bid that the product he is offering to furnish is the same as a product he has previously furnished to the purchasing activity under a prior contract and the bidder identifies the contract, and (ii) the Contracting Officer determines that such product meets the requirements of this Invitation for Bids (Oct. 1960). The contracting officer may designate in lieu of purchasing activity an alternate activity or office.

(2) If the invitation for bids contains a provision for waiver in accordance with subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, a bidder may submit his bid either on the basis of the descriptive literature to be furnished or on the basis of a previously procured product. If he elects to submit his bid on one basis, he is precluded from having his bid considered on the alternative basis after bids are opened.

(f) Unsolicited descriptive literature. If the furnishing of descriptive literature is not required by the invitation for bids, but such literature is furnished with a bid, it will not be considered as qualifying the bid, and will be disregarded, unless it is clear from the bid or accompanying papers that it was the bidder's intention so to qualify the bid.

(g) See § 2.404-4 for requirements with respect to restrictions on the public disclosure of descriptive literature submitted by a bidder.

[25 F.R. 14113, Dec. 31, 1960, as amended at 27 FR. 11649, Nov. 27, 1962; 30 FR. 5970, Apr. 29, 1965]

§ 2.203

Methods of soliciting bids.

[25 F.R. 14116, Dec. 31, 1960]

§ 2.203-1 Mailing or delivery to prospective bidders.

Invitations for bids (or pre-invitation notices) shall be mailed (or delivered) to a sufficient number of prospective bidders so as to elicit adequate competition and, in accordance with § 1.1002-1 of this chapter, may be provided to others having a legitimate interest to the extent invitations for bids are available. [28 F.R. 12551, Nov. 23, 1963]

§ 2.203-2 Dissemination of information concerning invitations for bids.

For procedures concerning displaying of bids in a public place, information releases to newspapers and trade journals, paid advertisements and synopsizing, see §§ 1.1002-4, 1.1002-5, 1.1002-6, and 1.1003 of this chapter, respectively. [29 F.R. 6914, May 27, 1964]

§ 2.203-3 Publicity in newspapers and trade journals.

(a) Free publicity. A brief announcement of the proposed purchase may be made available for free publication to newspapers and to trade journals and magazines. Copies of unclassified invitations for bids for construction projects may be furnished to trade journals for the construction field, except that drawings, specifications, general and special provisions will not be so furnished. (b) Paid advertisements. See § 1.10026 of this chapter.

[28 F.R. 12551, Nov. 23, 1963]

§ 2.203-4 Synopses of invitation for bids.

Synopses of Invitations for Bids shall be prepared and publicized in the Department of Commerce "Synopsis of U.S. Government Proposed Procurement, Sales and Contract Awards," in accordance with § 1.1003 of this subchapter. [25 F.R. 14116, Dec. 31, 1960] § 2.204

Office of permanent record.

Each purchasing activity is the office of permanent record for every invitation for bids issued and distributed by it and for each abstract or record of bids. file of the invitation for bids should show the distribution which was made and the date thereof.

[25 F.R. 14116, Dec. 31, 1960]

§ 2.205 Bidders mailing lists. [25 F.R. 14116, Dec. 31, 1960]

§ 2.205-1 Establishment of lists.

The

(a) Bidders mailing lists shall be established by purchasing activities to insure access to adequate sources of supplies and services except where the requirements of the purchasing office can be obtained within the local trade area through utilization of the simplified small purchases procedures (Subpart F, Part 3 of this subchapter), or are nonrecurring.

(b) All eligible and qualified suppliers who have submitted bidders mailing list applications, or whom the purchasing activity considers capable of filling the requirements of a particular procurement shall be placed on the appropriate bidders mailing list. Planned producers under the Industrial Readiness Planning Program shall be included on the bidders mailing list for their planned items. See also § 1.1006-1(b) of this chapter.

When new prospective suppliers are placed on the bidders mailing list, they shall be notified. The issuance of a solicitation within a reasonable time may be considered appropriate notification. Those not meeting the criteria for placement on the bidders mailing list also shall be notified accordingly.

