PART TWO

GENERAL TENDERS

CHAPTER ONE:

PROCEDURE OF CALLS FOR TENDERS AND SUBMISSION OF ORDERS

Article (14)

The Government body concerned shall prepare the purchase orders or the contracts of works which are requested to be executed sufficiently before the time they are needed. Due regard shall be granted to the availability of sufficient funds, well as to the accomplishment of all the elements necessary for the said orders and contracts of works such as the instructions necessary for the suppliers and contractors, the completely detailed drawings, detailed and precise lists of items, the procedure that must be adopted in the implementation of the contract, the penalties which may be imposed in case of any violation to the provisions of the contract or any delay in its execution. All this is in addition to the wording of the tender and the general conditions of the contract, so that the Tenderer shall not be in need of referring to the Government body in order to obtain the necessary information. The Government body concerned shall send the purchase or the contracts of works to the competent Ministry or to the Government body concerned for study before referring them to the Central Tenders Committee.

  Article (15)

The Central Tenders Committee shall advertise the tender by way of publication in local papers and periodicals on two consecutive times with an interval between them not less than seven days and not more than fourteen days as well as through posting on the notice board at the seat of each of the Central Tenders Committee and the Government body concerned.

Advertisement abroad shall be made through the Embassies of the State.

Article (16)

The advertisement on the tender shall state the following:-

A)The body from whom the copy of the conditions, specifications, and plans of the tender are demanded and the cash consideration thereof, the date of the invitation to tender and the date of its delivery.

B)The body to whom the tenders shall be submitted and the time fixed for their submission.

C)Description of the article or the work required to be supplied or executed.

D)The amount of the provisional deposit (the tender bond) and the final deposit (the performance bond) with regard to the accepted offers.

E)Period of validity of tender after opening provided that this period shall not exceed ninety days. The tender shall remain effective and irrevocable during this period.

F)The right of the body applying for the supply or for the contract of works, during the period of contract to increase or reduce the quantities of articles or works or their value at a rate not exceeding 20% of the value of the contract in compliance with the conditions of this contract.

  Article (17)

The documents of the tender concerning the conditions of the bid, the lists of articles or the works shall be prepared before the advertisement of the notice in order to be delivered to applicant immediately after payment of the prescribed cash value to the body defined by the Central Tenders Committee.

Article (18)

The tenders shall be submitted at the time fixed for their submission to the Central Tenders Committee. They shall be signed by their respective Tenderers on the form of tender which is stamped with the seal of the body applying for the  tender. The schedules attached to the tender shall be placed inside sealed envelopes duly marked with the name of the tender, its number, and the date of the sitting fixed for opening the envelopes and the address of the Central Tenders Committee.

The envelopes shall be deposited in the tender box prepared for this purpose, by the Tenderer or his representative subsequent to the signature of the competent officer on every envelope and after recording the date and time of receipt. The Tenderers who are abroad may send their offers by registered mail provided that their tenders are received by the Central Tenders Committee before the time fixed for closing the box.

  Article (19)

At the seat of the Central Tenders Committee, two boxes shall be assigned, one of which shall be for tenders for General works, and the other for tenders for supply of articles.

Each of the two tender boxes shall have two keys. The Chairman of the Committee or his Deputy shall keep one key while the Secretary of the Committee shall keep the other key.

The size of the box should be sufficient and suitable to contain all tenders envelopes. The slot of the box shall be wide enough to permit depositing of envelopes, and the box shall be made in a manner not to allow taking out the envelops through the slot after inserting them into the box.

In case of receiving tenders for contracts of works, or supply of articles enclosed in parcels which are impossible to deposit into the tender box, such parcels shall be kept in a safe, prepared for this purpose, at the seat of Central Tenders Committee. The safe shall have two keys one of which shall be kept by the Chairman of the Committee or his Deputy and the other one shall be kept by the Secretary of the Committee. The parcel shall be signed by the Chairman of Central Tenders Committee or his Deputy in addition to the official concerned.

  Article (20)

Tenders shall be bound to comply with the conditions stated in the tender documents and to write the tenders on the prescribed form in compliance with what is mentioned in these conditions and documents. Moreover they shall not perform any amendment whatsoever in the tender documents.

Any tender contravening these provisions shall be considered null and void unless the committee unanimously accepts it due to considerations touching public interest.

If the tenderer wishes to put down special conditions or to perform modifications. he must do that in a letter which shall be enclosed to the tender and that he shall refer to this letter in the body of the tender.

  Article (21 )

The prices of all tenders shall be shown in Qatari currency unless the tender documents provide otherwise. Tenders priced in any other currency may be accepted by the Committee if it is unanimously of opinion to do so for reasons touching the public interest.

The total price shown in the form of the tender is the price that shall be taken into consideration. No attention shall be given to the other figures or to any errors committed by the tenderer in calculating his total price. He shall not be allowed to perform any modification to this price after submitting his tender.

