ARCHIVED Standard Instructions - Request for Supply Arrangements - Goods or Services

Legal text for SACC item

General Information
01 Code of Conduct for Procurement
02 Procurement Business Number
03 Standard Instructions, Clauses and
Conditions
04 Definition of Supplier
05 Submission of Arrangements
06 Late Arrangements
07 Delayed Arrangements
08 Transmission by Facsimile
09 Customs Clearance
10 Legal Capacity
11 Rights of Canada
12 Rejection of Arrangement
13 Communications - Solicitation Period
14 Arrangement Costs
15 Conduct of Evaluation
16 Joint Venture
17 Conflict of Interest - Unfair Advantage
18 Entire Requirement
19 Further Information
General Information
A supply arrangement is a method of supply used by Public Works
and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) to procure goods and
services. A supply arrangement is an arrangement between Canada and
pre-qualified suppliers that allows identified users to solicit
bids from a pool of pre-qualified suppliers for specific
requirements within the scope of a supply arrangement. A supply
arrangement is not a contract for the provision of the goods and
services described in it and neither party is legally bound as a
result of signing a supply arrangement alone. The intent of a
supply arrangement is to establish a framework to permit
expeditious processing of individual bid solicitations which result
in legally binding contracts for the goods and services described
in those bid solicitations.
Except for those procurements where public advertising is not
required or used, Requests for Supply Arrangements (RFSAs) are
posted on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS) and
suppliers who are interested in responding to individual bid
solicitations issued under a supply arrangement framework are
invited to submit an arrangement to become pre-qualified suppliers.
The list of pre-qualified suppliers will be used as a source list
for procurement within the scope of the supply arrangement and only
suppliers who are pre-qualified at the time individual bid
solicitations are issued will be eligible to bid. Supply
arrangements include a set of predetermined conditions that will
apply to subsequent bid solicitations and contracts. Supply
arrangements may include ceiling prices which may be lowered based
on an actual requirement or scope of work described in a bid
solicitation.
01 Code of Conduct for Procurement

To comply with the 
Code of Conduct for Procurement, suppliers must respond to
Requests for Supply Arrangements (RFSAs) in an honest, fair and
comprehensive manner, accurately reflect their capacity to satisfy
the requirements stipulated in the RFSA and resulting supply
arrangement, submit bids and enter into contracts only if they will
fulfill all obligations of the Contract. To ensure fairness,
openness and transparency in the bidding process, the following
activities are prohibited:

payment of a contingency fee by any party to a
contract to a person to whom the 
Lobbying Act (1985, c. 44 (4th Supp.)) applies;
corruption, collusion, bid-rigging or any other
anti-competitive activity in the bidding process for contracts for
the provision of goods or services.


By submitting an arrangement, the Supplier certifies
that neither the Supplier nor any of the Supplier's Affiliates has
ever been convicted of a criminal offence in respect of the
activities stated in (a) or (b) above or is the subject of
outstanding criminal charges in respect of such activities filed
subsequent to September 1, 2010.
Suppliers further understand that the commission of
certain offences will render them ineligible to be issued a
contract. By submitting an arrangement, the Supplier certifies that
neither the Supplier nor any of the Supplier's Affiliates has ever
been convicted or is the subject of outstanding criminal charges in
respect of an offence under any of the following provisions:
Section 121 (Frauds on the government and Contractor
subscribing to election fund), Section 124 (Selling or
Purchasing Office), Section 380 (Fraud committed against
Her Majesty) or Section 418 (Selling defective stores to
Her Majesty) of the Criminal Code of Canada, or under
paragraph 80(1)(d) (False entry, certificate or return)
subsection 80(2) (Fraud against Her Majesty) or Section
154.01 (Fraud against Her Majesty) of the Financial
Administration Act.
For the purpose of this section, business concerns,
organizations or individuals are Supplier's Affiliates if, directly
or indirectly, 1) either one controls or has the power to control
the other, or 2) a third party has the power to control both.
Indicia of control, include, but are not limited to, interlocking
management or ownership, identity of interests among family
members, shared facilities and equipment, common use of employees,
or a business entity created following the charges or convictions
contemplated in this section which has the same or similar
management, ownership, or principal employees as the Supplier that
is charged or convicted, as the case may be.
Except in the limited circumstances set out in
subsection 6 below, the Supply Arrangement Authority will declare
non-responsive any arrangement in respect of which the information
contained in the certifications contemplated above is determined to
be untrue in any respect by the Supply Arrangement Authority.
Subsection 5 has no application in the circumstances
where a supplier has pled guilty of an offence contemplated in
Section 01, 1. (b) and the Supplier has provided with its
arrangement an assurance from the Competition Bureau of Canada
indicating that the Supplier has been granted leniency, or in the
circumstances where the Supplier provides documentation from the
National Parole Board that the Supplier has obtained a criminal
pardon in relation to such offence.
The Supplier acknowledges and agrees that the
certifications contemplated must remain valid during the period of
any resulting supply arrangement arising from this RFSA.

