The Implementing Agency (IA) can only undertake activities and items which are mentioned in the AWP and PP. Therefore if activities are not mentioned in the AWP & PP, the AWP and PP have to be amended and required approval from NPMU/World Bank needs to be obtained to include such activities and items.

The PP is a dynamic document and can be modified to include/exclude any procurements, subject to the approval of the NPMU/World Bank. The AWP and the PP may be amended mid-course during the year provided that for amending the AWP the IA shall obtain the approval of the NPMU and for amending the PP, the approval of the World Bank has to be taken.

As per the World Bank Guidelines the criteria is to be limited to those that are essential to ensure the firm’s capability to fulfil the contract in question.

The model bid document for consultants prescribes the factors that may be taken into account while evaluating the technical experience of the consultant bidder which are namely: specific experience of the Consultant (as a firm) relevant to the assignment, adequacy and quality of the proposed methodology of the consultant and the work plan in responding to the Terms of Reference, key experts’ qualifications and competence for the assignment, transfer of knowledge (training) program and participation by nationals among proposed key experts.

The bidding document may enlist specific technical criteria to be fulfilled based on the aforementioned parameters.

According to the World Bank Guidelines if a bid is not substantially responsive, that is if it contains material deviations from or reservations to the terms, conditions, and specifications in the bidding documents, it shall not be considered further. The bidder shall neither be permitted nor invited by the IA to correct or withdraw material deviations or reservations once bids have been opened.

As per the model bid document for Goods, deviations from critical provisions such as those concerning Performance Security, Warranty, Force Majeure, Limitation of liability, Governing Law and Taxes & Duties will be deemed to be a material deviation.

As per the Guidelines in case of non-responsiveness on account of non-material deviations, clarifications may be sought. However, such clarifications shall not result in changing the substance or the price of the bid.

The World Bank Guidelines and the NHP Manual only state that there must be a minimum of three quotations in the shopping method and that the said three firms shall be reputable, well established and are suppliers of the goods or services (which are being procured), as part of their normal business. Since shopping procurement method is to be utilized for readily available, off the shelf goods and standard specification commodities or simple civil works, the Guidelines prescribe that the request for quotations shall indicate the description and quantity of the goods or specifications of works, as well as desired delivery (or completion) time and place. The IA may provide such qualification criteria in the Bid document for Shopping that are in alignment with the WB procurement guidelines and that have appropriate safeguards.

Additionally, as per the GFR 2017 the criteria for eligibility and qualifications such as minimum level of experience, past performance, technical capability, manufacturing facilities and financial capability/position etc. should be met by the bidders. However, given the small nature of procurement, the bidder doing the relevant activity/supply in its normal course of business for a specified number of years prior to bid due date should suffice. However, in case the bid document for shopping has been used, the eligibility criteria as specified in the bid document should be scrupulously followed to determine the eligibility.

The WB Guidelines provide that during the process of bid evaluation, for contracts for goods, non-consultancy services and works, the bid price shall be presumed to be inclusive of all taxes, duties and levies.

However, for the purpose of consultancy services the Guidelines provide that, during price evaluation, the offered prices shall exclude all local identifiable indirect taxes on the contract and income tax payable in India on the remuneration of services rendered in India by non-resident experts and other personnel of the consultant. In exceptional circumstances, when indirect taxes cannot be fully identified by the IA when evaluating the financial offers, the World Bank may agree that prices, for the purpose of evaluation only, include all taxes payable to India.

Since all Indirect Taxes have now been merged into GST which has uniform rate of tax all over India, the Bid Price should be considered exclusive of all taxes. Further, the Income tax payable on services rendered by NRI shall be governed by Section 9 of the Income Tax Act and the provisions of the specific Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty signed with the country where the amount is being remitted. The Income Tax shall be examined on the basis of incidence of tax.

An extension of bid validity, if justified by exceptional circumstances, shall be requested by the IA, in writing, from all bidders before the expiration date. The extension shall be for the minimum period required to complete the evaluation, obtain the necessary no objections, and award the contract. In the case of fixed price contracts, requests for second and subsequent extensions may be permissible only if the IA has provided an appropriate mechanism as provided in the World Bank’s relevant SBD to adjust the quoted price of the winning bidder to reflect any increase in the cost of inputs for the contract over the period of extension.

