INVITATION TO BID (“ITB”) FOR THE SUPPLY OF IT EQUIPMENT, CAMERAS & GPS, PRINTING EQUIPMENT, TONERS AND SCANNERS /

Bid  closing date: 26 September 2019

Crown Agents Limited (“Crown Agents”) acting as agents for and on behalf of their Principal, Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), invite you to submit a bid for the supply of Goods as specified in the attached Appendices.

The Goods are for use in Ethiopia by Land Investment for Transportation (LIFT) (“the End-User”).

Bid submission
Bidders should read these instructions carefully before completing the bid documentation. The bid must include each of the following documents identified below, fully completed by the bidder together with any supporting literature required by the relevant document. The documents marked (Appendix) are provided as appendices to this document. The remaining documents are available from the Supplier Downloads – Own Account Procurement pages on our website http://www.crownagents.com/supplier-downloads and it is the bidder’s responsibility to ensure that copies of these documents are downloaded for inclusion in the bid.

Failure to comply with any of the instructions concerning completion and submission of its bid may render (at Crown Agents absolute discretion) the bid non-compliant and the bid may be excluded from this competitive bidding exercise.

• Schedule of Goods (from Appendix B)
• Bid Specification and Statement of Compliance (from Appendix C)
• Local Warranty and Service support (from Appendix D)
• Form of Bid (from Appendix E)
• Business Partner Questionnaire (download)
• Shipping Specification (download)

The form of Contract as attached at Appendix F to this ITB identifies the documents that shall be incorporated within any resulting contract and are available from the Supplier Downloads – Own Account Procurement pages on our website.

These documents will include but not be limited to the General Conditions of Contract for the Purchase of Goods (2013) (“the Contract Conditions”) in addition to the Special Conditions of Contract (“the Special Contract Conditions”) as attached at Appendix G. In the event of any conflict between the Contract Conditions and the Special Contract Conditions, the latter shall prevail.

The Business Partner Questionnaire available as a download is required to establish the bidder’s capability to perform any subsequent Contract. Complete all sections and attach a copy of the previous two years audited annual report and accounts. Failure to provide such information may result in the bid not being considered.

The Shipping Specification Form available as a download must be completed in full for assessing freight costs. Crown Agents reserve the right to seek alternative freight quotes and where a more competitive freight quote is received to contract on FCA or FOB terms.

Bids must comply with the following conditions:
Bids are sought on a competitive basis and all prices are subjected to detailed scrutiny and may be subject to negotiation.

The bid as well as all correspondence and documents relating to the bid, between the bidder and Crown Agents, shall be in the English language. Supporting documents and printed literature provided by the bidder may be in another language but they must be accompanied by an accurate translation of the relevant passages in the English language, in which case, for the purposes of interpretation of the bid, the translation shall govern.

All bids, including annexes and all supporting documents must be submitted either in hard copy or by e-mail.

Electronic submissions
If you wish to submit your bid by e-mail, please send all documents required by the ITB in a non-editable format to Gareth Love gareth.love@crownagents.co.uk by the Bid Closing Date and Time. Failure to submit a bid in a non-editable format may (at Crown Agents absolute discretion) result in the rejection of your bid.

The electronic message subject header must contain the reference CA/108819D/0008 and “Not to be opened before the bid closing date 26th September.”

It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that the correct reference and closing date are included on the electronic message header of all messages pertaining to the bid. The bidder is responsible for ensuring that for any bid delivered in separate files, that the files are numbered sequentially and contain the above details.

Hard-copy submissions
If you wish to send your bid in hard copy it must be received by Crown Agents at the following address: Gareth Love, Crown Agents Limited, 7th Floor, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU, UK.

The bid must be in a sealed envelope and the envelopes and packages must contain the reference for this ITB (CA/108819D/0008) and state “Not to be opened before the bid closing date 26th September 2019.”

Envelopes and packages must not bear any external reference to the bidder.

Bidders must submit two copies of the bid: one original, marked “original” and one copy signed in the same way as the original and marked “copy.”

Deadline for bid submissions
All bids, whether submitted electronically or in hard copy, must be received by 26th September 2019. Any bid not sent to the correct address and/or received late will be rejected.

If a bid is sent by e-mail, the bid will be deemed to have been received at the time that it is received by Crown Agents. The burden of proving receipt of the e-mail will be on the bidder and will not be met solely by a read receipt or sent items report generated by the bidder’s computer.

All incoming emails to Crown Agents are virus scanned prior to acceptance into the destination mail box. Any email containing a virus will therefore not reach the destination mail box meaning that the bid has not been received by Crown Agents.

Bidders are advised that the destination mail box is automated to send bidders a dated and timed acknowledgement of receipt and delivery of their message to the electronic tender box. Should a bidder not receive such a dated and timed acknowledgement, they should assume that their bid has not been safely received and it is the responsibility of the bidder to send the bid by alternative means.

If a bid is sent by hard-copy, the bid will be deemed to have been received by Crown Agents on the date and at the time of signature of the receipt of the bid at Crown Agent’s office.

If deemed receipt of an email or hard copy bid is not within business hours (meaning 9.00 am to 5.30 pm UK time Monday to Friday on a day that is not a public holiday in the UK), the notice or other communication is deemed to have been received when business next starts in the UK.

Crown Agents does not accept responsibility for the premature opening or mishandling of Bids that are not submitted in accordance with these instructions.

Any additional costs incurred by Crown Agents, their Principal or the End-User which result from any inaccuracies or any declarations in respect of the Goods or the bidder’s failure to conform with the requirements of a resulting Contract will be charged to the bidder.

ITB Acknowledgement and Intention to Submit a Bid
Upon receipt of this ITB, bidders are requested to send an acknowledgement by e-mail to Gareth Love, gareth.love@crownagents.co.uk , Crown Agents confirming receipt.

Bidders are requested to notify the undersigned in writing of their intention to submit a bid no later than 17th September 2019. Where applicable, such notification should state the reason(s) for the bidder declining this opportunity to submit a bid.

General
Bidders must certify in the Form of Bid at Appendix E that any statement made in their Business Partner Questionnaire submission remains true and accurate in all material aspects or should declare any changes to their Business Partner Questionnaire submission.

It is not permissible to transfer this Invitation to Bid to another natural or legal person.

Any questions which you may have in relation to this Invitation to Bid must be raised in accordance with the instructions contained in the [Clarification of bidding documents paragraph] of the Instructions to Bidders.

Gareth Love
Commercial Trading
Email: gareth.love@crownagents.co.uk