e-PG9 Direct Procurement Goods Participation Guideline

01How Direct Contracting Works

Under the Direct Procurement Method the Procuring Entity selects one supplier and invites its offer by letter. There is no public advertisement, no competing tenders and no tender security. If negotiations end satisfactorily and the award is approved, you receive a Notification of Award.

1. Receive the Invitation Letter with Annex 1 (PE's Requirements), Annex 2 (Offer Forms) and the Contract Agreement and Conditions of Contract.
2. Ask any clarification in writing to the named representative before the stated date and time.
3. Submit your offer to the stated address within the stated days.
4. Negotiate, often virtually, and agree the Minutes of Negotiations.
5. Receive the NOA and draft contract, furnish the performance security and sign.
6. Deliver, pass inspection, get paid and honour the warranty.

The PE may still reject your offer or annul the process at any time before award. Do not start manufacturing or shipping before you have the NOA, have furnished the security and have signed.

02Key Time Limits

03Check Your Eligibility

• Nationality: you and your subcontractors must belong to an eligible country named in the letter.
• Origin: goods and services must originate in eligible countries, meaning where they were grown, mined, produced, manufactured or substantially transformed.
• State-owned enterprise: show you are legally and financially autonomous, operate under commercial law and are not a dependent agency of the PE.
• Debarment: neither you nor any subcontractor, supplier, consultant or manufacturer may be suspended or debarred, or controlled by someone who is.

You will be disqualified for a conflict of interest if your firm or an affiliate:

• prepared the design or technical specifications of these goods as a consultant;
• has been, or is proposed to be, hired by the PE to implement the contract;
• provided consulting services for this project from which these goods result; or
• has a close business or family relationship with PE staff involved in the invitation, specifications, evaluation or supervision, unless resolved to the PE's satisfaction.

04The Supplier's Offer Form

Fill in your firm's details, the PE's details, the invitation reference and the date. By signing you confirm:

Use only the clauses for the package's source of funds (3(a) and 8 for GoB; 3(b) and 9 for a development partner). A false declaration is a fraudulent practice and can lead to termination and debarment.

05Technical Compliance

The PE fills the first four columns of the Technical Specifications and Compliance form. You complete the rest for every item:

• Country of origin of each item.
• Make and model, or brand, where applicable.
• Full detailed specifications and standards offered, item by item against what is required, not "as per specification".

Read the inspection and tests list closely: tests are at your cost, may take place at your or your subcontractor's premises, and you must give inspectors access to drawings and production data free of charge.

06Price and Delivery Schedules

• Use the Price and Delivery Schedule for Goods and, if services are included, the schedule for Related Services.
• Keep the PE's item numbers. Give unit and total prices in Taka, in figures and in words, with country of origin and delivery or completion period in days.
• Include everything: you are responsible for all taxes, customs duties, VAT and levies inside and outside Bangladesh, and the default transport term makes you deliver to the final destination with insurance and storage included.
• Include items not listed but reasonably needed to deliver and complete the supply; the scope covers them (CC 7.2).
• Prices are fixed for the contract. No credit is given for delivering early.

Example: what 10% security and retention mean for cash flow On a Tk. 20 lakh contract, you furnish a Tk. 2 lakh performance security before signing, and the PE may hold back 10% of what is payable (up to Tk. 2 lakh) until the warranty expires. Price the cost of the bank instrument and the delayed retention into your offer. Above Tk. 10 lakh, your beneficial ownership will also be published.

07Manufacturer's Authorisation

If the letter requires it and you are not the manufacturer or producer, submit the Manufacturer's Authorisation Letter:

• on the manufacturer's letterhead, signed by a person who can bind the manufacturer;
• naming the factory addresses and the goods you are authorised to supply in Bangladesh;
• extending the manufacturer's full guarantee and warranty under CC 26.

08Negotiation

If your offer is accepted for negotiation, the PE sends an Invitation for Negotiations with the logistics, date and time. The STD expects negotiations to be virtual.

• Bring someone authorised to commit on price, delivery and terms.
• Clarify payment percentages, advance and its guarantee, warranty period, LD rate and cap, quantity range and insurance if they are open.
• Agree how the 10% contractual security, 10% performance security and 10% retention will apply; the STD states all three.
• Read the Minutes of Negotiations carefully before signing them: after the Contract Agreement they outrank your own offer.

