e-PPS3 Physical Services Tender Preparation Guideline

01When to Use e-PPS3

Use e-PPS3 to buy a physical service where the provider manages its own staff, equipment and consumables to deliver a specified result, the contract is awarded to the lowest evaluated responsive tender, and no pre-qualification has taken place. It covers services such as ICT support, janitorial and cleaning, catering, transport, security services, surveys and data collection, courier, testing, event management, training, laundry, operation and maintenance of buildings and equipment, and hiring of office or accommodation space.

Nature

Physical Services

Method

OTM, or LTM above Tk. 50 lakh

Value

Any

Pricing

Unit rates, fixed

Qualification

Post-qualification

Award

Lowest evaluated responsive tender

Limited tendering for physical services, open only to tenderers enlisted with you, applies only where the official cost estimate exceeds Tk. 50 lakh (TDS 5.1). Below that, use OTM.

02What You Prepare

03Fill In the TDS

04Qualification Criteria

All criteria are pass/fail; failing any one makes the tender non-responsive.

• General experience: years in public-sector contracting as prime provider or subcontractor, shown by registration.
• Specific experience: at least one completed public-sector contract of similar nature and complexity, proven by completion certificates. Define "similar" in TDS 12.1(b): service type, size, complexity.
• Turnover: certified public-sector receipts by bank statement issued within 28 days before the deadline.
• Liquid asset: bank statement with 3 months' transactions, approved credit line, credit commitment letter (Form e-PPS3-7) or audited working capital.
• Key staff and equipment: as set in TDS 14.1 and 15.1, with proof of ownership, hire or lease.
• Materials and equipment must not originate from a country excluded in TDS 6.1; tenderers prove origin and conformity with brochures or data sheets.

Example: the STD's financial figures Turnover: a Tk. 3 crore, 24-month contract has an annual cash flow of Tk. 1.5 crore; with a multiplier of 0.5, ask for Tk. 75 lakh average turnover. Liquid asset: a Tk. 5 crore, 24-month contract pays about Tk. 20.8 lakh a month, so two months is about Tk. 41.7 lakh, which the STD rounds to Tk. 40 lakh.

05JV and Subcontracting

06Activity Schedule

You enter item, description, unit and quantity; tenderers enter unit rates in figures and words; e-GP computes amounts. Adapt the STD's template items:

• Rates include profit, overhead and all taxes, duties, VAT and levies as of 28 days before the deadline, and are fixed for the contract.
• An item a tenderer leaves unpriced is not paid and is deemed covered by its other rates.
• Tenderers may offer an unconditional percentage discount in the submission letter, applied equally to all items in a lot, and cross-discounts across lots.
• Keep no physical contingency where the scope is precisely defined.

07Specifications, KPIs and Appendices

• Section 7 Part A: background, purpose, areas, detailed services, days and times; daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and six-monthly activities; specific activities; equipment, consumables and finished goods with a specification table; staff requirements (capable, of good character, uniformed with ID badges, no disqualifying record, replaced if the PE finds them unsuitable).
• Output standards: e.g. tasks on time, areas clean and hazard-free, urgent response within 30 minutes, no recurrent complaints.
• KPIs: the draft suggests manpower attendance of at least 95%, timely completion, safety compliance, number of incidents or verified complaints, and a quality score from your inspections. Set targets and how each is measured.
• Monitoring: management review at least every three months, a designated officer for progress meetings, and a post-contract evaluation report shared with the provider.
• Appendices: A description of services; B payment schedule and reports; C CV format for supervisor and managers; D facilities you provide free.

08Publish, Clarify and Amend

• Publish the IFT in e-GP; tenderers pay the document fee through an e-GP member bank by the submission deadline.
• Answer clarifications through e-GP within 5 working days. An optional online pre-tender meeting needs minutes within 5 working days; non-attendance never disqualifies.
• Amend only by Addendum, circulated within 5 working days and posted where the IFT was posted. With less than one-third of the preparation time left, extend the deadline by at least 3 working days.