Whenever an extension of bid validity period is requested, bidders shall not be requested or be permitted to change the quoted (base) price or other conditions of their bid. Bidders shall have the right to refuse to grant such an extension.

In case of NCB method of procurement, the extension of bid validity shall not be allowed with respect to contracts without the prior review of the World Bank (i) for the first request for extension, if it is longer than 4 weeks; and (ii) for all subsequent requests for extension irrespective of the period.

GST is to be charged on the sale of goods and services at pre-defined rates by the Supplier or Service Provider on the completion of transaction or services. GST can only be charged by a person who is registered under the GST Act and the related rules and the GST paid Invoice for the sale of goods or sale of services is to be issued by him. Every person whose total turnover or gross receipt of services is more than Rs. 20 lac per annum or likely to be more than Rs. 20 lac per annum is required to be registered under the GST Act. If a person is not registered under the GST Act, he cannot charge GST and also cannot issue the GST paid Invoice.

As per the GST Rules, if the cost of the Bidding Document is quoted “Inclusive of GST”, the rate and amount of GST is also required to be disclosed. For the purpose of issue of Invoice/Cash where GST has been charged, it should be in the approved format and must have all the requisite details like GST Registration no., complete address as per GST Registration Certificate, PAN No., HSN Code of the goods or services and the GST rate. However, if IA is not registered under GST, which is a normal case, no GST is to be charged for sale of bidding documents.

The IA shall try and find the reason for no bidder participation. The IA may advertise the tender in a different newspaper with wider circulation or if it is of the opinion that the qualification criteria was too stringent and reduced bidder participation, it may revise the qualification criteria to encourage bidder participation with adequate safeguards in place and without compromising on the quality of outputs and obtaining no objection from the Bank if required.

If there is no bidder participation even after this, other methods of procurement may be availed of, including direct contracting with the approval of NPMU/World Bank.

As per the model bid document for goods, the insurance coverage is only for loss or damage to the goods during carriage till the commissioning and acceptance by the procurer. Thereafter the responsibility for insurance shall lie with the procurer (in this case, IA). Therefore, during the O&M and AMC period, the responsibility for security of the goods shall lie with the procurer. Responsibility for liaison may be allocated to the contractor/supplier during the O&M and AMC period.

The specific coverage to be provided by the insurance policy (theft, etc.) shall depend on the terms and conditions of the insurance contract. Apart from insurance, the procurer can adopt certain indigenous measures such as fencing, high mast installation etc. to cover its risks (including the risk of theft) which need to be incorporated in the bidding documents. This assessment is required to be made by the IA on a case to case basis.

The World Bank Guidelines do not mandate the publication of the advertisement, in case of shopping method procurement, in a national daily. Thus, the Borrower may choose to advertise the procurement on reputed website alone, subject to requisite adherence to the state’s policy for procurement/finance which may prescribe advertising in a newspaper as well. However, in case the bid is required to be advertised in a newspaper only abridged version of the bid is required to be given.

The Bid may be mandated to be published in the widely circulated national daily at the discretion of the IA, however the Bid is required to be uploaded simultaneously on the departmental website and widely visited website related to tendering such as Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP). Further, in case of e-bidding the Bid shall be published on the e-procurement portal which should be compliant with the World Bank Guidelines.

The Procurement Plan (for Goods and Non-Consultancies, Works and Consultancy services) for each of the IAs should be prepared for the full duration of the project. In case this is not possible it can be prepared for at least the first 18 months, based on the approved Project Implementation Plan (PIP) and the AWPs. The PP shall at the minimum have the description of the items, estimated cost, method of procurement, prior review by the Bank (whether required or not), estimated date of issue of bid / proposal and the estimated date of signing the contract.