(c) Bidders Mailing Lists Application (Standard Form 129) shall be used for obtaining information needed, as prescribed in § 16.810 of this subchapter, in the establishment and maintenance of bidders mailing lists. Supplemental information, where required, may be obtained by using DD Form 558-1 (Bidders Mailing List Application Supplement). [25 F.R. 14113, Dec. 31, 1960, as amended at 30 F.R. 1732, Feb. 9, 1965]

§ 2.205-2

Removal of names from bidders mailing lists.

(a) The name of each concern failing to respond to an invitation for bids, or pre-invitation notice (see § 2.205-6) may be removed from the bidders mailing list without notice to the concern but only for the item or items involved in such invitation or notice. Where a concern fails to respond to two consecutive invitations for bids or pre-invitation notices, its name shall be removed from the bidders mailing list to the extent indicated above, except that, in individual cases, concerns thus failing to respond may be retained on a bidders mailing list if such retention is considered to be in the best interest of the Government. Both actual bids and written requests for retention on the bidders mailing lists are "responses" to invitation for bids or pre-invitation notices.

(b) The names of concerns which have been (1) debarred from entering into Government contracts or (2) otherwise determined to be ineligible to receive an award of a Government contract, including ineligibility because of suspension or other disqualifications, shall be removed from the bidders mailing lists to the extent required by such debarment. or other determination of ineligibilitv. [29 F.R. 6914, May 27, 1964] § 2.205-3

Reinstatement on bidders

mailing lists.

Concerns which have been removed from bidders mailing lists may be reinstated upon request or new application on Standard Form 129. No concern which is debarred or ineligible shall be

(a) General. To prevent excessive administrative costs of a procurement, mailing lists should be used in a way which will promote competition commensurate with the dollar value of the purchase to be made. As much of the mailing list will be used as is compatible with efficiency and economy in securing adequate competition as required by law. Where the number of bidders on a mailing list is considered excessive in relation to a specific procurement, the numbers of firms to be solicited may be reduced by any method consistent with the foregoing, including those described in paragraph (b) of this section and § 2.205-6. The fact that less than an entire mailing list is used shall not in itself preclude furnishing of bid sets upon request made by concerns not invited to bid.

(b) Rotation of lists. Mailing lists may be rotated, but to do so will require considerable judgment as to whether the size of the transaction justifies rotation. Consideration also should be given as to whether time permits utilization of the pre-invitation notice (see § 2.205-6). In rotating a list, the interests of small business (see § 1.702(b) (5) of this chapter) and the existence of labor surplus areas (see § 1.803 (a) (5) of this chapter) shall be considered. Whenever the rotation method is employed, the successful bidder on the previous procurement for the same or similar items and those prospective suppliers who have been added to the bidders mailing list since the last procurement shall be solicited, in addition to those bidders comprising that segment of the list selected for use in a particular procurement, except where such action would be precluded by use of the small business total set-aside procedures.

[30 F.R. 1732, Feb. 9, 1965] § 2.205-5

lists.

Release of bidders mailing

(a) The comprehensive bidders mailing list established by purchasing offices shall not be released outside the Department of Defense. When it is necessary to dispatch identical information by means of electrical transmission to prospective bidders or offerors, the electri

cally transmitted message, when released for communications handling, shall be marked "Book Message-Transmit as Single Address Message" to preclude prospective bidders or offerors knowing the names of others solicited. In addition, except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the list of prospective bidders to whom invitations for bids have been furnished shall not be released outside the Department of Defense and shall not be made available for inspection to individuals, firms, or trade organizations. However, such lists may be made available to other Government agencies, at their specific written request, and upon the condition that the list will not be available for inspection to anyone outside the Government. This, however, does not preclude the use of individual names from bidders mailing lists established by purchasing offices in carrying out cooperative programs with industry by the Small Business Administration representatives. See § 1.705-3.

(b) When invitations for bids for construction contracts have been issued, trade journals, prospective subcontractors, material suppliers, and others having a bona fide interest in such information, will be supplied upon request with a list of all prospective bidders furnished copies of the plans and specifications.

(c) A list of firms which have submitted acceptable technical proposals in the first step of two-step formal advertising will be listed in the Commerce Business Daily for the benefit of prospective subcontractors in accordance with §1.1003-6 (a) (2) of this chapter.

