All received tenders can be rejected by the department if:

Explanation:

All received tenders can be rejected by the department if:

• When the quoted rates by the lowest bidder exceed the available budget, the department has the full authority to reject all tenders. In public works and government-funded projects, adherence to the sanctioned budget is mandatory. Accepting bids that surpass financial provision without proper revalidation can lead to audit objections or financial mismanagement.

• If the department identifies that the scope of the project needs significant changes after receiving tenders, it can cancel all tenders and re-invite them with revised specifications. Such changes might arise due to design modifications, new site constraints, or updated stakeholder requirements. Proceeding with old tender terms in such cases would result in technical and contractual mismatches.

• Tenders may be rejected if bidders fail to comply with mandatory eligibility criteria or submit incomplete or improper documentation. Non-submission of experience certificates, invalid bid securities, or alterations in the tender form are treated as non-compliance and can result in outright rejection to maintain procedural fairness and transparency.

• In situations where all the tenders received are found to be either unreasonably high or low, suggesting lack of competition or possible cartel behavior, the department may cancel the tendering process. This helps ensure that the contract is awarded at competitive and fair rates and protects public interest from undue risk or financial loss.

• When the department has procedural or administrative reasons such as errors in tender notice, incorrect estimates, or discovery of discrepancies in the tender documents, it can withdraw the tender process. Legal and audit standards require that the tender documents be accurate and complete, and even a minor procedural error could necessitate a re-tender.

• If it is determined that retendering the work would serve the public interest better, the department can cancel all tenders without needing to provide specific reasons to the bidders. This provision exists in most government procurement policies to give the employer flexibility when the project circumstances evolve unexpectedly after the invitation.

• In some cases, tenders may be rejected if there is a lack of sufficient participation. If the number of tenders received is too low to ensure meaningful competition, the department may opt to retender to attract more bidders and secure better rates or quality of work.

• Tenders may also be rejected based on vigilance or legal instructions. If there is a complaint, a vigilance inquiry, or legal stay imposed by any competent authority, the department must act accordingly and may suspend or cancel the entire tender process to avoid conflict.

 Additional Information

• A tender is a formal invitation issued by an organization, usually a government or public body, seeking offers or bids from contractors, suppliers, or service providers to execute specific works or supply goods or services. The tendering process ensures transparency, fairness, and competitiveness in awarding contracts and is typically governed by established procurement rules and financial procedures.

• Open tendering is the most transparent and commonly used type of tender where the invitation is publicly advertised, allowing any interested and eligible party to submit a bid. This method ensures maximum competition, leads to better price discovery, and reduces the chances of favoritism. It is widely used for large-scale public infrastructure projects.

• Limited tendering, also known as selective tendering, is used when the scope of work is specialized or time-sensitive, and the department invites bids only from a shortlist of pre-qualified or registered contractors. It is typically adopted to save time or when the potential suppliers are few, and known to the department based on past experience or technical competency.

• Single tendering involves inviting a bid from only one contractor or supplier, usually in exceptional cases such as proprietary items, urgency in procurement, or when only one source is available. While this method speeds up the procurement, it is generally discouraged unless justified under specific government rules or emergencies.

• Two-stage tendering is adopted for complex projects where technical specifications cannot be fully defined upfront. In the first stage, bidders submit technical proposals without price bids. After evaluation and discussions, the client finalizes specifications and invites commercial bids in the second stage from technically qualified firms. This method is often used in turnkey, design-build, or specialized consultancy contracts.