Which of the following would be included in a scoring model for evaluating bidders?

5.45.5 Foreign Taxes and Canadian Customs Duties

(2010-01-11)

1. Customs duties must be considered in the evaluation of bids when bids are received from both Canadian-based and foreign-based bidders, since foreign-based bidders exclude duties in their bids. When rates of duties or exemption status need to be verified, the contracting officer may:
   1. obtain from the client department the information on the rate of duty applicable to the goods being imported, and add the estimated amount of duties to the price quoted by the foreign-based bidder; or
   2. verify with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) the application of customs duty to the goods being imported.
   The tariff and value administrator at the CBSA will provide a written ruling to any request for rate of duty, tariff classification, or customs value. Importers or their agents who wish a written ruling must send their request to the nearest CBSA office.
2. Contracting officers are responsible for verifying the application of excise taxes and the amount and specific rate(s) set out in bids. Contracting officers must evaluate bids exclusive of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) or the HST, as applicable. For the list of goods on which excise tax is payable, see Annex 4.5: Goods Subject to Excise Tax.
3. Clients may be entitled to exemption from taxes or duties. They should, in such cases, refer to a certificate of exemption or remission or drawback Order in Council. Issues relating to such remissions should be resolved between the client department and CBSA.

5.45.10 Transportation Costs

(2020-05-28)

This section is removed from the Supply Manual as it no longer reflects Canadian Government practices.

For reference purposes, section 5.45.10 is available in the Supply Manual Archive

5.45.15 Bids in Foreign Currency

(2017-08-17)

Unless the bid solicitation specifically requires bids to be made in Canadian currency, bids that are made in a foreign currency must be converted to Canadian currency for evaluation. The Bank of Canada rate published by 16:30 ET on the bid closing date, or on another date specified in the bid solicitation, must be applied as a conversion factor to the bids made in foreign currency.

5.45.20 Exchange Rate Fluctuation

(2013-11-06)

This section has been removed in Version 2013-7 of the Supply Manual to be incorporated within section 4.65 Exchange Rate Fluctuation Risk Mitigation.

5.50 Selecting the Successful Bidder

(2010-01-11)

The successful bidder must be selected in accordance with the methodology specified in the bid solicitation.

5.55 Rejection of Bids/Offers/Arrangements

(2011-06-29)

5.60 Financial Capabilities of Contractor

(2010-01-11)

5.60.15 Statement of Cost Accounting Practices

(2018-06-21)

This section is removed from the Supply Manual as it no longer reflects Canadian Government practices.

For reference purposes, section 5.60.15 is available in the Supply Manual Archive

, Version 2017-5.

5.65 Identical low bids: Best value

(2022-12-01)

1. If identical low bids are received the contract should be awarded on the basis of best value. The factors below should be used, subject to directives on national policies and objectives that may be issued from time to time. These criteria may be weighted as considered appropriate by the contracting officer:
   1. a bidder with an overall satisfactory performance record is given preference over a bidder known to have a less satisfactory performance record;
   2. a bidder in a position to provide adequate after-sales service, with a good record in this regard, will be given preference over a bidder who is less able to provide adequate service or who has a poor record;
   3. when delivery is an important factor, the bidder offering the best delivery date should be given preference;
   4. when there are several items included in the bid and only some items are priced identically, the bid offering the greatest dollar value should be given preference; and
   5. when there are several items included in the bid and one or more bidders bid lower on one or more of the items, the lowest bidder with the greatest dollar value should be given preference both for the items on which it bid equal prices and for the items on which it bid lower.
2. If there are two (or more) identical bids, and provided that the bid selected would still be considered the most advantageous to Canada, preference should be given to the bidder who assumes all or part of the exchange rate adjustment risk over a bidder who does not assume any of this risk. Furthermore, preference should be given to the bidder who assumes all of the exchange rate adjustment risk over a bidder who assumes only part of this risk.
3. If none of the above applies, a method of tie breaking that is mutually acceptable to Canada and the bidders with identical bids can be used. As an example, a simple coin toss could be agreed upon. The mutually agreed solution should involve legal advice.

