9. Disclosure of bids received and contracts awarded

9.1 Reception, registration, opening and disclosure of tenders

How are tenders received, registered, opened, and disclosed to the public?

ARGENTINA

Offers will be presented in closed envelopes and shall indicate the name of the tender and the day and time of the opening. The opening of the offers will take place in at place, date and time announced in presence of the authorities of the entity and any other interested person. In that opportunity, the result will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The suppliers may order copies of the offers presented.

BAHAMAS

Central government

In the case of goods and services, tenders are received in sealed envelopes, in duplicate and placed in locked box. The tenders (sealed-envelopes) are opened and recorded publicly by the Chairman of the Tenders Board on the appointed opening date specified in the tender documents in the presence of the tenders. The Chairman announces the total submission of each bidder and any other information that appears relevant at the time. Also, at this particular time, the bidders are given the opportunity to ask questions, if they so desire.

In case of public works, for major technical works, tenders are required to be in the Director of Works Office before 12:00, noon, on the specified date. These tenders are opened and recorded publicly.

Corporations

All tenders are received, sealed and opened at specified and disclosed time. Tenders received after the publicized cut-off periods are noted as to the date and time of receipt, then returned unopened.

All bids become property of the employer and kept in the Project Management Section until the bid opening. At the bid opening, representatives from the relevant sections of the corporations and also those from companies submitting bids are present. The sealed bids are then opened and contract prices recorded. Each representative may be called on to sign the minutes of the opening ceremony which is recorded on the spot and which is usually a recording of the prices read out and the bid documents as appropriate. Bid submissions are not disclosed publicly.

BELIZE

Tenders, which shall be addressed to the Chairman of the Tenders Committee, may be sent through the post or may be placed in the tender box at the Ministry of Finance. They shall be submitted in sealed envelopes and marked legibly on the outside to indicate the service with respect of which they are made. All tenders sent through he post or by airfreight shall be endorsed to the effect by the Chairman with a note of the date and hour of receipt and shall then deposited by him in the tender box. Any tender which does not comply with the terms of the tender notice or which is brought before the Board through any other channel shall not be considered.

The tender box which is lodged in the Ministry of Finance shall be double locked, one key being held by the Chairman and the other by a member.

The tender box shall be closed at the hour fixed, after which the tenders shall be opened by or under immediate supervision of the Chairman. They shall receive consecutive numbers and shall be authenticated by initials of the Chairman and members present. The Chairman shall initial any corrections, deletions or additions.

A record shall be made of the proceedings of the Committee at each meeting. Tenders, while under consideration, shall be kept confidential and in safe custody. Tenderers may be called upon when supplied with tender forms to deposit such sums as may be fixed by the Committee. The deposit shall be refunded in accordance with the conditions notified in the tender notice. In no case shall tenders be referred back to tenderers for amendments without the authority of the tenders Committee.

BOLIVIA

The offers are received in two envelopes, the first one with the technical proposal and the second one with the economic offer. The entity registers the reception in the book and issues a receipt as proof of the reception. The offers are opened in a public meeting and in the presence of the suppliers. All tenders are communicated to the suppliers.

BRAZIL

The opening of the proposals will be carried out in a public meeting. The offers will be registered. Any citizen or company has the right to attend to the opening ceremony.

CANADA

Competitive bids are time and date stamped upon receipt, and kept unopened in a locked receptacle until after the closing time. After bid closing, the designated official is to remove the bids from the locked receptacle and open them in the presence of at least one witness.

Bids are opened publicly in certain circumstances. Whether opening should be public or not is based on considerations such as national security, the custom of the trade, and the product being acquired (e.g., including whether it is in normal commercial use, and the bids will contain little proprietary information). In a public opening, the name, address and the total price of each bidder is disclosed. In the case of a nonpublic opening, each bidder has a right to this information, subject to the Privacy Act.

Procurements subject to trade agreements are consistent with the obligations of those agreements.

