Punjab PPRA Clarifies Bid Submission Timeline: Response Time to Exclude Date of Advertisement-Notification

Dated Lahore, the 20^th September, 2024

CIRCULAR

No. L&M(PPRA)10-1/2011. Under Rule 14(1) of Punjab Procurement Rules 2014 (PPR-14) all procuring agencies are bound to provide a response time of minimum fifteen (15) days for National competitive bidding process and thirty (30) days for International competitive bidding process for the submission of bids. The mechanism to calculate “response time” has been provided under Rule 14(3) of PPR-14 whereby it has been mentioned that response time shall be calculated from the date of publication of advertisement. The Rule ibid is reproduced as under:

14. Response time.- (1) The procuring agency may decide the response time for receipt of bids or proposals (including proposals for prequalification) from the date of publication of an advertisement or notice keeping in view the complexity of the procurement, availability and urgency but, in no circumstances, the response time shall be less than fifteen days for national competitive bidding and thirty days for international competitive bidding from the date of publication of advertisement or notice.

(3) The response time shall be calculated from the date of publication of the advertisement on the website.

2.                     Matter has been examined under Rule 14 of Punjab Procurement Rules 2024 (PPR-14) read with Section 8 of the Punjab General Clauses Act, 1956 (West Pakistan Act VI of 1956). The Section ibid stipulates as under:

8. Commencement and termination of time — In any ⁽¹¹⁾(Punjab Act], it shall be sufficient, for the purpose of excluding the first in a series of days or any other period of time to use the word “from” and for the purpose of including the last in a series of days or any other period of time to use the word “to”

3.                     It is clarified for information of all the Procuring Agencies across Punjab that the phrase “from the date of publication” mentioned in Rule 14(3) of PPR-14 shall be interpreted to exclude the date of publication of advertisement from the cycle/series of fifteen (15) days or thirty (30) (whichever is applicable).

3.                 In view of above, all Procuring Agencies are advised to calculate the response time for the submission of bids by excluding the date of publication of advertisement from the cycle/series of fifteen (15) days or thirty (30) whichever is applicable.

Managing Director, PPRA