ARCHIVED General Instructions to Bidders

Legal text for SACC item

Public Works and Government Services Canada

GI01   Completion of Bid
GI02   Identity or Legal Capacity of the Bidder
GI03   Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax
GI04   Quebec Sales Tax
GI05   Capital Development and Redevelopment Charges
GI06   Listing of Subcontractors and Suppliers
GI07   Submission of Bid
GI08   Revision of Bid
GI09   Acceptance of Bid
GI10   Bid Costs
GI11   Procurement Business Number
GI12   Compliance With Applicable Laws
GI13   Approval of Alternative Materials
GI14   Performance Evaluation


GI01   (2008-12-12)  Completion of Bid

1)     The bid shall be

       (a)    submitted on the Bid and Acceptance Form;

       (b)    based on the Bid Documents listed in the Special Instructions 
              to Bidders;

       (c)    correctly completed in all respects;

       (d)    signed by a duly authorized representative of the Bidder; and

       (e)    accompanied by any other document or documents specified 
              elsewhere in the solicitation where it is stipulated that 
              said documents are to accompany the bid.

2)     Subject to paragraph 6) of GI09, any alteration to the pre-printed 
       or pre-typed sections of the Bid and Acceptance Form, or any 
       condition or qualification placed upon the bid shall be cause for 
       disqualification.  Alterations, corrections, changes or erasures 
       made to statements or figures entered on the Bid and Acceptance Form 
       by the Bidder shall be initialled by the person or persons signing 
       the bid.  Initials shall be original(s).  Alterations, corrections, 
       changes or erasures that are not initialled shall be deemed void and 
       without effect.

3)     Unless otherwise noted elsewhere in the Bid Documents, facsimile 
       copies of bids are not acceptable.

GI02   (2007-05-25)  Identity or Legal Capacity of the Bidder

1)     In order to confirm the authority of the person or persons signing 
       the bid or to establish the legal capacity under which the Bidder 
       proposes to enter into Contract, any Bidder who carries on business 
       in other than its own personal name shall, if requested by Canada, 
       provide satisfactory proof of 

       (a)    such signing authority; and

       (b)    the legal capacity under which it carries on business;

       prior to contract award.  Proof of signing authority may be in the 
       form of a certified copy of a resolution naming the signatory(ies) 
       that is (are) authorized to sign this bid on behalf of the 
       corporation or partnership.  Proof of legal capacity may be in the 
       form of a copy of the articles of incorporation or the registration 
       of the business name of a sole proprietor or partnership.

GI03   (2007-05-25)  Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax

1)     Bidders are not to include any amounts for the Goods and Services 
       Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), whichever is applicable, 
       and the GST/HST shall not be included when calculating the amount of 
       any bid security or contract security that may be required.  Any 
       amount levied in respect of the GST/HST shall be billed as a 
       separate item in a progress claim submitted by the Contractor, and 
       shall be paid to the Contractor in addition to the amount approved 
       by Canada for work performed under the Contract.  The Contractor 
       shall be required to remit the appropriate amount to the Canada 
       Revenue Agency in accordance with the applicable legislation.

GI04   (2007-05-25)  Quebec Sales Tax

1)     The Federal Government is exempt from the Quebec Sales Tax (QST).  
       Bidders shall not include in their prices any amount that is 
       intended to cover the QST on goods and services performed in the 
       execution of the Work except for such amounts for which an Input Tax 
       Refund is not available.  The successful Bidder should make 
       arrangements directly with the Province of Quebec to recover any QST 
       paid by it in performing the Work under the resulting Contract.

GI05   (2007-05-25)  Capital Development and Redevelopment Charges

1)     For the purposes of GC1.8, "Laws, Permits and Taxes", in the General 
       Conditions of the Contract, only fees or charges directly related to 
       the processing and issuing of building permits shall be included.  
       The Bidder shall not include any monies in the bid amount for 
       special municipal development, redevelopment or other fees or 
       charges which a municipal authority may seek as a prerequisite to 
       the issuance of building permits.