CHILE

All the openings are public and consist of the reading of the offers in loud voice. Thereafter the results are registered in the minutes of the meeting, which includes the name of the participants, any pertinent observations and the signature of the members of the Commission and any supplier interested in doing so. Contracts over 4,000 UTM (approximately US$120,000) are published in the Official Bulletin.

COLOMBIA

The bids should be presented in a sealed enveloped and the reception of offers is carried out through the deposit of the offers in a box used for that purpose. The opening of the offers is done in a public act. The results are registered in the minutes of the meeting.

Legislation allows authorized officials to provide a copy of the proposals to those persons who demonstrate legitimate interest, respecting the proprietary nature of patents, procedures and privileges.

COSTA RICA

The offers are presented at the place indicated in the notice within the time limit established. An official in the presence of the suppliers opens the offers and the results are recorded in the minutes of the meeting. After their opening, the offers may be consulted by any interested person.

ECUADOR

In all cases the opening of offers is carried out in a public act in which their value is communicated.

EL SALVADOR

With open and limited tendering, a representative of the Unidad de Aprovisionamiento receives the institutions? offers in a sealed envelope (the original and a copy) and at the selected date and time of the opening, the offers are presented and opened. One copy is taken to the person to whom it is offered, the representative asks for their signature on the back of the original and then brings it to the reception room so that all the participants may sign it. Comparative and qualifying charts of the offers are drawn up to be sent to the Committee of Appropriations, which will analyze and determine the appropriation. The representative then composes an appropriation resolution and distributes it among the participants; 24 hours after the resolution is handed out, the respective contract is drawn up.

GUATEMALA

The Bidding Committee receives offers in sealed envelopes. They are registered, opened and any decision made by the Committee on the procurement process is notified to the bidders within three days.

JAMAICA

Tenders are deposited in a locked tender box provided for that purpose, at the stipulated address and within the time period in the invitation to tender. At the expiration of the time for submitting tenders the tender box is sealed. Tenders received after the time specified are returned unopened.

Tenders are opened for evaluation by the GCC or Ministries?/Department?s Procurement Committee. In the case of open tendering, at the tender opening exercise all interested parties or their representatives (consultants or tenderers) may attend. In the case of restricted tenders, tenderers are invited to attend.

A record of the tender opening is prepared and signed by the opening officer and appropriate witnesses. This record includes: the names of tenderers; the sum tendered the pretender estimate; and any other pertinent information.

MEXICO

Offers are received in two sealed envelopes, at the date, time and place specified in bidding the documents. The first envelope contains identification and supporting documents of the bidder, a description of technical specifications of the goods and service offered. The second envelope contains the price of the goods and services offered, including a guarantee of sustainability of the offer.

At the first stage: " technical stage", all proposals are opened in the presence of bidders to validate their contents. Only those that comply with the technical requirements established in the bidding document will qualify for the second stage.

At the second stage, "financial stage", the envelopes with the price of the bid are opened, in the presence of bidders to validate their contents. All bids rejected after the technical stage are returned unopened.

Subsequently, the contract is awarded to the best financial offer.

The decision is announced in a public meeting, with the attendance of the participating bidders. If a meeting does not take place, entities may instead announce the award decision in writing to each of the bidders.

NICARAGUA

The offers are received in writing, in a closed and sealed envelope. They are opened in a public meeting in the presence of the bidders and the received proposals are communicated. The act is registered in the minutes of the meeting, which is authenticated by an attorney and signed by the Committee and the suppliers.

PANAMA

Within the time and place indicated in the notices, each proponent shall submit the envelope containing the proposal, as indicated in the bidding documents. The envelopes are numbered according to the order of submission and are stamped with the date and time of submission and are put on a table at the public?s view and under custody. Once the envelopes have been submitted they cannot be returned and once the time has expired no more proposals shall be accepted. The envelopes are opened and read in loud voice.