02 Procurement Business Number
Canadian suppliers are required to have a Procurement Business
Number (PBN) before issuance of a supply arrangement. Suppliers may
register for a PBN on line at Supplier Registration
Information. For non-Internet registration, suppliers may
contact the InfoLine at 1-800-811-1148 to obtain the telephone
number of the nearest Supplier Registration Agent.
03 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 RFSA and
resulting supply arrangement by number, date and title are
incorporated by reference into and form part of the RFSA and
resulting supply arrangement as though expressly set out in the
RFSA and resulting supply arrangement.
04 Definition of Supplier
"Supplier" means the person or entity (or, in the case
of a joint venture, the persons or entities) submitting an
arrangement. It does not include the parent, subsidiaries or other
affiliates of the Supplier, or its subcontractors.
05 Submission of Arrangements

Canada requires that each arrangement, at closing
date and time or upon request from the Supply Arrangement
Authority, be signed by the Supplier or by an authorized
representative of the Supplier. If an arrangement is submitted by a
joint venture, it must be in accordance with Section 16.
It is the Supplier's responsibility to:

obtain clarification of the requirements contained in
the RFSA, if necessary, before submitting an arrangement;
prepare the arrangement in accordance with the
instructions contained in the RFSA;
submit by closing date and time a complete
arrangement;
send the arrangement only to PWGSC Bid Receiving Unit
specified on page 1 of the RFSA or to the address specified in the
RFSA. The facsimile number and related instructions for
arrangements transmitted by facsimile are provided in Section
08;
ensure that the Supplier's name, return address, RFSA
number, and RFSA closing date and time are clearly visible on the
envelope or the parcel(s) containing the arrangement; and,
provide a comprehensible and sufficiently detailed
arrangement, including all requested pricing details, that will
permit a complete evaluation in accordance with the criteria set
out in the RFSA.


If Canada has provided suppliers with multiple
formats of a document (for example, a document may be downloaded
through the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS) but may
also be made available on CD-ROM through GETS), the format
downloaded through GETS will take precedence. If Canada posts an
amendment to the RFSA revising any documents provided to suppliers
in multiple formats, Canada will not necessarily update all formats
to reflect these revisions. It is the Supplier's responsibility to
ensure that revisions made through any RFSA amendment issued
through GETS are taken into account in the alternate formats it
uses of RFSA documents.
Arrangements will remain open for acceptance for a
period of not less than sixty (60) days from the closing date of
the RFSA, unless specified otherwise in the RFSA. Canada reserves
the right to seek an extension of the arrangement validity period
from all responsive suppliers in writing, within a minimum of three
(3) days before the end of the arrangement validity period. If the
extension is accepted by all responsive suppliers, Canada will
continue with the evaluation of the arrangements. If the extension
is not accepted by all responsive suppliers, Canada will, at its
sole discretion, either continue with the evaluation of the
arrangements of those who have accepted the extension or cancel the
RFSA.
Arrangements and supporting information may be
submitted in either English or French.
Arrangements received on or before the stipulated
RFSA closing date and time will become the property of Canada and
will not be returned. All arrangements will be treated as
confidential, subject to the provisions of the 
Access to Information Act (R.S., 1985, c. A-1), and the

Privacy Act (R.S., 1985, c. P-21).
Unless specified otherwise in the RFSA, Canada will
evaluate only the documentation provided with the arrangement.
Canada will not evaluate information such as references to Web site
addresses where additional information can be found, or technical
manuals or brochures not submitted with the arrangement.
An arrangement cannot be assigned or transferred in
whole or in part.