GI06   (2010-01-11)  Listing of Subcontractors and Suppliers

1)     Notwithstanding any list of Subcontractors that the Bidder may be 
       required to submit as part of the bid, the Bidder shall, within 
       forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of a notice to do so, submit all 
       information requested in the said notice including the names of 
       Subcontractors and Suppliers for the part or parts of the Work 
       listed.  Failure to do so shall result in the disqualification of 
       its bid.

GI07   (2008-05-12)  Submission of Bid

1)     The Bid and Acceptance Form, duly completed, shall be enclosed and 
       sealed in an envelope provided by the Bidder, and shall be addressed 
       and submitted to the office designated on the Front Page "Invitation 
       to Tender" for the receipt of bids.  The bid must be received on or 
       before the date and time set for solicitation closing. 

2)     Unless otherwise specified in the Special Instructions to Bidders 

       (a)    the bid shall be in Canadian currency;
       (b)    exchange rate fluctuation protection is not offered; and
       (c)    any request for exchange rate fluctuation protection shall 
       not be considered. 

3)     Prior to submitting the bid, the Bidder shall ensure that the 
       following information is clearly printed or typed on the face of the 
       bid envelope:

       (a)    Solicitation Number;
       (b)    Name of Bidder; 
       (c)    Return address; and
       (d)    Closing Date and Time.

4)     Timely and correct delivery of bids is the sole responsibility of 
the Bidder. 

GI08   (2010-01-11)  Revision of Bid

1)     A bid submitted in accordance with these instructions may be revised 
       by letter or facsimile provided the revision is received at the 
       office designated for the receipt of bids, on or before the date and 
       time set for the closing of the solicitation.  The letter or 
       facsimile shall on the Bidder's letterhead or bear a signature that 
       identifies the Bidder.

2)     A revision to a bid that includes unit prices must clearly identify 
       the change(s) in the unit price(s) and the specific item(s) to which 
       each change applies.

3)     A letter or facsimile submitted to confirm an earlier revision shall 
       be clearly identified as a confirmation.

4)     Failure to comply with any of the above provisions shall result in 
       the rejection of the non-compliant revision(s) only.  The bid shall 
       be evaluated based on the original bid submitted and all other 
       compliant revision(s).

GI09   (2008-05-12)  Acceptance of Bid

1)     Canada may accept any bid, whether it is the lowest or not, or may 
reject any or all bids.

2)     Without limiting the generality of paragraph 1) of GI09, Canada may 
       reject a bid if any of the following circumstances is present:

       (a)    the Bidder, or any employee or subcontractor included as part 
              of the bid, has been convicted under Section 121 ("Frauds on 
              the government" & "Contractor subscribing to election fund"), 
              124 "Selling or purchasing office"), 380 ("Fraud committed 
              against Her Majesty") or 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; 

       (b)    the Bidder's bidding privileges are suspended or are in the 
              process of being suspended;

       (c)    the bidding privileges of any employee or subcontractor 
              included as part of the bid are suspended or are in the 
              process of being suspended, which suspension or pending 
              suspension would render that employee or subcontractor 
              ineligible to bid on the Work, or the portion of the Work the 
              employee or subcontractor is to perform;

       (d)    with respect to current or prior transactions with Canada

              (i)    the Bidder is bankrupt or if, 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 
                     Bidder, any of its employees or any subcontractor 
                     included as part of its bid;

              (iii)  Canada has exercised, or intends to exercise, the 
                     contractual remedy of taking the work out of the 
                     contractor's hands with respect to a contract with the 
                     Bidder, any of its employees or any subcontractor 
                     included as part of its bid; or 

              (iv)   Canada determines that the Bidder's performance on 
                     other contracts is sufficiently poor to jeopardize the 
                     successful completion of the requirement being bid on.

