Common use of Responsiveness of Bids Clause in Contracts

Responsiveness of Bids. The Procuring Entity’s determination of a bid’s responsiveness is to be based on the contents of the bid itself. A substantially responsive Bid is one that conforms to all the terms, conditions, and specifications of the Bidding Documents without material deviation, reservation, or omission. A material deviation, reservation, or omission is one that: affects in any substantial way the scope, quality, or performance of the Goods and Related Services specified in the Contract; or limits in any substantial way, inconsistent with the Bidding Documents, the Procuring Entity’s rights or the Bidder’s obligations under the Contract; or if rectified would unfairly affect the competitive position of other bidders presenting substantially responsive bids. If a bid is not substantially responsive to the Bidding Documents, it shall be rejected by the Procuring Entity and may not subsequently be made responsive by the Bidder by correction of the material deviation, reservation, or omission. Non-conformities, Errors, and Omissions Provided that a Bid is substantially responsive, the Procuring Entity may waive any non-conformities or omissions in the Bid that do not constitute a material deviation. Provided that a bid is substantially responsive, the Procuring Entity may request that the Bidder submit the necessary information or documentation, within a reasonable period of time, to rectify nonmaterial nonconformities or omissions in the bid related to documentation requirements. Such omission shall not be related to any aspect of the price of the Bid. Failure of the Bidder to comply with the request may result in the rejection of its Bid. Provided that the Bid is substantially responsive, the Procuring Entity shall correct arithmetical errors on the following basis: if there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the line item total that is obtained by multiplying the unit price by the quantity, the unit price shall prevail and the line item total shall be corrected, unless in the opinion of the Procuring Entity there is an obvious misplacement of the decimal point in the unit price, in which case the line item total as quoted shall govern and the unit price shall be corrected; if there is an error in a total corresponding to the addition or subtraction of subtotals, the subtotals shall prevail and the total shall be corrected; and if there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the amount in words shall prevail, unless the amount expressed in words is related to an arithmetic error, in which case the amount in figures shall prevail subject to (a) and (b) above. If the Bidder that submitted the best-evaluated Bid does not accept the correction of errors, its Bid shall be disqualified and its Bid Security may be forfeited or its Bid-Securing Declaration executed.