[28 F.R. 4882, May 16, 1963, as amended at 28 F.R. 12551, Nov. 23, 1963; 29 F.R. 11814, Aug. 19, 1964; 31 F.R. 9853, July 21, 1966] § 2.205-6 Pre-invitation notices.

In lieu of initially forwarding complete bid sets, the purchasing activity may send pre-invitation notices to concerns on the mailing list. The notice shall:

(a) Specify the date by which bidders should return the notice in order to receive a complete bid set;

(b) Describe the requirement, or include the schedule of the invitation for bids, so as to furnish an item description and a condensation of other essential information providing concerns with an intelligible basis for judging whether they have an interest in the procurement; and

(c) Expressly notify concerns that if no bid is to be submitted, they should advise the issuing office in writing if future invitations are desired for the type of supplies or services involved.

Drawings, plans, and specifications normally will not be furnished with the preinvitation notice. The return date in the notice must be sufficiently in advance of the mailing date of the invitation for bids to permit an accurate estimate of the number of bid sets required. Bid sets will be sent to concerns which request them. This procedure is particularly suitable to major purchasing activities where lengthy invitations for bids and long bidders mailing lists are common.

[29 F.R. 6914, May 27, 1964] § 2.206

Small business and labor surplus area set-asides.

See Subparts G and H, Part 1 of this subchapter.

[25 F.R. 14117, Dec. 31, 1960]

The pre-bid conference is a procedure which may be used, generally in complex procurements, as a means of briefing prospective bidders (e.g., where procurements which were formerly negotiated are to be formally advertised) and explaining complicated specifications and requirements to them as early as possible after the invitation has been issued and before the bids are opened. Since the invitations for bids itself must be sufficiently clear and complete to insure that bidders are bidding on the same basis, the need for this procedure should be rare. The pre-bid conference shall never be used as a substitute for amending a defective or ambiguous invitation, and may be used only when approved at a level higher than the contracting officer. It shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure prescribed in § 3.504 of this chapter.

[30 F.R. 14079, Nov. 9, 1965] § 2.208

bids.

Amendment of invitation for

(a) If after issuance of an invitation for bids, but before the time for bid opening, it becomes necessary to make changes in quantity, specifications, delivery schedules, opening dates, etc., or to correct a defective or ambiguous invitation, such changes shall be accomplished by issuance of an amendment to the invitation for bids, using DD Form

1260 (see § 16.101 of this chapter), whether or not a pre-bid conference is held. The amendment shall be sent to everyone to whom invitations have been furnished and shall be displayed in the bid room.

(b) Before issuing an amendment to an invitation for bids, the period of time remaining until bid opening and the need for extending this period by postponing the time set for opening must be considered. Where only a short time remains before the time set for bid opening, consideration should be given to Lotifying bidders of an extension of time by telegram or telephone. Such notification should be confirmed in the amendment.

(c) Any information given to a prospective bidder concerning an invitation for bids shall be furnished promptly to all other prospective bidders, as an amendment to the invitation, whether or not a pre-bid conference is held, if such information is necessary to the bidders in submitting bids on the invitation or if the lack of such information would be prejudicial to uninformed bidders. No award shall be made on the invitation unless such amendment has been issued in sufficient time to permit all prospective bidders to consider such information in submitting or modifying their bids. [30 F.R. 14079, Nov. 9, 1965]

§ 2.209

Cancellation of invitations before opening.

Cancellation of an invitation for bids usually involves the loss of time, effort, and money, spent by Government and bidders in carrying the procurement process up to the point of cancellation. Invitations for bids should not be canceled unless cancellation is clearly in the public interest, such as where there is no longer a requirement for the supplies or services or where amendments to the invitation would be of such magnitude that a new invitation is desirable. Where an invitation is canceled, bids which have been received shall be returned unopened to the bidders and a notice of cancellation shall be sent to all prospective bidders to whom invitations for bids were issued. The notice of cancellation shall identify the invitation for bids; briefly explain the reason the invitation is being canceled; and, where appropriate, assure prospective bidders that they will be given an opportunity to bid on any resolicitation of bids or any future requirements for the type of

(a) Prior to synopsis or solicitation. Information concerning proposed procurements shall not be released outside the Government prior to solicitation except when pre-invitation notices have been used in accordance with §§ 2.205-6 or 18.205(c) of this chapter, or longrange procurement estimates have been issued in accordance with § 1.1007 of this chapter. Within the Government, such information shall be restricted to those having a legitimate interest therein. Such information shall be released to all potential contractors at the same time, as nearly as possible, so that one potential contractor shall not be given unfair advantage over another.

