The Tender Law is extremely important to any company wishing to sell its goods and services to the government as this law sets the forms of procurement that government entities are required to follow when purchasing any goods or services. Governments around the world have similar laws to ensure fairness and transparency in government purchasing by publicly requesting bids, and to ensure that the government obtains goods and services at the most optimum price through a formal evaluation process. This blog post will explore the five methods of procurement available to government entities under the Tender Law.
PUBLIC TENDER
A public tender is the default way in which government procurement is carried out. Under this process, the government announces its desire to buy a good or service and details the specifications it needs for the project. Interested companies, or tenderers, are invited to submit their bids to the government within a specific timeframe. Upon receiving the bids, the government reviews the technical and financial aspects of the bid and selects the most optimum one. A public tender has no legal restrictions on who can apply and how companies international or local can compete on the basis of whether or not the tender is designated as “international” or “local”.
LIMITED TENDER
A limited tender is very similar to a public tender, the main difference being that the companies that can compete in the tender are “limited” to those specifically invited by the government to compete. In certain sophisticated projects, the government might create a pre-qualification system where companies interested in competing are invited to register their details, and those that meet the requirements set by the government will be invited to submit a bid in the limited tender. This is usually done to ensure that the bids are of a certain quality and to reduce the burden on the government to review low-quality bids.
MUMARASAH
Mumarasah can be translated as “by practise”, but it essentially means that the government will select the supplier of a good or service through a process of negotiation with a pre-identified number of candidates. The law provides in article 50 an exhaustive list of categories of supplies in which mumarasah can be used, such as in regard to the supply of items that cannot be identified with precision or consultancy works that require specific technical knowledge.
DIRECT AWARD
Direct award is the most simple form of procurement, which is the process of awarding a contract directly to a specific supplier. Government entities are allowed to directly award contracts for projects with a value not exceeding 10,000 Rial Omani, which can be increased up to 25,000 Rial Omani with the approval of the head of the government unit. Outside this limit, a government entity can award a contract to a private company only through a direct award by the Tender Board in special cases.
COMPETITION
Competition is a procurement method of contracting for the purpose of conducting studies, designs, or other artworks necessary for a specific project. Under this process, a government entity sets the objectives, scope, and specifications of the project and the prizes that are given to the winners of the competition. This form is usually used for creative and visual works, such as the design of logos and architectural buildings.
CONCLUSION
If you are in the business of supplying goods and services to the government, it is extremely important for you to familiarise yourself with the provisions of the Tender Law. You can read the full text of the law on the following link:
