This information has been archived and replaced by Standard Instructions - Request for Standing Offers - Goods or Services - Competitive Requirements (2023-06-08) 2006
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.
Legal text for SACC item
2006 (2007-05-25) Standard Instructions - Request for Standing Offers -
Goods or Services
Public Works and Government Services Canada
General Information
01 Procurement Business Number
02 Standard Instructions, Clauses and Conditions
03 Submission of Offers
04 Late Offers
05 Delayed Offers
06 Transmission by Facsimile
07 Customs Clearance
08 Legal Capacity
09 Rights of Canada
10 Vendor Performance
11 Communications - Solicitation Period
12 Price Support
13 Offer Costs
14 Conduct of Evaluation
15 Joint Venture
16 Further Information
General Information
One method of supply used by Public Works and Government Services Canada
(PWGSC) to satisfy the requirements of departments and agencies is to
arrange with suppliers to submit a standing offer to provide goods,
services or both during a specified period. Specific departments and
agencies are then authorized by PWGSC to make call-ups against the standing
offer detailing the exact quantities of goods or level of services they
wish to order at a particular time, during the effective period of the
standing offer in accordance with the predetermined conditions.
The process normally starts with a Request for Standing Offer (RFSO) that
suppliers may obtain through the Government Electronic Tendering Service
(GETS). A RFSO is an invitation to suppliers to provide PWGSC with a
standing offer. The quantity of goods, level of services and estimated
expenditure specified in the RFSO are only an approximation of requirements
given in good faith. A RFSO does not commit PWGSC to authorize the
utilization of a standing offer or to procure or contract for any goods,
services or both. A standing offer is not a contract. The issuance by
PWGSC of a Standing Offer and Call-up Authority (SOCA) to successful
suppliers and to departments and agencies authorized to make call-ups does
not constitute an agreement by Canada to order any or all of the goods,
services or both offered. Departments and agencies may make one or several
call-ups against a standing offer.
01 Procurement Business Number
Canadian suppliers are required to have a Procurement Business Number (PBN)
before issuance of a standing offer. Suppliers may register for a PBN in
the Supplier Registration Information service on line at the Business
Access Canada Website at: http://contractscanada.gc.ca. For non-Internet
registration, suppliers may contact the Business Access Canada InfoLine at
1-800-811-1148 to obtain the telephone number of the nearest Supplier
Registration Agent.
02 Standard Instructions, Clauses and Conditions
Pursuant to the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, S.C.
1996, c.16, the instructions, clauses and conditions identified in the RFSO,
standing offer and resulting contract(s) by number, date and title are
incorporated by reference into and form part of the RFSO, standing offer
and resulting contract(s) as though expressly set out in the RFSO, the
standing offer and the resulting contract(s).
03 Submission of Offers
1. Canada requires that each offer be signed by the Offeror or by an
authorized representative of the Offeror. If an offer is submitted
by a joint venture, it must be in accordance with section 15.
2. It is the Offeror's responsibility to:
(a) obtain clarification of the requirements contained in the
RFSO, if necessary, before submitting an offer;
(b) prepare its offer in accordance with the instructions
contained in the RFSO;
(c) submit by closing date and time a signed and complete offer;
(d) send its offer only to Public Works and Government Services
Canada (PWGSC) Bid Receiving Unit specified on page 1 of the
RFSO or to the address specified in the RFSO;
(e) ensure that the Offeror's name, return address, RFSO number,
and RFSO closing date and time are clearly visible on the
envelope or the parcel(s) containing the offer; and,
(f) provide a comprehensible and sufficiently detailed offer,
including all requested pricing details, that will permit a
complete evaluation in accordance with the criteria set out
in the RFSO.
3. If Canada has provided offerors with multiple formats of a document
(for example, a document may be downloaded through the GETS but may
also be made available on CD-ROM through GETS), the format
downloaded through the GETS will take precedence. If Canada issues
an amendment to the RFSO revising any documents provided to offerors
in multiple formats, Canada will not necessarily update all formats
to reflect these revisions. It is the Offeror's responsibility to
ensure that revisions made through any RFSO amendment issued through
the GETS are taken into account in the alternate formats it uses of
RFSO documents.
4. Offers will remain open for acceptance for a period of not less than
sixty (60) days from the closing date of the RFSO, unless specified
otherwise in the RFSO. Canada reserves the right to seek an
extension of the offer validity period from all responsive offerors
in writing, within a minimum of three (3) days before the end of the
offer validity period. If the extension is accepted by all
responsive offerors, Canada will continue with the evaluation of the
offers. If the extension is not accepted by all responsive offerors,
Canada will, at its sole discretion, either continue with the
evaluation of the offers of those who have accepted the extension or
cancel the RFSO.
5. Offers and supporting information may be submitted in either English
or French.
6. For the purpose of this subsection, offerors with an address in
Canada are considered Canadian-
based offerors and offerors with an address outside of Canada are
considered foreign-based offerors.
(a) Canadian-based offerors must submit firm prices, Canadian
customs duties and excise taxes included, and Goods and
Services Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) excluded.
(b) Foreign-based offerors must submit firm prices, Canadian
customs duties and excise taxes and GST or HST excluded.
Canadian customs duties and excise taxes payable by Canada
will be added, for evaluation purposes only, to the prices
submitted by foreign-
based bidders.
Although Canada reserves the right to issue the Standing Offer
either on an FOB plant or FOB destination, Canada requests that
offerors provide prices FOB their plant or shipping point and FOB
destination. Offers will be assessed on an FOB destination basis.
7. Offers received on or before the stipulated RFSO closing date and
time will become the property of Canada and will not be returned.
All offers will be treated as confidential, subject to the
provisions of the Access to Information Act R.S.C. 1985, c.A-1 and
the Privacy Act R.S.C. 1985, c.P-21.
8. Unless specified otherwise in the RFSO, Canada will evaluate only
the documentation provided with an offeror's offer. Canada will not
evaluate information such as references to Website addresses where
additional information can be found, or technical manuals or
brochures not submitted with the offer.
04 Late Offers
PWGSC will return offers delivered after the stipulated RFSO closing date
and time, unless they qualify as a delayed offer as described below.
05 Delayed Offers
1. An offer delivered to the specified Bid Receiving Unit after the
closing date and time but before the standing offer issuance date
may be considered, provided the delay can be proven to have been due
solely to a delay in delivery that can be attributed to the Canada
Post Corporation (CPC) (or national equivalent of a foreign country).
Purolator Inc. is not considered to be part of CPC for the purposes
of delayed offers. The only pieces of evidence relating to a delay
in the CPC system that are acceptable to PWGSC are:
(a) CPC cancellation date stamp; or
(b) CPC Priority Courier Bill of Lading; or
(c) CPC Xpresspost Label
that clearly indicates that the offer was mailed before the RFSO
closing date.
2. For offers transmitted by facsimile, only the date, time and place
of receipt recorded by PWGSC will be accepted as evidence of a
delayed offer.
3. Misrouting, traffic volume, weather disturbances, labour disputes or
any other causes for the late delivery of offers are not acceptable
reasons for the offer to be accepted by PWGSC.
4. Postage meter imprints, whether imprinted by the Offeror, the CPC or
the postal authority outside Canada, are not acceptable as proof of
timely mailing.
06 Transmission by Facsimile
1. Unless specified otherwise in the RFSO, offers may be submitted by
facsimile. The only acceptable facsimile number for responses to
RFSOs issued by PWGSC headquarters is 819-
997-9776. The facsimile number for responses to RFSOs issued by PWGSC
regional offices is identified in the RFSO.
