2. Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) its procuring entities make efforts to minimise differences in their qualification procedures; and
(b) if its procuring entities maintain registration systems, the entities make efforts to minimise differences in their registration systems.
3. A Party, including its procuring entities, shall not adopt or apply a registration system or qualification procedure with the purpose or the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to the participation of suppliers of the other Party in its procurement.
Selective Tendering
4. If a procuring entity intends to use selective tendering, the entity shall:
(a) include in the notice of intended procurement at least the information specified in Article 19.6.3 (a), (b), (f), (g), (j), (k) and (l) and invite suppliers to submit a request for participation; and
(b) provide, by the commencement of the time-period for tendering, at least the information in Article 19.6.3 (c), (d), (e), (h) and (i) to the qualified suppliers that it notifies as specified in Article 19.10.3(b).
5. A procuring entity shall allow all qualified suppliers to participate in a particular procurement, unless the procuring entity states in the notice of intended procurement any limitation on the number of suppliers that will be permitted to tender and the criteria for selecting the limited number of suppliers.
6. If the tender documentation is not made publicly available from the date of publication of the notice referred to in paragraph 4, a procuring entity shall ensure that those documents are made available at the same time to all the qualified suppliers selected in accordance with paragraph 5.
Multi-Use Lists
7. A procuring entity may maintain a multi-use list of suppliers, provided that a notice inviting interested suppliers to apply for inclusion on the list is:
(a) published annually; and
(b) if published by electronic means, made available continuously,
in the appropriate medium listed in Annex 19-8.
8. The notice provided for in paragraph 7 shall include:
(a) a description of the goods or services, or categories thereof, for which the list may be used;
(b) the conditions for participation to be satisfied by suppliers for inclusion on the list and the methods that the procuring entity will use to verify that a supplier satisfies the conditions;
(c) the name and address of the procuring entity and other information necessary to contact the entity and obtain all relevant documents relating to the list;
(d) the period of validity of the list and the means for its renewal or termination, or if the period of validity is not provided, an indication of the method by which notice will be given of the termination of use of the list; and
(e) an indication that the list may be used for procurement covered by this Chapter.
9. Notwithstanding paragraph 7, if a multi-use list will be valid for three years or less, a procuring entity may publish the notice referred to in paragraph 7 only once, at the beginning of the period of validity of the list, provided that the notice:
(a) states the period of validity and that further notices will not be published; and
(b) is published by electronic means and is made available continuously during the period of its validity.
10. A procuring entity shall allow suppliers to apply at any time for inclusion on a multi-use list and shall include on the list all qualified suppliers within a reasonably short time.
11. If a supplier that is not included on a multi-use list submits a request for participation in a procurement based on a multi-use list and all required documents, within the time-period provided for in Article 19.10.2, a procuring entity shall examine the request. The procuring entity shall not exclude the supplier from consideration in respect of the procurement on the grounds that the entity has insufficient time to examine the request, unless, in exceptional cases, due to the complexity of the procurement, the entity is not able to complete the examination of the request within the time-period allowed for the submission of tenders.
Procuring Entities of Annex 19-2 and Annex 19-3
12. A procuring entity covered under Annexes 19-2 or 19-3 may use a notice inviting suppliers to apply for inclusion on a multi-use list as a notice of intended procurement, provided that:
(a) the notice is published in accordance with paragraph 7 and includes the information required under paragraph 8, as much of the information required under Article 19.6.3 as is available and a statement that it constitutes a notice of intended procurement or that only the suppliers on the multi-use list will receive further notices of procurement covered by the multi-use list; and
(b) the entity promptly provides to suppliers that have expressed an interest in a given procurement to the entity, sufficient information to permit them to assess their interest in the procurement, including all remaining information required in Article 19.6.3, to the extent such information is available.
13. A procuring entity covered under Annexes 19-2 or 19-3 may allow a supplier that has applied for inclusion on a multi-use list in accordance with paragraph 10 to tender in a given procurement, if there is sufficient time for the procuring entity to examine whether the supplier satisfies the conditions for participation.
Information on Procuring Entity Decisions
14. A procuring entity shall promptly inform any supplier that submits a request for participation in a procurement or application for inclusion on a multi-use list of the procuring entity's decision with respect to the request or application.
15. Ifa procuring entity rejects a supplier's request for participation in a procurement or application for inclusion on a multi-use list, ceases to recognise a supplier as qualified, or removes a supplier from a multi-use list, the entity shall promptly inform the supplier and, on request of the supplier, promptly provide the supplier with a written explanation of the reasons for its decision.
Article 19.9. Technical Specifications and Tender Documentation
Technical Specifications
1. A procuring entity shall not prepare, adopt or apply any technical specification or prescribe any conformity assessment procedure with the purpose or the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
2. In prescribing the technical specifications for the goods or services being procured, a procuring entity shall, if appropriate:
(a) set out the technical specification in terms of performance and functional requirements, rather than design or descriptive characteristics; and
(b) base the technical specification on international standards, if they exist; otherwise, on national technical regulations, recognised national standards or building codes.
