Under the updated procurement guidelines, offers priced more than 30 per cent under an estimated budget are classified as Abnormally Low Bids. Procuring agencies are required to assess these submissions instead of rejecting them immediately, asking vendors for written explanations and price breakdowns. The department of expenditure also instructed entities to design tender specifications carefully to bolster overall transparency. If a vendor cannot prove it can deliver the project at the discounted rate, officials may dismiss the bid and proceed with the next reasonable offer.
Key points
Government contracts will now undergo mandatory reviews whenever submitted pricing dips m…: Government contracts will now undergo mandatory reviews whenever submitted pricing dips more than 30 per cent beneath official estimates.
Bidders retain the right to defend their aggressive pricing structures with detailed oper…: Bidders retain the right to defend their aggressive pricing structures with detailed operational plans rather than facing automatic disqualification.
Procuring authorities must draft tender specifications carefully to maintain project stan…: Procuring authorities must draft tender specifications carefully to maintain project standards while protecting genuine price competition.
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NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has directed government agencies to scrutinise bids quoting prices more than 30 per cent below the estimated cost of a project or contract, tightening checks on unusually low offers to prevent compromises in quality and timely execution.
The department of expenditure has defined such offers as Abnormally Low Bids (ALBs) and made it mandatory for procuring entities to examine them as potentially unviable. Agencies will have to seek written explanations from bidders when concerns arise over their ability to deliver the work at the quoted price.
"A bid quoting a price more than 30 per cent below the estimated cost shall mandatorily be examined as a potentially ALB," the department said in an office memorandum, as quoted by PTI.
The bidder may be asked to provide a detailed price analysis in relation to the scope of work specified in the tender document. The procuring agency will assess whether the quoted amount is sufficient to meet the contract requirements.
However, the new threshold does not mean that every bid priced more than 30 per cent below…
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