Proposals not containing all the required documents will be rejected. After the reading the rejected and valid offers, the person presiding the ceremony will draft the minutes, which will contain the name of the participants; offers accepted and rejected along with the reason for rejection; their price; and, any other protest or event which took place during the ceremony.

The minutes will be signed by all the participants.

PARAGUAY

The procuring entity will form a bidding commission, which receives the proposals containing the economic offers, and all other legal requisites. The commission, in a public ceremony, proceeds to review the legal requisites of the offer, and provided they are in order, then economic offer is open and read aloud. Subsequently, the minutes of the ceremony are drafted. The offerers may leave record of all their opinions and any clarifications they wish make. The bidding commission later analyzes these opinions or clarifications.

PERU

Offers for goods and services are publicly received in three sealed envelopes.

Envelope number 1:

Contains the supplier?s identification, an introductory letter, general data and documentation, verifying compliance with the requirements set forth in the bidding documentation.

Envelope number 2:

Contains specifications on the goods or services being offered; booklets, plans, catalogues, quality control certificates granted by a competent entity, or any other piece of information required in the bidding documents, which may demonstrate their compliance with technical specifications the bidding institution requires.

Envelope number 3:

  1. Economic aspects: price quotations, unit prices and total amount including taxes, date for delivery and expiration of the offer, payment terms, and conditions for the delivery.
  2. Guarantee: security deposit in the form of a letter with a Manager?s check of immediate execution to the order of the public institution for an amount equivalent to 5% of the total offer.
  3. Financial proposal: if the bidding is to be done with financing

For public works, the supplier or its legal representative must publicly submit to the Reception and Awarding Commission two envelopes containing the following information and signed documentation.

Envelope 1:

  1. Valid certificate for its registration with the National Registry for Contractors or Public Works, or a legal copy of certification.
  2. Official form with statements for:
    1. that the supplier is not an employee of the public sector;
    2. that the supplier has not been impeded to contract with the State;
    3. that the supplier with submit to the law according to the bidding documents
    4. that the address of the supplier is included in the offer
    5. amount of current contracts of public works, its evaluation, participation in tender procedures and awards.
  1. The form previously prepared by the bidding entity called "document relationship", signed by the bidder
  2. The form must contain the list of all documents provided by the bidding institution.
  3. In the case of bidders with associations, they should attach the official documentation of such association approved by the Superior Council and signed by its legal representatives.
  4. Copy of statements of being up-to-date with payments to the Peruvian Institution of Social Security throughout the Peruvian territory, and with the corresponding seal of this institution.
  5. A statement indicating the availability of the machinery or equipment, owned or leased, which will be utilized in the execution of the work, in accordance with the minimum required by the bidding institution; its location and employment opportunities should be stated as well. In the case the machinery or equipment is being leased, the documentation showing the commitment of the owner to provide the machinery or equipment should be attached (added by the Decree Supreme Number 014-81-VC).

Envelope 2:

The total amount of the proposal earmarked in the form provided by the bidding institution (or in a photocopy), which will have to be clean of erasures, amendments or corrections in order to be considered in the bidding process.

The bidding institutions will keep a book of bidding minutes, which will be made legal.

Once the two envelopes are received and the opening of the first has taken place, new documentation will not be accepted. After the opening of the first envelopes and once it has been establish which of those comply with the requirements, the opening of the second envelopes will take place.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

The offers are opened in public shortly after closing. These are recorded in the reports of the public openings. A schedule of offers received is signed and all offers are stamped and signed by two officers.

UNITED STATES

The responses to sealed bids are opened publicly. However, in negotiated procurements, the prices are kept under wraps until an award is made. The reason for doing this relates to the proprietary nature of the pricing information. In addition, the knowledge of the prices could lead to a situation in which the incumbent contractor has an unfair advantage over its competitors. This would impact on the integrity of the procurement system. Accordingly, the only time when prices are disclosed is in a sealed bid situation.

