of the bid, is abnormally low in relation to the subject matter of the procurement, such that it raises material concerns on the part of the procuring agency, as to the ability of the bidder to perform the procurement contract satisfactorily for the offered price.
       A procuring agency shall not reject a bid as abnormally low under sub-clause (1) above unless the procuring agency –
       1. requested in writing through EPADS from the bidder a written clarification of his bid, including a detailed price analysis of his bid price in relation to the subject matter of the procurement contract, scope, methodology, schedule, allocation of risks and responsibilities and any other requirements of the bidding document; and
       2. having taken account, the information provided by the bidder in response to a request under paragraph (a) and the information included in the bid, the procuring agency determines that the bidder has failed to demonstrate its ability to perform the procurement contract satisfactorily for the offered price.
          
          The procuring agency shall promptly communicate to the bidder concerned its decision to reject the bid, including the reasons for the decision.
14. Rejection of Bids
    1. As per Rule 33 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004
15. Cancellation of procurement
    1. As per Rule 46 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025
16. Single Responsive Bid
    1. The procuring agency may consider single responsive subject to underlying conditions of Rule 38(b) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.
17. Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
    1. As per Rule 66 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025
18. Arbitration Clause
    1. (Appointing Authority for the Arbitrator shall be Chief justice of Honorable Islamabad High Court OR Managing Director (PPRA) OR Secretary (Ministry of Law & Justice),
19. Fee of the Arbitrator
    1. The fee shall be specified in PKR as detrmined by the Appointing Authority and shall be shared equally by each party.
20. Socio-economic development
    1. As per Rule 63 of Public Procurement Rules, 2025, PA to encourage the inclusiveness of small and medium enterprises, and marginalized groups by according preferences in line with the notified policies of the Federal Government
21. Environmental objectives
    1. As per Rule 64 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, The procuring agency may seek to procure services with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle when compared to services with the same primary function that may otherwise be procured.

F. Award of Contract

1. Appointment of Contract Manager
   1. The procuring agency shall designate a Contract Manager for each procurement or class of procurement who shall manage the contract as per Rule 58 & 59 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.
2. Criteria of Award
   1. The procuring agency will award the Contract to the bidder whose bid has been determined to be substantially responsive to the bidding document and who has been declared as Successful Bid .
3. Procuring Agency’s Right to reject All Bids
   1. The procuring agency reserves the right to reject all the Bids and to annul the procurement process at any time prior to acceptance of the bid(s), without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder(s).
   2. Notice of the rejection of all bids shall be given promptly to all bidders that have submitted the bids. The procuring agency shall upon request communicate to any bidder the grounds for the rejection of his bid, but is not required to justify those grounds.
4. Procuring Agency’s Right to Vary Quantities at the Time of Award
   1. The procuring agency reserves the right, at the time of contract award, to increase or decrease  not more than 15% of the original scope of related services originally specified in the Schedule of Requirements, provided that such variation does not exceed the percentage indicated in the Bid Data Sheet (BDS). This adjustment shall be made without any change in the unit price or other terms and conditions of the Bids and Bidding Documents.
5. Notification of Award
   1. Prior to the award of contract, the procuring agency shall issue a Final Evaluation Report giving justification for acceptance or rejection of the bids.
   2. Bidder whose bid has been accepted, will be notified for the award by the Procuring Agency prior to expiration of the Bid Validity period through EPADS. The Letter of Acceptance will state the sum that the procuring agency will pay the successful bidder in consideration for the execution of the scope of works as prescribed by the Contract (hereinafter and in the Contract called the "Contract Price).
   3. The notification of award will constitute the formation of the Contract, subject to the condition that bidder furnish the Performance Guarantee and signing of the contract. 
6. Signing of Contract
   1. Promptly after notification of award, Procuring Agency shall send the successful bidder the draft agreement, incorporating all terms and conditions as agreed by the parties to the contract. The successful bidder and the procuring agency shall sign the contract.
7. Performance Guarantee
   1. After the receipt of the Letter of Acceptance, the successful bidder, within the specified time, shall deliver to the Procuring Agency a Performance Guarantee in the amount and in the form stipulated in the BDS and SCC, denominated in the type and proportions of currencies in the Letter of Acceptance and in accordance with the Conditions of Contract.
   2. Failure of the successful bidder to comply with the requirement of ITB 49.1 shall constitute sufficient grounds for the annulment of the award and forfeiture of the bid security, in which event the procuring agency may make the award to the next ranked bidder or call for new bids.
8. Advance Payment
   1. The Procuring Agency will provide an Advance Payment as stipulated in the Conditions of Contract, subject to a maximum amount, as stated in the BDS.  The Advance Payment request shall be accompanied by an Advance Payment Guarantee in the form provided in Contract Forms.
9. Arbitration
   1. The Arbitrator shall be appointed by mutual consent of the both parties as per the provisions specified in the SCC. 
10. Corrupt & Fraudulent Practices
    1. Procuring Agencies (including beneficiaries of Government funded projects and procurement) as well as Bidders/Contractors under Government financed contracts, observe the highest standard of ethics during the procurement and execution of such contracts, and will avoid to engage in any corrupt and fraudulent practices. 

 G. Grievance Redressal & Complaint Review Mechanism

1. Constitution of Grievance Redressal
   1. Procuring agency shall constitute a Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) comprising of an odd number of persons with proper power and authorization to address the complaint. The GRC shall not have any of the members of Procurement Evaluation Committee. The committee must have one subject specialist depending the nature of the procurement.
2. GRC Procedure
   1. Any aggrieved party or bidder as the case may be, may file grievance in accordance with Rule 48 of the Public Procurement Rules, 20  and Redressal of Grievance Regulations, 2022 

H. Blacklisting/ Debarment

1. Procedure for Blacklisting/Debarment
   1. The procuring agency may initiate blacklisting proceedings against contractor/supplier in accordance with Rule-19 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004 , Mechanism for Blacklisting, Debarment Regulations, 2024 and “procedure for filling and disposal of review petition under rule-19(3) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.