3)     In assessing the Bidder's performance on other contracts pursuant to 
       subparagraph 2)(d)(iv)of GI09, Canada may consider, but not be 
       limited to, such matters as:

       (a)    the quality of workmanship in performing the Work;

       (b)    the timeliness of completion of the Work;

       (c)    the overall management of the Work and its effect on the 
              level of effort demanded of the department and its 
              representative; and

       (d)    the completeness and effectiveness of the Contractor's safety 
              program during the performance of the Work.

4)     Without limiting the generality of paragraphs 1), 2) and 3) of GI09, 
       Canada may reject any bid based on an unfavourable assessment of the

       (a)    adequacy of the bid price to permit the work to be carried 
              out and, in the case of a bid providing prices per unit, 
              whether each such price reasonably reflects the cost of 
              performing the part of the work to which that price applies; 

       (b)    Bidder's ability to provide the necessary management 
              structure, skilled personnel, experience and equipment to 
              perform competently the work under the Contract; and

       (c)    Bidder's performance on other contracts.

5)     If Canada intends to reject a bid pursuant to a provision of 
       paragraphs 1), 2), 3) or 4) of GI09, other than subparagraph 2)(b) 
       of GI09, Canada shall so inform the Bidder and provide the Bidder 
       ten (10) days within which to make representations, prior to making 
       a final decision on the bid rejection. 

6)     Canada may waive informalities and minor irregularities in bids 
       received if Canada determines that the variation of the bid from the 
       exact requirements set out in the Bid Documents can be corrected or 
       waived without being prejudicial to other Bidders.

GI10   (2010-01-11)  Bid Costs

1)     No payment will be made for costs incurred in the preparation and 
       submission of a bid in response to the bid solicitation. Costs 
       associated with preparing and submitting a bid, as well as any costs 
       incurred by the Bidder associated with the evaluation of the bid, 
       are the sole responsibility of the Bidder.

GI11   (2010-01-11)  Procurement Business Number

1)     Canadian Bidders are required to have a Procurement Business Number 
       (PBN) before Contract award.  Bidders may register for a PBN in the 
       Supplier Registration Information service on line on the Business 
       Access Canada Web site.  For non-Internet registration, Bidders may 
       contact the Business Access Canada InfoLine at 1-800-811-1148 to 
       obtain the telephone number of the nearest Supplier Registration 
       Agent.

GI12   (2010-01-11)  Compliance with Applicable Laws

1)     By submission of a bid, the Bidder certifies that the Bidder has the 
       legal capacity to enter into a contract and is in possession of all 
       valid licences, permits, registrations, certificates, declarations, 
       filings, or other authorizations necessary to comply with all 
       federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations applicable to 
       the submission of the bid and entry into any ensuing contract for 
       the performance of the work.

2)     For the purpose of validating the certification in paragraph 1) of 
       GI12, a Bidder shall, if requested, provide a copy of every valid 
       licence, permit, registration, certificate, declaration, filing or 
       other authorization listed in the request, and shall provide such 
       documentation within the time limit(s) set out in the said request.

3)     Failure to comply with the requirements of paragraph 2) of GI12 
       shall result in disqualification of the bid.

GI13   (2010-01-11)  Approval of Alternative Materials

1)     When materials are specified by trade names or trademarks, or by 
       manufacturers' or suppliers' names, the bid shall be based on use of 
       the named materials.  During the solicitation period, alternative 
       materials may be considered provided full technical data is received 
       in writing by the Contracting Officer at least ten (10) calendar 
       days prior to the solicitation closing date.  If the alternative 
       materials are approved for the purposes of the bid, an addendum to 
       the bid documents shall be issued.

GI14   (2010-01-11)) Performance Evaluation

1)     Bidders shall take note that the performance of the Contractor 
       during and upon completion of the work shall be evaluated by Canada.  
       The evaluation shall be based on the quality of workmanship; 
       timeliness of completion of the work; project management, contract 
       management and management of health and safety.  Should the 
       Contractor's performance be considered unsatisfactory, the 
       Contractor's bidding privileges on future work may be suspended 
       indefinitely.

2)     The form PWGSC-TPSGC 2913, SELECT - Contractor Performance 
       Evaluation Report Form, is used to record the performance.