URUGUAY

Article 54 establishes that the bidders shall present their offers in the form and conditions set out in the bidding documents. With respect to the opening of offers, Article 56 states that the opening ceremony will be carried out on the date, place and time provided in the bidding documents and the publication, in the presence of the officials which the Administration designates for such purpose and the bidders or their representatives which would like to attend. With regards to submitting the offer it could be done personally (a receipt shall be given by mail, fax, or other similar means.

VENEZUELA

Article 42 of the Law of Tender Procedures establishes that bids, duly signed and in sealed envelopes, will be submitted to the Tender Commission in a public act. Once the bids have been received, the Tender Commission will open the envelopes containing the bids, read the main content and register in the minutes any comment suppliers may want to make (Article 44 Law of Tender Procedures). The minutes is signed by the members of the Commission, the suppliers present at the moment, and designed witnesses, if any.

The names of selected suppliers will be published in one of the main newspapers.

9.2 Obligation to publish and/or communicate awarded contracts

Are entities required to publish details of the contracts awarded and/or notify unsuccessful tenderers? If so, please describe publication requirements.

ARGENTINA

Decree 5,720/72, Article 61, subsection 78, states that preawarding must be announced in one or more visible places of the bidding entity premises, where the general public can have access. The publicity time limits vary according to the modality of the purchase:

In accordance with Decree 826/88, Article 9, the preawarding will also be published for one day in the same means where the calls for Bids were published.

The successful bidder is informed of the awarding is within 7 days of agreed after the decision was made, through a purchase order and, in special situations, in any other form (Article 61, clause 81 of Decree 5,720/72).

BAHAMAS

Details of an awarded contract are not required to be published. The successful bidder is advised and a contract is prepared. Unsuccessful competitors are usually sent letters of regret.

BELIZE

The details of the contracts are not published. Unsuccessful bidders shall be notified of the awarding as soon as possible.

BOLIVIA

Bolivian legislation does not require entities to publish the details of awarded contracts; however, the SABS? Basic Regulations establish that bidders should be informed of the awarded offer through a notification.

BRAZIL

Contracts do not need to be completely published; they can be summarized. But their publication is necessary for the validity of the contract, according to the definition in Art. 61 of Law 8,666:

Article 61:

Only paragraph: The publication of the summary of a contract document or of its supplements in the official gazette, which is a necessary condition in order to be valid, and is issued by the administration until the fifth working day following its signature, for a period of 20 days of that date, no matter its value, except for the disposition contained in Art. 26 of this law.

CANADA

Canadian government departments and entities publish most award notices, for procurements that were publicly advertised, on the federal government electronic tendering system. Procurement awards that are covered by NAFTA or the WTO-AGP are also published in the Government Business Opportunities (GBO). These award notices provide information required under the trade agreements, such as a description of what has been procured and the name of the winning bidder. Entities do not have to notify unsuccessful bidders individually. However, on request, information is provided to unsuccessful bidders on why they did not win the bid.

CHILE

All the proceedings will be recorded in the minutes and all the unsuccessful bidders will be notified. Contracts for amounts over 4,000 (U$120,000) are published in the Official Newspaper of the Republic.

COLOMBIA

The publication of the contracts in the contracts Official Gazette is a ratifying requirement. At the same time written communication should be sent to the all unsuccessful bidders within the five calendar days after the awarding of the contract. In addition, the local Chambers of Commerce are informed of the bidding process results every six months.

COSTA RICA

The results of the bidding are registered in a book to be selected by the Administration that has to be certified by the General Controllership of the Republic. The offers received must be placed on records as well as their annexes, guarantees, values and main estimations, and any remark or objections by the interested parties. The deed must be signed by the Administration?s officials, the people present in the event stating their representation and any other person that has made any observation. Once the sealed offers have been opened, they cannot be taken out of the premises or modified. Public bids awards are published in the Official newspaper La Gazeta, and registry bids results are published in the same means that called for bids.