06 Late Arrangements
PWGSC will return arrangements delivered after the stipulated
RFSA closing date and time, unless they qualify as a delayed
arrangement as described below.
07 Delayed Arrangements

An arrangement delivered to the specified bid
receiving unit after the closing date and time but before the
supply arrangement issuance date may be considered, provided the
supplier can prove the delay is 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
arrangements. The only pieces of evidence relating to a delay in
the CPC system that are acceptable to PWGSC are:

CPC cancellation date stamp; or
CPC Priority Courier bill of lading; or
CPC Xpresspost label

that clearly indicates that the arrangement was mailed before
the RFSA closing date.
For arrangements transmitted by facsimile, only the
date, time and place of receipt recorded by PWGSC will be accepted
as evidence of a delayed arrangement.
Misrouting, traffic volume, weather disturbances,
labour disputes or any other causes for the late delivery of
arrangements are not acceptable reasons for the arrangement to be
accepted by PWGSC.
Postage meter imprints, whether imprinted by the
Supplier, the CPC or the postal authority outside Canada, are not
acceptable as proof of timely mailing.

08 Transmission by Facsimile

Unless specified otherwise in the RFSA, arrangements
may be submitted by facsimile. The only acceptable facsimile number
for responses to RFSAs issued by PWGSC headquarters is
819-997-9776. The facsimile number for responses to RFSAs issued by
PWGSC regional offices is identified in the RFSA.
For arrangements transmitted by facsimile, Canada
will not be responsible for any failure attributable to the
transmission or receipt of the faxed arrangement including, but not
limited to, the following:

receipt of garbled or incomplete arrangement;
availability or condition of the receiving facsimile
equipment;
incompatibility between the sending and receiving
equipment;
delay in transmission or receipt of the
arrangement;
failure of the Supplier to properly identify the
arrangement;
illegibility of the arrangement; or
security of arrangement data.


An arrangement transmitted by facsimile will
constitute the formal arrangement of the Supplier and must be
submitted in accordance with Section 05. The complete arrangement
must be received by the RFSA closing date and time.

09 Customs Clearance
It is the responsibility of the Supplier to allow sufficient
time to obtain customs clearance, where required, before the RFSA
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 arrangement under Section 07.
10 Legal Capacity
The Supplier must have the legal capacity to contract. If the
Supplier is a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporate
body, the Supplier must provide, if requested by the Supply
Arrangement 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 suppliers submitting an
arrangement as a joint venture.
11 Rights of Canada
Canada reserves the right to:

reject any or all arrangements received in response
to the RFSA;
cancel the RFSA at any time;
reissue the RFSA;
if no responsive arrangements are received and the
requirement is not substantially modified, reissue the RFSA by
inviting only the suppliers who submitted an arrangement to
resubmit arrangements within a period designated by Canada;
and
issue RFSAs and supply arrangements to suppliers who
qualify throughout the entire period of the supply
arrangement.

12 Rejection of Arrangement

Canada may reject an arrangement where any of the
following circumstances is present:

the Supplier is subject to a Vendor Performance
Corrective Measure, under the Vendor Performance Policy, which
renders the Supplier ineligible to submit an arrangement for the
requirement;
an employee, or subcontractor included as part of the
arrangement, is subject to a Vendor Performance Corrective Measure,
under the Vendor Performance Policy, which would render that
employee or subcontractor ineligible to submit an arrangement for
the requirement, or the portion of the requirement the employee or
subcontractor is to perform;
with respect to current or previous transactions with
the Government of Canada

the Supplier is bankrupt or where, for whatever
reason, its activities are rendered inoperable for an extended
period;
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 Supplier, any of its employees or
any subcontractor included as part of the arrangement;
Canada has exercised its contractual remedies of
suspension or termination for default with respect to a contract
with the Supplier, any of its employees or any subcontractor
included as part of the arrangement;
Canada determines that the Supplier's performance on other
contracts, including the efficiency and workmanship as well as the
extent to which the Supplier performed the Work in accordance with
contractual clauses and conditions, is sufficiently poor to
jeopardize the successful completion of any requirement to be bid
on.



Where Canada intends to reject an arrangement
pursuant to a provision of subsection 1. (c), the Supply
Arrangement Authority will so inform the Supplier and provide the
Supplier ten (10) days within which to make representations, before
making a final decision on the arrangement rejection.