2. If the Offeror submits an offer by facsimile, Canada will not be
responsible for any failure attributable to the transmission or
receipt of the faxed offer including, but not limited to, the
following:
(a) receipt of garbled or incomplete offer;
(b) availability or condition of the receiving facsimile
equipment;
(c) incompatibility between the sending and receiving equipment;
(d) delay in transmission or receipt of the offer;
(e) failure of the Offeror to properly identify the offer;
(f) illegibility of the offer; or
(g) security of offer data.
3. Offers submitted by facsimile will constitute the formal offer of
the Offeror and must be submitted in accordance with Section 03.
For responses transmitted by facsimile, written confirmation is
required within two (2) working days after RFSO closing, unless
specified otherwise in the RFSO. All documents confirming offers
should bear the word "CONFIRMATION".
07 Customs Clearance
It is the responsibility of the Offeror to allow sufficient time to obtain
customs clearance, where required, before the RFSO closing date and time.
Delays related to the obtaining of customs clearance cannot be construed as
"undue delay in the mail" and will not be accepted as a delayed offer under
Section 05.
08 Legal Capacity
The Offeror must have the legal capacity to contract. If the Offeror is a
sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporate body, the Offeror must
provide, if requested by the Standing Offer Authority, a statement and any
requested supporting documentation indicating the laws under which it is
registered or incorporated together with the registered or corporate name
and place of business. This also applies to offerors submitting an offer as
a joint venture.
09 Rights of Canada
Canada reserves the right to:
(a) reject any or all offers received in response to the RFSO;
(b) enter into negotiations with offerors on any or all aspects of their
offers;
(c) authorize for utilization any offer in whole or in part without
negotiations;
(d) cancel the RFSO at any time;
(e) reissue the RFSO;
(f) if no responsive offers are received and the requirement is not
substantially modified, re-tender the requirement by inviting only
the offerors who submitted an offer to re-submit offers within a
period designated by Canada; and,
(g) negotiate with the sole responsive Offeror to ensure best value to
Canada.
10 Vendor Performance
1. Canada may reject an offer where any of the following circumstances
is present:
(a) the Offeror, or any employee or subcontractor included as
part of the offer, has been convicted under Section 121 (
Frauds on the government & Contractor subscribing to election
fund), Section 124 (Selling or purchasing office), or Section
418 (Selling defective stores to Her Majesty) of the Criminal
Code; or,
(b) the Offeror is subject to a Vendor Performance Corrective
Measure, under the Vendor Performance Policy, which renders
the Offeror ineligible to submit an offer for the requirement;
(c) an employee, or subcontractor included as part of the offer,
is subject to a Vendor Performance Corrective Measure, under
the Vendor Performance Policy, which would render that
employee or subcontractor ineligible to submit an offer for
the requirement, or the portion of the requirement the
employee or subcontractor is to perform;
(d) with respect to current or prior transactions with the
Government of Canada
(i) the Offeror is bankrupt or where, for whatever reason,
its activities are rendered inoperable for an extended
period;
(ii) evidence, satisfactory to Canada, of fraud, bribery,
fraudulent misrepresentation or failure to comply with
any law protecting individuals against any manner of
discrimination, has been received with respect to the
Offeror, any of its employees or any subcontractor
included as part of the offer;
(iii) Canada has exercised its contractual remedies of
suspension or termination for default with respect to
a contract with the Offeror, any of its employees or
any subcontractor included as part of the offer;
(iv) Canada determines that the Offeror's performance on
other contracts, including the efficiency and
workmanship as well as the extent to which the Offeror
executed the work in accordance with contractual
clauses and conditions, is sufficiently poor to
jeopardize the successful completion of the
requirement being bid on.
2. Where Canada intends to reject an offer pursuant to a provision of
subsection 1, other than 1.(b), the Standing Offer Authority will so
inform the Offeror and provide the Offeror ten (10) days within
which to make representations, before making a final decision on the
offer rejection.