ECUADOR

In all the cases, there is an obligation to inform the unsuccessful bidders

EL SALVADOR

The legislation does not arrange the publication of the details of the appropriated contracts, however, it does arrange that the highest offer be made known immediately, along with the offers that were not chosen or rejected.

GUATEMALA

Each one of the offerers as well as the successful bidder is notified of the award. There is no publication.

JAMAICA

The procedure requires that all bidders be advised of the tenders received. The successful bidder is notified and the unsuccessful bidders are written letters of regret.

MEXICO

The entities and agencies will draft the minutes concerning their decision on the award of the contract, which will be signed by the bidders who attended the ceremony and to whom a copy thereof shall be given. In addition, the procuring entity must send a written notification to the unsuccessful bidders explaining the reasons why their offers were rejected.

In addition, within a maximum time limit of 72 days after the award of the contract, the contracting entity will publish in the Federation?s Official Newspaper, the name and information of the successful bidder, as well as the amount, characteristics of the awarded good or service and any information considered relevant in relation to the contract.

NICARAGUA

The contracting entity informs the awarding to all bidders to the address they have given within three-business days as from the awarding. The awarding resolution will have to be published in the Official Newspaper.

PANAMA

Awards will be public and the participants will be able to obtain copies of the deed recording the bidding events, provided they pay for the cost of such copies.

PARAGUAY

Once the commission recommends and award, all information is submitted to the institution?s highest authority for its evaluation and, if such recommendation is accepted, it is submitted to the President of the Republic who grants the awarding through a decree. Once the awarding has been granted and the decree signed and authorized, the bidding commission informs the awarded company and the unsuccessful bidder, through notifications sent to the participants of the tender.

PERU

Procurement of goods and services

After the awarding of bidding, the President of the Committee immediately informs through written notification the results to the bidders. In addition, the successful bidder receives a notification saying that in no more than five days the corresponding contract will be subscribed (Article 5.1.1 of RUA).

The results of the awarding are published once in the Official Newspaper and in the one with the highest circulation in the departmental jurisdiction, within three after the award.

Construction (contracting) of public works

After the second offers have been opened and the proposals read, the successful bidder will be announced, drawing the corresponding deed placing on records the bidding held, stating the participants, the amounts, rejected proposals and the cause of their rejection, and the successful bidder and the price offered by it as well as any observation by the bidders.

After the successful bidder has been awarded and this has been published in the official newspaper "El Peruano", documents will be returned to the unsuccessful bidders within eight days, keeping files of the unsuccessful bidders.

The publication of the award should include only the following:

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Yes, they are published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. Trinidad and Tobago is also obliged to send a written communication to the unsuccessful bidders.

UNITED STATES

The contracting officer shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the successful bidder by transmitting written or electronic notice of the award to that bidder. Within three days after the date of the contract award, the contracting officer shall notify, in writing or electronically, each bidder whose proposal is determined to be unacceptable or whose offer is not selected for award. Additionally, a post-award notice must be published in the CBD.

URUGUAY

This is established in the general terms and conditions of the bid (Decree 53 of 1993), and the means of publication must be established in the terms of particular conditions.

VENEZUELA

If the Buena-Pro is granted, the beneficiary shall be notified, as well as those who receive the second and the third option. The other participants who participated in the process shall also be notified.

 

9.3 Provision of pertinent reasons for rejection

Are entities required to publish or provide to unsuccessful bidders, pertinent reasons why their bid was rejected?

ARGENTINA

No. Notwithstanding this, in the case once the preawarding has been announced, an interested party questioned an annulment, the bidding authorities shall provide full documents recording the Bidding event for his review (Article 61, clause 79 of Decree 5,720/72).

BAHAMAS

The unsuccessful bidders are given reasons for rejection of their bid but this need not be specific or detailed. Central government does not give reasons as to why bids are unsuccessful.

BELIZE

There is no request to state the reasons as to why the bidders have been rejected

BOLIVIA

No.