If the error is exceeding five percent of the total price, the tender shall be excluded unless the Committee is unanimously of opinion to accept it for reasons touching the public interest.

If the amount written in letters is different from the amount written in figures, the lesser amount shall be considered

  Article (22)

Tenders shall not be accepted unless they comprise the fixed total prices.

  Article (23)

The tenderer shall not be a member in the Central Tenders Committee nor in the Government body applying for the tender.

If any prohibitive cause occurs to the member during his membership in the Central Tenders Committee he shall relinquish and abstain from participating in assessing the tenders in which he has any interest.

The expression shall also mean the partner, the agent, the official and the member of the board of directors of the establishment or firm which is a tenderer and any other person who has any interest in the tender .

Article (24)

If the conditions of a tender provide for supplying samples of the ordered articles, the tender shall not be accepted unless it is accompanied with the samples or with a statement showing that they were delivered to the destination indicated in the conditions of tender.

CHAPTER TWO:

TENDER BOND (PROVISIONAL SECURITY)

  Article (25)

The tender bond shall be deposited with every tender in compliance with what is stated in the conditions of the advertised tender. This security shall be a lump sum fixed by the Government body concerned.

The Central Tenders Committee may exclude the tenders not accompanied with the tender bond.

The tender bond shall be guaranteed by a bank cheque accepted for payment or by a bank letter of guarantee accepted and unconditional. The letter shall be valid for payment in whole and the period of its validity shall be renewable on the demand of the Central Tenders Committee without taking into account the opposition of the tenderer. Moreover the period of its validity shall not be less than thirty days after the termination of the period fixed for the validity of the tender.

  Article (26)

The tender bonds shall be returned to their owners after the tenderer whose tender has been accepted, has deposited the performance bond.  

CHAPTER THREE:

OPENING OF ENVELOPES AND THE TECHNICAL TEST  

Article (27)

The slot of the tender box shall be closed at the time fixed in the tender documents and shall be sealed with red wax. Any tender produced after the time fixed for closing the tender box shall not be taken into consideration.

  Article (28)

The tender box shall be opened on the day and at the time fixed for this purpose, at the seat of the Central Tenders Committee where its members form a quorum. The minutes shall be prepared to prove the soundness of its seals and to ensure that no other tenders have been deposited therein.

The Chairman of the Central Tenders Committee shall open the tenders successively. The tenders shall be entered in schedules prepared for this purpose and shall be numbered and marked with serial numbers.

  Article (29)

The Central Tenders Committee shall invite the tenderers or their Representatives to attend the opening of the envelopes and the reading of prices. The envelopes shall be opened on the dates fixed, whether the invitation was answered or not. The Central Tenders Committee may constitute from among its members a Committee or more for opening the envelopes. Each committee shall be composed of three members among whom shall be the Chairman or his Deputy.

  Article (30)

The accepted tenders shall be referred to the Government body concerned to be studied by the technicians who shall submit their recommendations in respect thereof to the Central Tenders Committee within the period fixed by it.

If the documents were prepared by consultative technicians, they shall study the documents jointly with the Government body concerned.

Neither the Government body concerned nor the technicians shall be allowed to negotiate with the tenderers unless with a prior permission from the Central Tenders Committee subject to the provisions of Article (38) of this Law.

The Central Tenders Committee may submit its recommendations forthwith in the cases where the technical study is not needed.

  Article (31)

The Central Tenders Committee may form a technical committee to study the accepted tenders alone or jointly with the Government body concerned as the Central Tenders Committee deems fit. If the Committee finds cause, it may seek the assistance of consultative experts and technicians in Qatar or abroad, after the approval of the Minister of Finance.

  Article (32)

The Central Tenders Committee shall complete all the operations relating to the opening of envelopes in one meeting.

  Article (33)

The Central Tenders Committee shall not be bound to accept the recommendations of the bodies provided for under Articles (30) and (31) of this Law.

The decision of the Committee which is inconsistent with the recommendations shall be issued by a majority of two-thirds of the members forming the Committee. If this special majority is not achieved the matter shall be submitted to the Minister of Finance whose decision in this respect shall be final, subject to the provision of Article (41) of this Law.

CHAPTER FOUR:

ADJUDICATION PROCEDURE AND SIGNATURE ON CONTRACT  

Article (34)

The tenders committee shall meet sufficiently well before the termination of the time fixed for the validity of the tenders in order to give its recommendations in respect thereof.

  Article (35)

The Central Tenders Committee shall recommend the award of the tender to the Tenderer who submitted the lowest total price of his tender fulfilled all conditions. The Central Tenders Committee in its recommendation shall observe that preference is given to the national contractor over the foreigner in accordance with the provisions and rules issued by Emir's decision upon the proposal of the Minister of Finance. Nevertheless, the Committee may recommend the award of the Tender to a Tenderer of a higher price if the price of the lowest Tenderer is unreasonably low to an extent that would not call for confidence, provided that such justifications are recorded in the minutes.