5.70 One responsive bid

(2017-10-24)

1. One Responsive Bid Greater than $1,000,000
   1. When only one responsive bid is received in response to a competitive bid solicitation, to satisfy that Canada is obtaining fair value, the contracting officer must contact a cost analyst to determine if further analysis is warranted as specified by the mandatory conditions set out in the Directive on the Use of Cost and Price Analysis Services
      
       (PDF). Once the contracting officer has determined that the bid represents fair value to Canada, the contract may be awarded using competitive authorities to the single responsive bidder.
   2. If the contracting officer is not satisfied that the bid represents fair value, the contracting officer may consider negotiating or cancelling and reissuing the bid solicitation.
2. One Responsive Bid Less than or Equal to $1,000,000
   1. When only one responsive bid is received in response to a competitive bid solicitation, to satisfy that Canada is obtaining fair value, the contracting officer should consider using the services of a cost analyst to determine if further analysis is required (refer to the Guideline on the Use of Cost and Price Analysis Services
      
       (PDF)). Once the contracting officer has determined that the bid represents fair value to Canada the contract may be awarded using competitive authorities to the single responsive bidder.
   2. If the contracting officer is not satisfied that the bid represents fair value, the contracting officer may consider negotiating or cancelling and reissuing the bid solicitation.
3. One Responsive Bid from Foreign Contractor

   When only one responsive bid is received in response to a competitive solicitation, and that bid is from a supplier in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allied country, or a significant portion is being proposed to be subcontracted to a supplier in a NATO-allied country, to satisfy that Canada is obtaining fair value, the contracting officer should consider using the services of the foreign supplier's country's government to conduct an assessment of the fairness and reasonableness of the bid. This service can be called up by submitting a request through the Price Support Directorate (PSD). More information on this service is provided at 9.56 Price certifications and audits of foreign contractors.

5.75 No Responsive Bids

(2010-01-11)

When no responsive bid is received as a result of a competitive bid solicitation, the bid solicitation must be cancelled. For more information on reissuing a solicitation, see 4.100 Cancelling and Reissuing a Solicitation.

5.80 Bid Rigging/Collusion/Fraud

(2010-01-11)

The contracting officer must notify Legal Services and his or her immediate director whenever there is an indication of possible bid-rigging activities, collusion or fraud. When it is considered necessary, Legal Services will assist in subsequent discussions with Competition Bureau Canada,a federal independent law enforcement agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act. Bid rigging is addressed in section 47 of the Act.

The following are examples of possible bid-rigging activities:

1. bid rates/prices are much higher than published price lists, engineering cost estimates, or previous bid rates/prices by the same suppliers, for no apparent reason;
2. the successful bidder subcontracts work to suppliers who submit higher bids on the same project;
3. bidders use identical wording to describe non-standard items, or submit identical bids for non-standard items;
4. there are indications of unusual communications among suppliers, before submitting the bids with regards to bid prices, or allocation of clients, or references to "standard industry prices", "industry self-regulation", etc.;
5. the same supplier wins bids for specific clients, or in specific geographic locations, or for specific sizes or types of work, and loses most other bids on a regular basis; or
6. a recognizable pattern of systematic or random low bid rotation exists.

5.85 Negotiations

(2022-12-01)

1. When two or more responsive bids are received in response to a competitive bid solicitation and if no responsive bid represents fair value, contracting officers should examine the solicitation to determine possible causes. Subsequently, the contracting officer may consider negotiating with all responsive bidders or cancelling and reissuing the bid solicitation.
2. When negotiating with more than one firm, care should be taken that all are treated fairly and impartially. The negotiations should not become an auction of the contract, as firms progressively improve their bids in the light of information about the position of other firms. The confidentiality of each firm's negotiating position is to be assured.
3. The contracting officer must conduct all negotiations. If it is of a technical nature, the contracting officer and the client should conduct the negotiations. A negotiation report must be placed on the procurement file.
4. For procurements subject to the trade agreements contracting officers must conduct negotiations in accordance with the conditions of these agreements. For example, see Article 19.11: Negotiation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement or of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement, or the 'Negotiation' provision of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Canada's other free trade agreements have similar rules to the WTO-AGP.
5. For procurements not subject to trade agreements,
   1. when a bid solicitation was used, negotiations may be entered into:
      1. before the completion of bid evaluation, provided that they are held with all bidders that submitted responsive bids; or
      2. after the bid evaluation, with only one bidder, provided that the bidder submitted the only responsive bid. Or, the bidder was selected after evaluating more than one responsive bid, but it can be demonstrated that if the negotiations had been held with all of the bidders that submitted responsive bids, there would have been no change in the bidder selected.
      The ability to prove that the same bidder will be selected, regardless of whether negotiations are conducted with all responsive bidders, presupposes that the requirement (for example, technical specifications) will not change during negotiations and, therefore, that other bidders given the same opportunity could not submit different or better offers;
   2. when an Invitation to Tender (ITT) was used and there is more than one responsive bid, but neither the lowest bid nor the other bids represent fair value, the contracting officer must have determined, before considering entering into negotiations, that it would not be more effective to cancel the solicitation and meet the requirement using another method of supply. When urgency is a major factor, the results of the original ITT might be capable of being used as the basis for entering into negotiations with bidders; and
   3. when a Request For Quotation was used, negotiations should be avoided.