3. If design or descriptive characteristics are used in the technical specifications, a procuring entity should indicate, if appropriate, that it will consider tenders of equivalent goods or services that demonstrably fulfil the requirements of the procurement by including words such as "or equivalent" in the tender documentation.
4. A procuring entity shall not prescribe technical specifications that require or refer to a particular trademark or trade name, patent, copyright, design, type, specific origin, producer or supplier, unless there is no other sufficiently precise or intelligible way of describing the procurement requirements and provided that, in such cases, the entity includes words such as "or equivalent" in the tender documentation.
5. A procuring entity shall not seek or accept, in a manner that would have the effect of precluding competition, advice that may be used in the preparation or adoption of any technical specification for a specific procurement from a person that may have a commercial interest in the procurement.
6. For greater certainty, a Party, including its procuring entities, may prepare, adopt or apply technical specifications to promote the conservation of natural resources or protect the environment, provided that it does so in accordance with this Article.
Tender Documentation
7. A procuring entity shall make available to suppliers tender documentation that includes all information necessary to permit suppliers to prepare and submit responsive tenders. Unless already provided in the notice of intended procurement, such documentation shall include a complete description of:
(a) the procurement, including the nature and the quantity of the goods or services to be procured or, if the quantity is not known, the estimated quantity and any requirements to be fulfilled, including any technical specifications, conformity assessment certification, plans, drawings or instructional materials;
(b) any conditions for participation of suppliers, including a list of information and documents that suppliers are required to submit in connection with the conditions for participation;
(c) all evaluation criteria the entity will apply in the awarding of the contract, and, unless price is the sole criterion, the relative importance of that criteria;
(d) if the procuring entity will conduct the procurement by electronic means, any authentication and encryption requirements or other requirements related to the submission of information by electronic means;
(e) if the procuring entity will hold an electronic auction, the rules, including identification of the elements of the tender related to the evaluation criteria, on which the auction will be conducted;
(f) if there will be a public opening of tenders, the date, time and place for the opening and, if appropriate, the persons authorised to be present;
(g) any other terms or conditions, including terms of payment and any limitation on the means by which tenders may be submitted, such as whether on paper or by electronic means; and
(h) any dates for the delivery of goods or the supply of services.
8. In establishing any date for the delivery of goods or the supply of services being procured, a procuring entity shall take into account such factors as the complexity of the procurement, the extent of subcontracting anticipated and the realistic time required for production, de-stocking and transport of goods from the point of supply or for supply of services.
9. The evaluation criteria set out in the notice of intended procurement or tender documentation may include, among others, price and other cost factors, quality, technical merit, environmental characteristics and terms of delivery.
10. A procuring entity shall promptly:
(a) make available tender documentation to ensure that interested suppliers have sufficient time to submit responsive tenders;
(b) provide, on request, the tender documentation to any interested supplier; and
(c) reply to any reasonable request for relevant information by any interested or participating supplier, provided that such information does not give that supplier an advantage over other suppliers.
Modifications
11. If, prior to the award of a contract, a procuring entity modifies the criteria or requirements set out in the notice of intended procurement or tender documentation provided to participating suppliers, or amends or reissues a notice or tender documentation, it shall transmit in writing all such modifications or amended or re-issued notice or tender documentation:
(a) to all suppliers that are participating at the time of the modification, amendment or re-issuance, if such suppliers are known to the entity, and in all other cases, in the same manner as the original information was made available; and
(b) in adequate time to allow such suppliers to modify and re-submit amended tenders, as appropriate.
Article 19.10. Time-periods
General
1. A procuring entity shall, consistent with its own reasonable needs, provide sufficient time for suppliers to prepare and submit requests for participation and responsive tenders, taking into account such factors as:
(a) the nature and complexity of the procurement; (b) the extent of subcontracting anticipated; and
(c) the time necessary for transmitting tenders by non-electronic means from foreign as well as domestic points if electronic means are not used.
These time-periods, including any extension of the time-periods, shall be the same for all interested or participating suppliers.
Deadlines
2. A procuring entity that uses selective tendering shall establish that the final date for the submission of requests for participation shall not, in principle, be less than 25 days from the date of publication of the notice of intended procurement. If a state of urgency duly substantiated by the procuring entity renders this time-period impracticable, the time-period may be reduced to not less than 10 days.
3. Except as provided for in paragraphs 4, 5, 7 and 8, a procuring entity shall establish that the final date for the submission of tenders shall not be less than 40 days from the date on which:
(a) in the case of open tendering, the notice of intended procurement is published; or
(b) in the case of selective tendering, the entity notifies suppliers that they will be invited to submit tenders, whether or not it uses a multi-use list.
