(1) Subject to the provisions of section 18 of the Act, and in addition thereto, procuring entities may engage in a pre-qualification process in cases where:-
(a) there is a need for procurement in bulk or in large quantities;
(b) besides the complex techno-commercial suitability of offers, the capability of the source of supply is also essential or vital for the successful performance of the contract, as in cases of procurement of complex machinery or equipment systems or works, making it necessary to ensure that competition is only among bidders having the requisite capabilities so as to avoid vitiation of evaluation by low value offerings from inadequately qualified bidders;
(c) the procurement is based on complex performance specifications, turnkey Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts, or terms of reference as in procurement of consultancy, etc. or where the offered solutions are likely to vary widely from one another making it difficult to equitably evaluate all offers on a common footing.
(2) The procedure for pre-qualification of bidders as per sub-section (5) of section 18 of the Act, shall be as follows, namely :-
(a) Pre-qualification procedures shall meet the norms of transparency, fairness and open wide competition;
(b) The Notice Inviting Bids for such pre-qualification, wherein the complete description of the subject matter of procurement, the terms and conditions of the pre-qualification including the period of validity and the eligibility or pre-qualification and evaluation criteria shall be clearly specified, shall be published in exactly the same manner as prescribed for Open Competitive Bidding to ensure widest possible competition;
(c) The pre-qualification results shall be valid as specified in the prequalification documents which shall usually be for one financial year and may further be extended for another one such year after recording reasons 20 thereof. The period of validity shall be clearly specified in the prequalification documents:
Provided that, in case of registration of bidders through prequalification, the validity period shall be as stated under rule 19 below;
(d) In the pre-qualification bid stage, competent qualified bidders shall be shortlisted by using measureable pre-qualification criteria like past experience of similar contracts, performance capability, financial soundness, or any other criterion relevant to the procurement;
(e) The pre-qualification and the evaluation criteria shall be notified clearly in the pre-qualification bidding documents without any ambiguity, and specifically clarifying that bidders have to submit authenticated documents relating to the prequalification criteria and eligibility criteria in support of their bids;
(f) The pre-qualification bidding documents shall indicate the complete schedule of requirements for which the prequalification is being done and include the likely quantum or extent or scope of the requirements for the procurement;
(g) The procuring entity shall evaluate the qualifications of bidders only in accordance with the pre-qualification criteria set out in the bidding documents. Verification of documents submitted by the bidders, where required, shall be done with due diligence by the procuring entity;
(h) The procuring entity shall promptly notify each bidder presenting an application to pre-qualify whether or not it has been pre-qualified and also publish the result of pre-qualification proceedings on the Departmental Website. The procuring entity shall also promptly inform each unqualified bidder that it has not been pre-qualified stating the reasons thereof;
(i) During the period of validity of the pre-qualification, the procuring entity shall invite bids for procurement from the pre-qualified bidders and only those bidders who have pre-qualified shall be entitled to continue in the procurement proceedings;
(j) In case bids are not invited within the period of such validity, fresh prequalification shall be done;
(k) Except as otherwise provided herein, all other provisions of these rules, pertaining to General Principles and Open Competitive Bidding respectively shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to pre-qualification proceedings.
Explanation: Prescribing eligibility or qualification criteria for bidders which would be evaluated along with Technical Bids, and not prior to it, 21 shall not amount to pre-qualification and the provisions for pre-qualification of bidders shall not apply thereto.