09Opening and Evaluation

1. e-GP opens the technical part first; prices stay encrypted until technical evaluation is complete.
2. Preliminary: all forms filled and e-signed, priced Activity Schedule, valid tender security. Any missing: rejected.
3. Technical responsiveness: no material deviation, reservation or omission affecting scope, quality, your rights or fair competition. You may let a responsive tenderer fix non-material documentation gaps, but never anything about prices or mandatory criteria.
4. Clarifications through e-GP, by the TEC Chair, giving at least 3 working days to reply.
5. Financial evaluation: no arithmetic correction in e-GP; apply unconditional discounts; ignore anything beyond the requirements.
6. SLT test on all technically responsive prices (section 10).
7. For multiple lots, find the combination with the least overall cost the tenderers can each qualify for.
8. Ties: first check for collusion (Rule 149); then prefer superior past performance with you (on-time completion, LD, terminations, complaints); then with other PEs. Never a lottery.
9. Post-qualify the lowest; if it fails, the next.
10. Negotiate technical points only: availability of equipment and management staff, delivery plan, staffing. No price negotiation.

10The SLT Test

With two or more technically responsive tenders, compute a weighted average from the official cost estimate (OCE), the recent National Public Procurement Price Index (NPPI) and the quoted prices, then reject any tender below the average minus one standard deviation.

x̄ = 0.5 × (average of quoted prices) + 0.2 × OCE + 0.3 × X_NPPI    S_d = √[Σ(x̄ − x_i)² ÷ n]    Lower limit = x̄ − S_d

• NPPI is the national average percentage deviation between estimates and awarded prices for physical services in e-GP over the 28 days up to tender opening (excluding national LTM). X_NPPI = OCE adjusted by that NPPI.
• With only one responsive tender, compare it with the OCE: more than 20% deviation makes it non-responsive.
• If prices look front-loaded or unbalanced, the TEC may recommend higher retention, up to 20% of the contract price.

Example OCE Tk. 80 lakh; NPPI gives X_NPPI = Tk. 76 lakh. Four responsive quotes: 70, 74, 78 and 58 lakh (average 70). x̄ = 35 + 16 + 22.8 = Tk. 73.8 lakh. Squared differences: 14.44, 0.04, 17.64, 249.64; sum 281.76 ÷ 4 = 70.44; S_d ≈ 8.39. Lower limit ≈ Tk. 65.41 lakh. The Tk. 58 lakh tender is rejected as SLT; Tk. 70 lakh is the lowest evaluated.

Example: one responsive tender With an OCE of Tk. 80 lakh, a lone tender at Tk. 62 lakh is 22.5% below and is non-responsive; at Tk. 66 lakh (17.5%) it may be recommended subject to post-qualification.

11Award, Securities and Signing

1. Issue the NOA within 3 working days of approval, before validity expires, with the draft contract. Publish the award within 24 hours for at least 28 days.
2. The provider gives a performance security of 5% of the contract price within 7, 10 or 14 working days, valid 28 days beyond the Intended Completion Date.
3. A government-owned enterprise gives no performance security; instead 10% is retained from its invoices.
4. Sign within 14, 21 or 28 days (all JV partners sign). Failure forfeits the tender security; go to the next tenderer.
5. Publish contract details within 3 days, with beneficial ownership above Tk. 10 lakh, for 30 days.

Contractual security = performance security + any retention, capped at 10% of the contract price (TDS 62.3) unless the TEC recommends more for unbalanced prices. Decide retention in TDS 62.1 by the risk of the service.

Example On a Tk. 70 lakh contract: performance security Tk. 3.5 lakh; with 5% retention, up to Tk. 3.5 lakh more is held from invoices, Tk. 7 lakh in total, the 10% cap.

12Payments and Administration

• Approve the provider's Program before start; services start 7–21 days after the contract is effective (PCC 13.1).
• Approve management personnel; any change needs your consent, with equal or better replacements.
• Changes to the Activity Schedule or services contrary to the specifications need your prior written approval; variations only by written agreement.
• Payment: PCC 38.1 lets you choose time-based (e.g. monthly) or milestone payments against certified satisfactory service. Invoice within 3 days of the condition; pay within 5 days; interest after 28 days' delay at the PCC rate.
• Extensions: notice within 14 days of the event; decide within 21 days; up to 30% by you, 30–100% with HOPE approval, beyond with the Secretary.
• Final payment after an approved final report and statement.
• Release of contractual security: within 7 days of the completion certificate or final acceptance, if all services are accepted, all obligations discharged, no claims pending and your property returned. You may hold it while a claim is unresolved.

