mation concerning the identity of the specific sources solicited in a particular procurement shall be made available to the public prior to award.

[36 FR 3061, Feb. 17, 1971; 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

Subpart 29-2.3-Submission of Bids

§ 29-2.301 Responsiveness of bids.

Any bid which is not signed by the bidder or the bidder's authorized representative shall be disregarded, except when it is accompanied by other evidence which demonstrates the bidder's intention to be bound by the unsigned bid document. Examples of such evidence are a bid guarantee or a letter (which does not qualify or otherwise render the bid non-responsive) signed by the bidder referring to and clearly identifying the bid itself. In such a case, the contracting officer may waive the deficiency as a minor informality or irregularity (see § 12.405 of this title) and shall document the file to so indicate. Under no circumstances shall a bid be rejected at bid opening merely because it bears insufficient postage.

[36 FR 3061, Feb. 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.303-4 Telegraphic bids.

See § 29-2.302.

§ 29-2.303-7 Disposition of late bids.

A late bid returned to the bidder shall be accompanied by a brief statement from the contracting officer that the bid was not considered because of its late receipt. This statement is required even though the contracting officer has previously notified the bidder, in compliance with § 1-2.303-6 of this title, that the bid is not being considered. In addition, if the late bid had to be opened for identification or was opened by mistake, that fact shall be included in the statement from the contracting officer accompanying the returned bid. The envelope, in that case, shall be retained in accordance with § 29-2.401.

Subpart 29-2.4-Opening of Bids and Award of Contract

§ 29-2.401 Receipt and safeguarding of bids.

To preserve bidders' confidence in the integrity of DOL's bidding system, the contracting officer shall retain in the file the envelope, wrapper, or other container (bearing the required documentation) of a bid which was opened by mistake or which was opened for purposes of identification.

§ 29-2.402 Opening of bids.

The place selected for the opening of bids should be large enough to permit the attendance of any bidder who desires to be present at the opening. Where circumstances warrant, the contracting officer may limit contractor representation to one representative per supplier. At the bid opening, the person opening the bids shall not discuss the relative merits of any bid with the bidders, their representatives, or with casual observers. The individuals designated by DOL to conduct the bid opening are discouraged from making statements at the bid opening in response to inquiries concerning the award, e.g., DOL's intent with regard to the disposition of a bid irregularity, potential readvertisement and mistake in bid. Such questions shall instead be subsequently referred to the contract

ing officer for disposition. Bidders are cautioned that information obtained at bid openings from other than the contracting officer may only be relied upon by the bidder at the bidder's own risk. After the bids have been opened and read aloud to the bidders present, an announcement shall be made that the opening of bids has been completed. Where feasible, all bidders will be notified, in writing and as soon as conveniently possible, regarding the award.

[36 FR 3061, Feb. 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.402-50 Firm-bid rule.

Under the "firm-bid rule," a bidder is bound after the bid opening by the bid submitted and may not, in the absence of the exceptions provided in the mistakes in bids procedures of § 12.406 of this title, withdraw the bid prior to the time of award or until after the expiration of the period provided in the bid for bid acceptance. It is the Department's policy, on the other hand, that it will not be bound by its invitation for bids, except that if it does make an award based on bids submitted in response to its invitation, it must award to that responsible supplier submitting the lowest responsive bid. Aside from that, however, the Department will not be bound by any bid it receives. The Department's preferred position is justified judicially on the basis that laws concerning the advertising and award of public contracts may be construed as primarily for the Government's own benefit and protection. Therefore, no bidder acquires any enforceable rights from the Department until the valid acceptance of the bid by an official authorized to do so. The mere submission of a bid does not, in and of itself, bestow a right or grant an interest in any prospective procurement.

[42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.402-51 Marking of bids.

Under no circumstances will any individual make any marks or notation on the bid or its accompanying documents, except as authorized in § 292.401. If, through error or for some other reason, marks are made on a bid

or its accompanying documents, the markings should not be erased or eradicated; instead, the individual so marking the bid shall prepare a signed explanation of the marking for insertion in the file for future reference, showing when, how, and why the notation or markings were made. If the marked bid is accepted, explanation with regard thereto should be made on the statement of award.

§ 29-2.402-52 Postponement of bid opening before time set for opening.

(a) The contracting officer shall attempt to reach a decision of postponement sufficiently in advance of the time set for opening so as to permit at least telephone notice to bidders of the postponement and avoid their further inconvenience. Telephone notice of a changed opening date must be confirmed by written amendment in accordance with § 1-2.207 of this title.

(b) Bid openings shall be postponed when a substantial portion of prospective bidders requests additional time for filing their bids, or the contracting officer has reason to believe that the specified opening date is not appropriate or is not conducive to the maximum practicable competition.

(c) Bid openings may be considered for postponement by the contracting officer when that official has reason to believe that the bids from a substantial portion of bidders have been delayed in the mails for causes beyond their control and without their fault or negligence, such as flood, fire, accident, heavy snow, or strikes.

[36 FR 3061, Feb. 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.402-53 Timing of acceptance and withdrawals.

A bidder's letter withdrawing a bid is not effective until it is received by the Government whereas the Government's letter accepting the bid, when written acceptance is required, is effective when mailed. Therefore, a binding contract is effected where acceptance has been mailed by the contracting officer before the letter from the bidder advising of withdrawal of the bid is received. This applies even though the bidder can furnish evidence that the letter of withdrawal was mailed prior

to the time set for bid opening as set forth in § 1-2.304 of this title.