The PP/ schedule should be entered into the Bank's STEP (Systematic Tracking and Exchanges in Procurement).The Bank reviews the submitted PP and accords no-objection. The procurement action will be initiated only after Bank's no-objection to the PP.

a) Works: First procurement under the project irrespective of value and all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 10 million (INR 650 million)
• b) Goods: First procurement under the project irrespective of value and all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 2 million (INR 130 million)
• c) Consulting Firm: First procurement under the project irrespective of value and all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 1 million(INR 65 million)
• d) Individual Consultant: all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 300,000(INR 19.5 million)

• a) Extension of existing contracts for Works or Goods awarded with procedures acceptable to the World Bank, justifiable on economic grounds;
• b) Standardization of equipment or spare parts to be compatible with existing equipment
• c) Proprietary equipment obtainable only from one source;
• d) Process design requires the purchase of critical items from a particular supplier as condition of a performance guarantee
• e) In exceptional urgent cases such as in response to natural disasters;
• f) Direct contracting may be followed for procurement of items, if so specified in the Procurement Plans cleared with the bank.

• a) A precise statement of objectives
• b) An outline of the tasks to be carried out
• c) A schedule for completion of tasks
• d) The support/inputs provided by the client
• e) The final outputs that will be required of the Consultant
• f) Composition of Review Committee (not more than three members) to monitor the
• g) Consultant’s works
• h) Review of the Progress Reports required from Consultant
• j) Review of the final draft report
• k) List of key positions whose CV and experience would be evaluated.

The consultancy firm with the highest score derived from evaluating both the technical and financial criteria shall be invited for negotiations prior to award of contract. Negotiations shall include discussions of the TOR, the methodology, staffing, client’s inputs, and special conditions of the contract. These discussions shall not substantially alter the original TOR or the terms of the contract, lest the quality of the final product, its cost, and the relevance of the initial evaluation be affected. Major reductions in work inputs should not be made solely to meet the budget. The final TOR and the agreed methodology shall be incorporated in “Description of Services,” which shall form part of the contract.

Financial negotiations shall include clarification of the consultants' tax liability in India (if any) and how this tax liability has been or would be reflected in the contract. As Lump-Sum Contracts payments are based on delivery of outputs (or products), the offered price shall include all costs (staff time, overhead, travel, hotel, etc.).

a) Lump sum contracts are used mainly for assignments in which the content and the duration of the services and the required output of the consultants are clearly defined. They are widely used for simple planning and feasibility studies, environmental studies, detailed design of standard or common structures, preparation of data processing systems, and so forth. Payments are linked to outputs (deliverables), such as reports, drawings, bill of quantities, bidding documents, and software programs. Lump sum contracts are easy to administer because payments are due on clearly specified outputs.

b) Time based contract: This type of contract is appropriate when it is difficult to define the scope and the length of services, either because the services are related to activities by others for which the completion period may vary, or because the input of the consultants required to attain the objectives of the assignment is difficult to assess. This type of contract is widely used for complex studies, supervision of construction, advisory services, and most training assignments. Payments are based on agreed hourly, daily, weekly or monthly rates of staff and on reimbursable items using actual expenses and/or agreed unit prices. The rates for staff include salary, social costs, overhead, fee (or profit), and, where appropriate special allowances. This type of contract shall include a maximum amount of total payments to be made to the consultants.

As per the NHP Procurement Manual, award decision and its rationale should be documented/ and kept for review by audit by the Bank (or by the Bank’s auditors) as needed. The record should contain the list of firms invited, and the list and value of quotations received, comparative statements etc. The documents should clearly show that the award is based on sound technical and commercial criteria.

Further, the Manual also requires the Procurer to retain all documentation with respect to each contract during project implementation and up to two years after the closing date of the Loan Agreement. This documentation would include, but not be limited to, the signed original of the contract, the analysis of the respective proposals, and recommendations for award, for examination by the Bank.

The IAs entrusted with evaluation of Supplier’s / Contractor’s shall ascertain whether quotations: a) meet the eligibility requirements specified; b) have been properly signed; c) are valid for the period specified in the RFQ document; d) are substantially responsive (commercially and technically) to the RFQ; and e) are otherwise generally in order.

If the bidder meets the above stipulations indicated in the RFQ, it is determined as substantially responsive and is considered further for evaluation.