BRAZIL

Unsuccessful bidders do not necessarily receive an explanation. However, any bidder can request the deeds of the whole bidding process (where the reasons for rejection will be stated) and a copy of the contract in accordance with Article 63 of Law 8,666:

Article 63: It is permitted to any bidder to know the terms of the contract and of the respective bidding process and, to any interested person, to obtain a certified copy, though the payment of the respective fee.

CANADA

As stated in 9.2, entities do not have to notify unsuccessful bidders individually. However, on request, information is provided to unsuccessful bidders on why they did not win the bid.

CHILE

Entities are not obliged to publish or inform the unsuccessful bidders the reasons why they have been rejected.

COLOMBIA

When requested, government entities are obliged to communicate to the unsuccessful bidder in writing and explaining in detail the reasons why the offer was rejected. Moreover, in the case of an unanswered bid, the government entities are obliged to indicate the reasons that led to it.

COSTA RICA

In Costa Rica, both the awarding and the rejection must be explained. Moreover, the unsuccessful bidder should be able to consult the bidding records at any time.

ECUADOR

Public entities are not requested to publish or inform the reason for rejection of unsuccessful bidders.

EL SALVADOR

All institutions that have been involved in open or limited tendering procedures are obligated to explain, to the suppliers that did not have the winning bid, their motives for having not chosen them or for opposing their offers; this is not done in the form of a publication.

GUATEMALA

Entities are not obligated to publish or communicate the reason on why the offers were rejected to the unsuccessful bidders.

JAMAICA

Pertinent details of reasons for rejected bids are not required to be provided to unsuccessful bidders.

MEXICO

The procuring entity must send a written notification to unsuccessful bidders in all bidding processes, explaining the reasons why their offers have been rejected.

NICARAGUA

There is no obligation to publish the results. However, each bidder receives an explanation of the reasons why the offer has been rejected.

PANAMA

When the reasons of rejection are given at the opening of the envelopes, these will be recorded in the minutes and will be read out loud. This minute is duly numbered and is public. When the technical evaluation commission gives the rejection, the bidders will be notified and they will have five days to present their protests.

PARAGUAY

No, but if a company considers itself damaged in its interests, it is allowed to submit within five business days an appeal for reconsideration before the highest authority of the bidding institution, and in the case such appeal is not granted, it can appeal before the Judiciary.

PERU

According to the legislation in force, there is no obligation to publish the reasons why the offers were rejected. However, if requested by the bidder, a coy of the Deeds with the relevant information will be delivered. The bidding institution must exhibit in a visible place in its premises, the relation of all the participant bidders, the prices they offered, and the rejected offers (in relation to works)

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

No.

UNITED STATES

When a contract is awarded on the basis of competitive proposals, an offeror, upon its written request received by the agency within three days after the date on which that offeror has received notice of contract award, shall be debriefed and furnished the basis for the selection decision and contract award. When practicable, debriefing requests received more than three days after the offerer receives notice of contract award shall be accommodated. However, accommodating such untimely debriefing requests does not extend the time within which suspension of performance can be required, as this accommodation is not a "required debriefing" as described in FAR Part 33. To the maximum extent practicable, the debriefing should occur within five days after the receipt of the written request. Debriefings of successful and unsuccessful offerors may be done orally, in writing, by electronic means, or any other method acceptable to the contracting officer.

At a minimum, the debriefing information shall include: (1) the entity?s evaluation of the significant weaknesses or deficiencies in the offeror?s proposal, if applicable; (2) the overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating, if applicable, of the successful offeror and the debriefed offeror; (3) the overall ranking of all offerors when any ranking was developed by the agency during the source selection; (4) a summary of the rationale for award; (5) for acquisitions of commercial end items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror; and (6) reasonable responses to relevant questions about whether source selection procedures contained in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed. The debriefing shall not include point-by-point comparisons of the debriefed offeror?s proposal with those of other offerors.

URUGUAY

Publication is not required, but the unsuccessful bidder should receive an explanation as to the reasons why the offer has been rejected.

VENEZUELA

No.