(1) After the Tenders are opened, they shall be tabulated and posted in a Tender Register maintained in the Village Panchayat or Panchayat Union or District Panchayat Office, as the case may be, in Form II appended to these Rules. The Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be, shall scrutinize the entries in the Register and certify that the tabulation is correct with reference to the original Tenders which shall be preserved and made available for the purpose of Audit.
(2) A Contractor who withdraws his Tender after the acceptance of Tender by competent Authority without valid reasons to be decided by the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be, shall be liable to have his name removed from the Register of Contractors for a period ranging from one to five years. The orders of Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be, removing the name of the Contractor from such register shall be communicated to the Contractor concerned by the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be. An appeal shall lie to the Superintending Engineer (Rural Development) against the order of the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be. Such appeal shall be preferred through the Block Engineer or Assistant Engineer (Rural Development) and the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be and the Executive Engineer (Rural Development), within seven days from the date of receipt by the Contractor of the orders of the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be. The orders of the Superintending Engineer (Rural Development) on such appeal shall be final.
22. Acceptance of Tender —(1) The lowest Tender shall be accepted. Where it is considered undesirable to accept the lowest Tender, the reasons shall be clearly recorded in writing by the Authority competent to accept the Tender and the case shall be disposed of in the manner specified in Rules 23 and 24.
(2) Where the capacity for the work and the integrity of a Tenderer are not known, his Tender need not necessarily be rejected. Such additional security not exceeding ten per cent of the contract amount as the Authority competent to accept the Tender considers necessary shall, however be taken from the Tenderer if the circumstances warrant such a course.
(3) Where the lowest Tender is rejected, the next lowest Tender shall be considered. If it is considered undesirable to accept that Tender also, the next highest Tender shall be considered.
In every case of rejection of a Tender under this sub-rule, the reasons therefore shall be recorded in writing by the Authority competent to accept Tenders.
(4) In no case shall a Tender be accepted at rates other than those specified in the Tenders. In cases, where the Authority competent to accept the Tender considers the rate for certain items are pitched too high in the lowest Tender, he may negotiate with the above Tenderer with the approval of the next superior Authority and secure reasonable rates for those items without higher Authority’s sanction.
(5) There shall be no avoidable delay in the disposal of Tenders after they are opened. In cases, where the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be, is competent to dispose of Tenders without obtaining concurrence of others, the Executive Authority or Commissioner or Secretary, as the case may be, shall do so ordinarily within a week of the date on which they are opened and in any case within a period not exceeding one month. In other cases, no Tenders shall remain undisposed of for a period exceeding two months from the date on which they are opened.