13Penalties, Termination and Disputes

• Poor performance: if not corrected in time, recover the assessed cost plus the PCC 30.1 penalty (usually 15–25% of that cost).
• Suspension of payments with up to 14 days to remedy; claim on security after a notified breach lasting 14 days.
• Termination for default with 30 days' notice (14-day stoppage, failure to start, lapsed security, ignored notice to correct, corrupt practice; for the provider, unpaid certificates after 42 days); also for insolvency, convenience or 42 days of force majeure.
• Disputes: amicable, then Adjudicator (referral within 14 days, decision in 28, fees shared), then arbitration under the Arbitration Act 2001.

Example: penalty A missed monthly deep-clean is assessed at Tk. 20,000; with PCC 30.1 at 20% the provider pays Tk. 24,000.

14Points to Correct in the Draft

The November 2025 preliminary draft has gaps. Clarify them in your TDS and PCC or ask BPPA:

• Outsourcing text left in: GCC 1.1(w) defines Service Personnel, GCC 9.2 limits AIT to the "commission part", and GCC 36 and PCC 36.1 pay personnel's individual accounts. None fits e-PPS3; state in the PCC that payment goes to the provider's account.
• Arithmetic correction: ITT 45.1 says e-GP cannot correct errors, yet ITT 33.1(b), 23.6, 46.2(a) and the tender security form refer to correction.
• Payment interval: Section 7 says quarterly against the officer's certificate; PCC 38.1 allows time-based or milestone payment. Make them agree.
• Retention basis: TDS 62.1 says 5% "of the contract price" from each interim payment; read as 5% of each payment, within the 10% cap.
• ITT 22.1 cites "Form PW2A-1" (works); use e-PPS3-1. Section 7 and ITT 26.2 say "Service Specifications"; GCC 46.4, 47.1 and the Completion Certificate speak of works, construction, LD and bonus.
• Wrong cross-references: ITT 9.2–9.3 cite 8.1 (9.1); 9.7 cites 11 (10); 28.3 cites 28.2 (29.1); 36.2 cites 33.1 (36.1); 21.1(h) and 58.3 cite 5.10 for government enterprises (5.8); TDS 1.2 cites "GCC 13.1" (14.1); Form 2 cites ITT 24.1 (27.1).
• GCC 1.1(u) and 34.1 refer to Appendix E; facilities are Appendix D.
• TDS 16.2's JV table cites ITT 13.1(b) for experience and ITT 14.1(b)–(d), 15.1, 16.1, 17.5 rows that do not match the ITT. State your JV requirements plainly.
• TDS 13.1(a) prints the multiplier as "0.4 to 075"; read 0.75. TDS 21.1(f)'s AY example (FY 2025-26 → AY 2023-24) contradicts "immediate past".
• Annex formats are lettered twice as "B"; ITT 57 and 64 cite Formats C and D. Form e-PPS3-11 (Contract Amendment) is missing from the guidance list.
• ITT 5.5 requires taxes paid in "their own country", while the submission letter refers to Bangladesh.

15Publishing Checklist

• The service is not outsourced personnel; OTM chosen, or LTM with an estimate above Tk. 50 lakh.
• Similar experience defined; turnover, liquid asset, key staff and equipment set proportionately.
• JV decision (none below Tk. 50 lakh) and partner requirements stated; nominated subcontractors named or "none".
• Activity Schedule with measurable units and realistic quantities; contingency only if scope is uncertain (max 3%).
• Performance Specifications, KPIs and Appendices A–D written.
• Validity, tender security, performance security (5%), days to furnish and sign set.
• Retention decision and 10% cap stated.
• PCC complete: start days, completion date, penalty %, interest, inspection method, payment basis and account, adjudicator, arbitration place.
• Payment interval consistent in PCC 38.1, Appendix B and Section 7.

16Common Questions