(b) After synopsis or solicitation. Discussions with prospective contractors regarding a potential procurement and the transmission of technical or other information shall be conducted only by the contracting officer or his superiors having contractual authority or by others specifically authorized. Such personnel shall not furnish any information to a potential supplier which alone or together with other information may afford him an advantage over others. However, general information which would not be prejudicial to other bidders may be furnished upon request, e.g., explanation of a particular contract clause or a particular condition of the schedule in the invitation for bids. When necessary to clarify ambiguities, or correct mistakes or omissions, an appropriate amendment to the solicitation shall be furnished in a timely manner to all to whom the solicitation has been furnished (see § 2.208). [30 F.R. 14080, Nov. 9, 1965]

Subpart C-Submission of Bids

§ 2.301 Responsiveness of bids.

(a) To be considered for award, a bid must comply in all material respects with the invitation for bids so that, both as to the method and timeliness of submission and as to the substance of any

resulting contract, all bidders may stand on an equal footing and the integrity of the formal advertising system may be maintained.

(b) Telegraphic bids shall not be considered unless permitted by the invitation for bids.

(c) Bids should be filled out, executed, and submitted in accordance with the instructions which are contained in the invitation for bids. If a bidder uses its own bid form or a letter to submit a bid, the bid may be considered only if (1) the bidder accepts all the terms and conditions of the invitation, and (2) award on the bid would result in a binding contract the terms and conditions of which do not vary from the terms and conditions of the invitation.

[25 F.R. 14117, Dec. 31, 1960]

§ 2.302 Time of bid submission.

Bids shall be submitted so as to be received in the office designated in the invitation for bids not later than the exact time set for opening of bids. Where telegraphic bids are authorized, a telegraphic bid received in such office by telephone from the receiving telegraph office not later than the time set for opening of bids shall be considered if such bid is confirmed by the telegraph company by sending a copy of the telegram which formed the basis for the telephone call.

[28 F.R. 12552, Nov. 28, 1963]

§ 2.303 Late bids.

[25 F.R. 14117, Dec. 31, 1960]

the mails (based on evidence pursuant to § 2.303-3), or to a delay by the telegraph company for which the bidder was not responsible; or

(c) If submitted by mail (or by telegram where authorized), it was received E at the Government installation in suficient time to be received at the office designated in the invitation by the time j set for opening and, except for delay 2 due to mishandling on the part of the Government at the installation, would have been received on time at the office designated. The only evidence acceptable to establish timely receipt at the Government installation is that which can be established upon examination of an appropriate date or time stamp (if any) of such installation, or of other documentary evidence of receipt at such installation (if readily available) within the control of such installation or of the post office serving it.

[28 F.R. 12552, Nov. 23, 1968] § 2.303-3 Mailed bids.

(a) Registered mail. The time of mailing of a late bid mailed by registered mail may be determined by the date in the postmark on the registered mail receipt or registered mail wrapper. The time of mailing shall be deemed to be the last minute of the date shown in such postmark unless the bidder furnishes evidence from the post office station of mailing which establishes an earlier time. Such evidence, if appropriately verified in writing by the post office station of mailing, may consist of an entry in ink on the registered mail receipt showing the time of mailing and the initials of the postal employee receiving the item and making the entry. If the postmark does not show a date, the bid shall be deemed to have been mailed too late unless the bidder furnishes evidence from the post office station of mailing which establishes timely mailing.

(b) Certified mail. The time of mailing of a late bid mailed by certified mail for which a postmarked receipt of certifiled mail was obtained shall be deemed to be the last minute of the date shown in the postmark on such receipt, except where (1) the receipt for certified mail identifies the post office station of mailing and the bidder furnishes evidence from such station that the business day of that station ended at an earlier time, in which case the time of mailing shall be deemed to be the last minute of the business day of that station; or (2) an