§ 29-2.404 Rejection of bids.

§ 29-2.404-1 Cancellation of invitation after opening.

If all of the bids for any item have been rejected, the contracting officer may readvertise for that item using the same specifications or modified specifications, or may negotiate under the circumstances discussed in §§ 13.210 and 1-3.214 of this title.

[36 FR 3061, Feb. 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.404-5 All or none qualifications.

The invitation for bids shall stipulate that all bids are solicited on an "all or none" basis except in highly unusual cases where the contracting officer can demonstrate with appropriate file documentation that it is in the Government's best interest to do otherwise. Generally, the Government's loss in flexibility when it includes this renunciation of its right to award on less than the full quantity bid upon, is more than offset by the Government's gain from the elimination of bidder uncertainty concerning the quantity to be awarded. A consequence of the elimination of this uncertainty is the elimination of any contingency factor in the price the bidder bids.

§ 29-2.404-50 Multiple bidding.

When more than one bid is received from a person or firm, or affiliates thereof, in response to an invitation for bids, such bids shall be considered for award if responsive and otherwise acceptable. If the contracting officer determines that these bids would give such a bidder an unfair advantage over other bidders or would otherwise be prejudicial to the best interest of the Government, such bids shall be rejected. In a tie bid situation, only one of the multiple bids shall be considered in applying § 1-2.407-6 of this title.

§ 29-2.406 Mistakes in bids.

§ 29-2.406-3 Other mistakes disclosed before award.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management is delegated authority to make the administrative determinations described in § 1-2.406-3 of this title.

§ 29-2.406-4 Disclosure of mistakes after award.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management is delegated authority to make the administrative determinations described in § 1-2.406-4 of this title.

§ 29-2.407 Award.

§ 29-2.407-3 Discounts.

Invitations for bids involving the prospects of a trade-in, allowance, rebate, or credit due from the bidder to the Government shall provide that, when a prompt payment discount is offered, the discount will be computed on the gross purchase price, i.e., the price that obtains before reduction because of any amount due from the bidder to the Government.

[36 FR 3061, Feb. 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.407-8 Protests against award.

(a) Protests before award. If, after bid opening but prior to award, a protest against award has been lodged and it is necessary to make an award before the matter is resolved, the contracting officer shall obtain and place in the file the written approval of the head of the agency. Prior to making an award, the head of the agency will inform the Comptroller General of the Department's intent to award and obtain advice from the Comptroller General concerning the status of the protest in accordance with § 1-2.4078(b) of this title.

(b) Protests after award. In the event of a protest after award, consideration of its merit and a determination regarding its resolution, including any required reports to the Comptroller General, shall be made by the head of the agency and, where required,

that official shall obtain assistance from the Solicitor.

[42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

§ 29-2.407-50 Award when only one bid is received.

When only one bid is received in response to an invitation for bids, such bid may be considered and accepted if the contracting officer makes a written determination that (a) the specifications used in the invitation were not unduly restrictive, (b) adequate competition was solicited and it could have been reasonably assumed that more than one bid would have been submitted, (c) the price is reasonable, and (d) the bid is otherwise in accordance with the invitation for bids. Such a determination shall be placed in the file.

29-3.604-51 Instructions for cashiers.

29-3.604-52 Accountability of

funds.

29-3.605 Purchase order forms.

29-3.605-3 Agency order forms. 29-3.605-50 Cancellation of

orders.

imprest

purchase

29-3.605-51 Duplicate purchase orders.

29-3.606 Blanket purchase arrangements.

29-3.606-1

29-3.606-3

29-3.606-4

General.

Establishment of account. Documentation.

Subpart 29-3.7-Negotiated Overhead Rates

29-3.705 Procedure.

29-3.707 Cost-sharing rates and limitation on overhead cost.

29-3.707-50 Overhead cost ceiling.

Subpart 29-3.8-Price Negotiation Policies and Techniques

29-3.802 Preparation for negotiation. 29-3.805-50 Criteria for award.

§ 29-3.100 Scope of subpart.

§ 29-3.100-50 Other procedures applicable to negotiated procurements.

Generally, except where sections of Subparts 1-2.2 and 1-2.3 of this title and Subparts 29-2.2 and 29-2.3 of this chapter deal with aspects of bid solicitation and submission peculiar to formal advertising only (e.g., (a) the public bid opening, (b) the "formal offer" status of the bid as opposed to a proposal, and (c) the specificity with which the item being procured can be described) those subparts shall be applicable to the solicitation and submission of proposals for contracts to be effected by negotiation. In addition, within the above guidelines, the following sections shall also be applicable:

It should be noted that deviation from the requirements in Part 1-3 of this title and this Part 29-3 may be made for contracts on a class or individual case basis with the prior written consent of the head of the agency for reasons of program or other considerations, e.g., financial assistance programs. Such deviation shall be obtained in accordance with the procedures in § 29-1.009 of this chapter.

[36 FR 11647, June 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]

(a) During the interval between the initiation of the request for proposals and the making of an award, the limitations on communication between DOL representatives, procurement and otherwise, and prospective suppliers shall be the same as those provided in § 29-2.202-52 of this chapter for formally advertised solicitations. Moreover, no prospective supplier shall be given an advantage over competitors of advance knowledge that proposals are to be requested.

(b) The disclosure requirements of the Public Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, do not operate to qualify this § 29-3.103 nor the § 1-3.103(b) bar against the disclosure of information. See Part 70 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

[36 FR 11647, June 17, 1971, as amended at 42 FR 40201, Aug. 9, 1977]