09NOA, Security and Signing

1. The PE issues the NOA within 3 working days of approval, with the draft contract and all contract documents. The NOA itself forms the contract and binds you.
2. Furnish a performance security of 10% of the contract price within the working days in the NOA, as a Bank Draft, Pay Order or irrevocable unconditional Bank Guarantee from a scheduled bank of Bangladesh, in the STD format without alteration.
3. If an advance is agreed, provide the Advance Payment bank guarantee in the STD format.
4. Sign the Contract Agreement within the days in the NOA.
5. Start supplying only after the security is furnished and the contract signed.

The PE verifies the security directly with your bank. If your firm is a government entity, the performance security may be kept as contractual security instead of retention.

10Delivery, Inspection and Acceptance

• Pack to survive rough handling, extreme temperatures, salt, rain and open storage, considering remote destinations; follow the packing and marking rules in CC 13.2.
• Deliver by the CC 27 date, with the documents listed in CC 6.1.
• Give reasonable advance notice of each test, with place and time, and obtain third-party consent for PE inspectors to attend.
• Rectify or replace goods that fail a test, and retest, at no cost to the PE. Passing a test does not release you from the warranty.
• The TEAC starts within 24 hours of delivery. Acceptance is processed within 14 working days; if defects are found, only the accepted parts are certified until you fix the rest.

11Payment, Retention and Taxes

• All payments are in Taka.
• Advance (if agreed): the CC percentage, within the CC days of signing, on your claim.
• On delivery and acceptance: the CC percentage, within the CC days after you submit documents and the Acceptance Certificate is issued.
• Retention: 10% held until the warranty expires; released only if goods are free of patent and latent defects and all conditions are met.
• Tax changes: if a tax rate changes by law, the price is adjusted, with HOPE's approval, so your net amount is unaffected.
• Changes in law after signing that affect the delivery date or price lead to a corresponding adjustment.

12Delays, Changes and Damages

• Extensions: notify the PE in writing, with the causes and expected delay, before the original date. Justified extensions carry no LD. The PE can grant up to 30%; more needs HOPE (up to 100%) or the Secretary (beyond).
• Liquidated damages: the CC rate for each week or part of a week of delay, on the price of the delayed goods or unperformed services, up to the CC cap. At the cap, the PE may terminate.
• Change orders: the PE may change specially made goods' design, shipment or packing, quantities within the CC range, the delivery place, tests or services. Claim any price or time adjustment within 28 days.
• Extra services not in the contract are agreed in advance and may not exceed your prevailing rates to others.
• Force majeure: notify promptly and keep performing where practical. You are not liable for LD, security forfeiture or default termination for force majeure delay.

Example: "part of a week" counts A delivery 8 days late counts as 2 weeks. At an illustrative rate of 0.5% per week on Tk. 4 lakh of delayed goods, LD is 2 × 0.5% × Tk. 4,00,000 = Tk. 4,000. Check the actual rate in your CC 29.1.

13Warranty

• Goods must be new, unused, current models with recent improvements, and free of defects in design, materials and workmanship.
• The period is set in CC 26.3; the minimum is 3 months for supplies and 1 year for equipment. The PE may use shelf-life as the warranty period.
• It starts when the PE accepts your delivery chalan, so earlier deliveries expire earlier.
• Repair or replace within the CC days of notice. If you do not, the PE can fix it at your risk and expense.

14Termination and Disputes

• Missing the delivery date (including extensions) or another obligation can lead to termination for default; you then pay the PE's extra cost of buying elsewhere.
• Corrupt, fraudulent, collusive, coercive or obstructive practice: termination after 14 days' notice, exclusion and possible debarment.
• Insolvency, once finally declared by a court, ends the contract without compensation.

• Convenience: the PE may terminate at any time; goods ready within 21 days are bought at contract prices, and you are paid an agreed amount for partly completed goods and materials.
• Liability is capped at the contract price, excluding indirect losses, but not for defective equipment repair or patent indemnity.
• Disputes: try amicable settlement, then refer to the Adjudicator within 14 days. National suppliers go to adjudication or arbitration under Bangladesh law; foreign suppliers, the Arbitration Act 2001.

15Offer Checklist

• Supplier's Offer Form signed, with correct invitation reference and the right source-of-funds clauses.
• Offer validity stated and long enough for negotiation and approval.
• Compliance form completed with origin, make, model and full specifications for every item.
• Price and Delivery Schedules in Taka, figures and words, with the PE's item numbers and a grand summary.
• Prices include taxes, duties, transport, insurance and storage to the final destination.
• Manufacturer's Authorisation attached, if required.
• Bank arranged for a 10% performance security, and an advance guarantee if needed.
• Offer sent to the right address before the deadline.

16Common Questions