5.90 Extending the Bid Validity Period

(2010-01-11)

1. Bids will remain open for acceptance for a period of 60 days (30 days for construction), from the closing date of the bid solicitation, unless otherwise indicated in the bid solicitation (see Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual, (SACC) Standard Instructions 2003, 2006, and 2008). Contracting officers must carefully assess the potential for extended bid evaluation periods and indicate in the bid solicitation the modified period for bid acceptance. Contracting officers must also carefully monitor events during the bid evaluation period and contract approval process in order to award the contract before the bid acceptance period has expired. Expiry of bid acceptance periods before contract award should thus become an exceptional circumstance.
2. If the bid acceptance period has expired, and the contract has not been awarded, the bid solicitation must be reissued.
3. Any contract awarded to a bidder after the bid expiry date is considered a sole-source contract, and must be justified accordingly.
4. If the evaluation is incomplete and is unlikely to be completed within a reasonable period of time, and the bid acceptance period will expire before the evaluation is complete, the process should be halted and an assessment made to identify the cause of the delay. Any necessary corrections to the solicitation or evaluation methodology may then be made and the bid solicitation reissued.
5. As stated in the standard instructions, Canada may seek an extension of the bid validity period from all responsive bidders in writing within a minimum of three (3) days before the end of the bid validity period. If all responsive bidders accept the extension, Canada will continue with the evaluation of the bids. If all responsive bidders do not accept the extension, Canada will, at its sole discretion, either continue with the evaluation of the bids of those who have accepted the extension or cancel the solicitation.
6. Where a bidder does not agree to the extension and it is clear that this particular bidder has no chance of being recommended for award, then it may be appropriate to exercise Canada's right to proceed with the evaluation of only those bids submitted by the bidders that have agreed to an extension. Legal Services may be consulted in instances where a bidder does not agree to the extension, particularly in the case of procurements subject to the trade agreements.

5.95 Evaluating Joint Venture Bids

(2010-01-11)

1. Joint ventures may respond to bid solicitations in accordance with the applicable conditions contained in the solicitation. The relevant section of standard instructions 2003, 2006 and 2008 of the SACC Manual permits joint venture bids and provide further details.
2. If a contract is awarded to a joint venture, all members of the joint venture will be severally liable for the performance of any resulting contract. (See standard instructions referenced above.)
3. If a financial capability assessment is done, then all members of the joint venture will be assessed.

5.100 Special program considerations

(2020-10-21)

In the evaluation of bids, consideration must, as applicable, be given to various programs such as Canadian content, green procurement, accessible procurement and the Federal Contractors Program for employment equity. Employment equity requirements are described in Annex 5.1: Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity.

5.105 Evaluation Report

(2010-01-11)

1. An evaluation report must be prepared outlining in detail the review of the bids, including any clarifications requested and how the final decision was taken to rank and select the bidders.
2. The evaluation report should include the evaluation criteria, the rationale of mandatory and point-rating for each criterion, as well as the names and contact information of all evaluators.
3. All persons involved in evaluating the bids must sign the evaluation report.
4. All notes taken during the evaluation must be kept in their original form and retained on the procurement file for audit purposes.

Some sectors/regions have developed checklists to assist contracting officers in the tabulation of bids. They should be used where available.

In which type of contract is the buyer least at risk of absorbing excessive overruns?

In which type of incentive contract is there a maximum or minimum value established on the final price?

Which type of contract arrangement poses the least risk to the seller?