The Committee shall, before making its recommendations to award the tender, ensure the availability of funds to cover the amount of the price at which the tender shall be awarded.

If the prices are equal between two or more offers in tenders for the supply of articles, the quantities required may be split but without prejudice to the specifications and the fixed dates.

Under all circumstances, the tenders for the supply of articles may be divided and awarded to more than one tenderer according to the lowest prices, but without prejudice to the specifications and the integration of the tender items.

If the Central Tenders Committee is of opinion to give preference to a Tenderer who offered a higher bid for reasons other than those mentioned in the preceding Article, it may submit the matter to the Minister of Finance for his decision thereon, subject to the provision of Article (41) of this Law.

Article (37 )

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article (21) of this Law, if it appears, upon checking the tender that the individual prices and the detailed items are not in conformity with the total price then the latter shall be taken into consideration unless the error is in excess of the total individual prices and the detailed items in which case the correct total shall be taken into consideration.

  Article (38)

The Central Tenders Committee shall not negotiate with the Tenderers concerning the modifications of their tenders after opening the envelopes. However the Committee may negotiate with them in the following cases:-

A) If all the tenders are accompanied with reservations inconsistent with the conditions of the tender.

B) If the period of validity of the tenders has elapsed due to exceptional circumstances. This is for the sake of extending the period.

C) If the prices of all the tenders are higher than the market prices or the estimated value.

D) Any other cases where the Committee is of opinion that it is necessary to contact the Tenderers after opening the envelopes.

And in all cases it is stipulated that the establishment of the negotiation shall be made by the majority of two-thirds of the members of the Committee.

Article (39)

The Committee shall seek guidance from the last prices which were dealt with locally or abroad and from the market prices. If its recommendation involves the cancellation of the tender owing to high prices, it shall insert in the minutes the earnest measures in detail which it has taken so that it became aware of the market prices.

Article (40)

The Minister of Finance may, by a reasoned decision based on a proposal by the Central Tenders Committee, cancel the tender after advertisement and before giving the recommendation in respect thereof and re-call for tender anew.

The Committee may also recommend the cancellation of the tender and re-calling for tender anew in any of the following cases:-

A) If one sole tender is submitted on some of, or on all, the articles of works.

The tender shall be considered a sole one if the tenders received with it were not satisfying the conditions. If the circumstances do not allow repeating the tender, the Committee may recommend the acceptance of the bid provided that such recommendation shall be accompanied with a detailed memorandum in this respect.

B) If the value of the best offer greatly exceeds the market value.

C) If all the tenders or the majority thereof are accompanied with reservations.

  Article (41)

Subject to the period of validity of the tender, the recommendations of the Central Tenders Committee shall be approved by the Minister of Finance. If the value of the tender exceeds O.R.50/- million, it must be approved by the Emir on the basis of the proposal of the Minister of Finance.

In all cases the successful tenderer (to whom the tender is awarded) shall be notified through the registered letter or through any other safe means of notification within one week, at most, from the date of approving the tender, subject to the period of validity of the tender. He shall also be requested to pay the performance bond (the final security).

  Article (42)

If the owner of the successful (approved) tender does not deposit the performance bond during the period provided for in

the conditions of tender, the Central Tenders Committee may recommend to cancel his tender and confiscate the provisional security (the tender bond) and impose any of the penalties referred to under Article (44) of this Law.

Article (43) 

The Government body which initiated the project shall, through a registered letter or through any other secure means of notification, request the successful tenderer to attend at its office to pay the final security (the performance bond) and sign the contract within the period which it defines. If he fails to attend at the fixed time, he shall be considered that he has withdrawn.

The tenderer shall not be considered a contracting party except from the date of signature on the contract. The contract

shall not be signed before the approval of the Minister of Finance.

  Article (44) 

If the tenderer fails to sign the contract on the fixed date or if he withdraws for any other cause without any strong reason accepted by the central tenders committee he shall be liable for any of the following penalties: -

1) Warning.

2) Lowering his category .

3) Striking-off his name from the Register for a certain period or permanently.

4) Confiscation of the final security (the performance bond).

These penalties shall not violate the various contractual rights 0f the Government body concerned in accordance with

the terms and conditions of the contract.

A decision by the Minister of Finance shall be issued imposing these penalties on the basis of a proposal by the Central Tenders Committee.

  Article (45)

The Tenderer shall be called to attend before the Central Tenders Committee to hear his statement concerning what has been attributed to him before the issue of the decision imposing the penalty. He may attend in person or through his agent. His non-attendance shall not impede the issue of the decision.

The Tenderer may complain against the decision to the Minister of Finance within seven days of its issue. The decision of the Minister in this concern shall be final.