11 Communications - Solicitation Period
To ensure the integrity of the competitive RFSO process, enquiries and
other communications regarding the RFSO must be directed only to the
Standing Offer Authority identified in the RFSO. Failure to comply with
the request may result in the offer being declared non-responsive.
To ensure consistency and quality of information provided to offerors,
significant enquiries received and the replies to such enquiries will be
provided simultaneously to offerors to which the RFSO has been sent,
without revealing the sources of the enquiries.
12 Price Support
In the event that the Offeror's offer is the sole responsive offer received,
the Offeror must provide, on Canada's request, one or more of the following
price support if applicable:
(a) a current published price list indicating the percentage discount
available to Canada; or
(b) copies of paid invoices for the like quality and quantity of the
goods, services or both sold to other customers; or
(c) a price breakdown showing the cost of direct labour, direct
materials, purchased items, engineering and plant overheads, general
and administrative overhead, transportation, etc., and profit; or
(d) price or rate certifications; or
(e) any other supporting documentation as requested by Canada.
13 Offer Costs
No payment will be made for costs incurred in the preparation and
submission of an offer in response to the RFSO. Costs associated with
preparing and submitting an offer as well as any costs incurred by the
Offeror associated with the evaluation of the offer, are the sole
responsibility of the Offeror.
14 Conduct of Evaluation
In conducting its evaluation of the offers, Canada may, but will have no
obligation to, do the following:
(a) seek clarification or verification from offerors regarding any or
all information provided by them with respect to the RFSO;
(b) contact any or all references supplied by offerors to verify and
validate any information submitted by them;
(c) request, before issuance of any standing offer, specific information
with respect to offerors' legal status;
(d) conduct a survey of offerors' facilities and/or examine their
technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to determine if
they are adequate to meet the requirements of the RFSO;
(e) correct any error in the extended pricing of offers by using unit
pricing and any error in quantities in offers to reflect the
quantities stated in the RFSO;
(f) verify any information provided by offerors through independent
research, use of any government resources or by contacting third
parties;
(g) interview, at the sole costs of offerors, any offeror and/or any or
all of the resources proposed by offerors to fulfill the requirement
of the RFSO.
Offerors will have the number of days specified in the request by the
Standing Offer Authority to comply with any request related to any of the
above items. Failure to comply with the request may result in the offer
being declared non-responsive.
15 Joint Venture
1. A joint venture is an association of two or more parties who combine
their money, property, knowledge, expertise or other resources in a
single joint business enterprise, sometimes referred as a consortium,
to submit an offer together on a requirement. Offerors who submit
an offer as a joint venture must indicate clearly that it is a joint
venture and provide the following information:
(a) the name of each member of the joint venture;
(b) the Procurement Business Number of each member of the joint
venture;
(c) the name of the representative of the joint venture, i.e. the
member chosen by the other members to act on their behalf, if
applicable;
(d) the name of the joint venture, if applicable.
2. If the information is not clearly provided in the offer, the Offeror
must provide the information on request from the Standing Offer
Authority.
3. The offer and any resulting standing offer must be signed by all the
members of the joint venture unless one member has been appointed to
act on behalf of all members of the joint venture. The Standing
Offer Authority may, at any time, require each member of the joint
venture to confirm that the representative has been appointed with
full authority to act as its representative for the purposes of the
Request for Standing Offers and any resulting standing offer. If a
standing offer is issued to a joint venture, all members of the
joint venture will be jointly and severally or solidarily liable for
the performance of any contract resulting from a call-up against the
standing offer.
16 Further Information
1. For further information, offerors may contact the Standing Offer
Authority identified in the RFSO.
2. For RFSOs issued out of PWGSC headquarters, enquiries concerning
receipt of offers may be addressed to the Bid Receiving Unit,
Procurement Operational Support Division, telephone 819-
956-3370. For RFSOs issued out of PWGSC regional offices, enquiries
concerning receipt of offers may be addressed to the Standing Offer
Authority identified in the RFSO.