13 Communications - Solicitation Period
To ensure the integrity of the competitive RFSA process,
enquiries and other communications regarding the RFSA must be
directed only to the Supply Arrangement Authority identified in the
RFSA. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the
arrangement being declared non-responsive.
To ensure consistency and quality of information provided to
suppliers, significant enquiries received and the replies to such
enquiries will be provided simultaneously to suppliers to which the
RFSA has been sent, without revealing the sources of the
enquiries.
14 Arrangement Costs
No payment will be made for costs incurred in the preparation
and submission of an arrangement in response to the RFSA. Costs
associated with preparing and submitting an arrangement as well as
any costs incurred by the Supplier associated with the evaluation
of the arrangement, are the sole responsibility of the
Supplier.
15 Conduct of Evaluation

In conducting its evaluation of the arrangements,
Canada may, but will have no obligation to, do the following:

seek clarification or verification from suppliers
regarding any or all information provided by them with respect to
the RFSA;
contact any or all references supplied by suppliers
to verify and validate any information submitted by them;
request, before issuance of any supply arrangement,
specific information with respect to suppliers' legal status;
conduct a survey of suppliers' facilities and/or
examine their technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to
determine if they are adequate to meet the requirements of the
RFSA;
verify any information provided by suppliers through
independent research, use of any government resources or by
contacting third parties;
interview, at the sole costs of suppliers, any
supplier and/or any or all of the resources proposed by suppliers
to fulfill the requirement of the RFSA.


Suppliers will have the number of days specified in
the request by the Supply Arrangement Authority to comply with any
request related to any of the above items. Failure to comply with
the request may result in the arrangement being declared
non-responsive.

16 Joint Venture

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 arrangement together on a
requirement. Suppliers who submit an arrangement as a joint venture
must indicate clearly that it is a joint venture and provide the
following information:

the name of each member of the joint venture;
the Procurement Business Number of each member of the
joint venture;
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;
the name of the joint venture, if applicable.


If the information is not clearly provided in the
arrangement, the Supplier must provide the information on request
from the Supply Arrangement Authority.
The arrangement 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 Supply Arrangement
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
RFSA and any resulting supply arrangement.

17 Conflict of Interest - Unfair Advantage

In order to protect the integrity of the procurement
process, suppliers are advised that Canada may reject an
arrangement in the following circumstances:

if the Supplier, any of its subcontractors, any of
their respective employees or former employees was involved in any
manner in the preparation of the RFSA or in any situation of
conflict of interest or appearance of conflict of interest;
if the Supplier, any of its subcontractors, any of
their respective employees or former employees had access to
information related to the RFSA that was not available to other
suppliers and that would, in Canada's opinion, give or appear to
give the Supplier an unfair advantage.


The experience acquired by a supplier who is
providing or has provided the goods and services described in the
RFSA (or similar goods or services) will not, in itself, be
considered by Canada as conferring an unfair advantage or creating
a conflict of interest. This supplier remains however subject to
the criteria established above.
Where Canada intends to reject an arrangement under
this section, the Supply Arrangement Authority will inform the
Supplier and provide the Supplier an opportunity to make
representations before making a final decision. Suppliers who are
in doubt about a particular situation should contact the Supply
Arrangement Authority before the RFSA closing date. By submitting
an arrangement, the Supplier represents that it does not consider
itself to be in conflict of interest nor to have an unfair
advantage. The Supplier acknowledges that it is within Canada's
sole discretion to determine whether a conflict of interest, unfair
advantage or an appearance of conflict of interest or unfair
advantage exists.

18 Entire Requirement
The RFSA contains all the requirements relating to the request
for arrangements. Any other information or documentation provided
to or obtained by a supplier from any source are not relevant.
Suppliers should not assume that practices used under previous
contracts will continue, unless they are described in the RFSA.
Suppliers should also not assume that their existing capabilities
meet the requirements of the RFSA simply because they have met
previous requirements.
19 Further Information

For further information, suppliers may contact the
Supply Arrangement Authority identified in the RFSA.
For RFSAs issued out of PWGSC headquarters, enquiries
concerning receipt of arrangements may be addressed to the Bid
Receiving Unit, Procurement Operational Support Division, telephone
819-956-3370. For RFSAs issued out of PWGSC regional offices,
enquiries concerning receipt of offers may be addressed to the
Supply Arrangement Authority identified in the RFSA.