4. A procuring entity may reduce the time-period for tendering established in accordance with paragraph 3 to not less than 10 days if:
(a) the procuring entity has published a notice of planned procurement as described in Article 19.6.5 at least 40 days and not more than 12 months in advance of the publication of the notice of intended procurement, and the notice of planned procurement contains:
(i) a description of the procurement;
(i) the approximate final dates for the submission of tenders or requests for participation;
(iii) a statement that interested suppliers should express their interest in the procurement to the procuring entity;
(iv) the address from which documents relating to the procurement may be obtained; and
(v) as much of the information that is required for the notice of intended procurement under Article 19.6.3, as is available;
(b) the procuring entity, for contracts of a recurring nature, indicates in an initial notice of intended procurement that subsequent notices will provide time-periods for tendering based on this paragraph; or
(c) a state of urgency duly substantiated by the procuring entity renders the time-period for tendering established in accordance with paragraph 3 impracticable.
5. A procuring entity may reduce the time-period for tendering established in accordance with paragraph 3 by five days for each one of the following circumstances:
(a) the notice of intended procurement is published by electronic means;
(b) all the tender documentation is made available by electronic means from the date of the publication of the notice of intended procurement; and
(c) the entity accepts tenders by electronic means.
6. The use of paragraph 5, in conjunction with paragraph 4, shall in no case result in the reduction of the time-period for tendering established in accordance with paragraph 3 to less than 10 days from the date on which the notice of intended procurement is published.
7. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Article, if a procuring entity purchases commercial goods or services, or any combination thereof, it may reduce the time-period for tendering established in accordance with paragraph 3 to not less than 13 days, provided that it publishes by electronic means, at the same time, both the notice of intended procurement and the tender documentation. In addition, if the entity accepts tenders for commercial goods or services by electronic means, it may reduce the time-period established in accordance with paragraph 3 to not less than 10 days.
8. If a procuring entity covered under Annexes 19-2 or 19-3 has selected all or a limited number of qualified suppliers, the time-period for tendering may be fixed by mutual agreement between the procuring entity and the selected suppliers. In the absence of agreement, the period shall not be less than 10 days.
Article 19.11. Negotiation
1. A Party may provide for its procuring entities to conduct negotiations with suppliers:
(a) if the entity has indicated its intent to conduct negotiations in the notice of intended procurement required under Article 19.6.3; or
(b) if it appears from the evaluation that no tender is obviously the most advantageous in terms of the specific evaluation criteria set out in the notice of intended procurement or tender documentation.
2. A procuring entity shall:
(a) ensure that any elimination of suppliers participating in negotiations is carried out in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in the notice of intended procurement or tender documentation; and
(b) if negotiations are concluded, provide a common deadline for the remaining participating suppliers to submit any new or revised tenders.
Article 19.12. Limited Tendering
1. Provided that it does not use this provision for the purpose of avoiding competition among suppliers or in a manner that discriminates against suppliers of the other Party or protects domestic suppliers, a procuring entity may use limited tendering and may choose not to apply Articles 19.6 through 19.8, paragraphs 7 through 11 of Article 19.9, and Articles 19.10, 19.11, 19.13 and 19.14 under any of the following circumstances:
(a) if:
(i) no tenders were submitted or no suppliers requested participation;
(ii) no tenders that conform to the essential requirements of the tender documentation were submitted;
(iii) no suppliers satisfied the conditions for participation; or
(iv) the tenders submitted have been collusive, provided that the requirements of the tender documentation are not substantially modified;
(b) if the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute goods or services exist for any of the following reasons:
(i) the requirement is for a work of art;
(ii) the protection of patents, copyrights or other exclusive rights; or
(iii) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
(c) for additional deliveries by the original supplier of goods or services that were not included in the initial procurement if a change of supplier for such additional goods or services:
(i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, software, services or installations procured under the initial procurement; and
(ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the procuring entity;
(d) only when strictly necessary if, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the procuring entity, the goods or services could not be obtained in time using open tendering or selective tendering;
(e) for goods purchased on a commodity market;
(f) if a procuring entity procures a prototype or a first good or service that is developed at its request in the course of, and for, a particular contract for research, experiment, study or original development. Original development of a first good or service may include limited production or supply in order to incorporate the results of field testing and to demonstrate that the good or service is suitable for production or supply in quantity to acceptable quality standards, but does not include quantity production or supply to establish commercial viability or to recover research and development costs;
(g) for purchases made under exceptionally advantageous conditions that only arise in the very short term in the case of unusual disposals such as those arising from liquidation, receivership or bankruptcy, but not for routine purchases from regular suppliers; or
(h) if a contract is awarded to a winner of a design contest provided that:
(i) the contest has been organised in a manner that is consistent with the principles of this Chapter, in particular relating to the publication of a notice of intended procurement; and
(ii) the participants are judged by an independent jury with a view to a design contract being awarded to a winner.
2. A procuring entity shall prepare a report in writing on each contract awarded under paragraph 1. The report shall include the name of the procuring entity, the value and kind of goods or services procured and a statement indicating the circumstances and conditions described in paragraph 1 that justified the use of limited tendering.
Article 19.13. Electronic Auctions
If a procuring entity intends to conduct a covered procurement using an electronic auction, the entity shall provide each participant, before commencing the electronic auction, with:
(a) the automatic evaluation method, including the mathematical formula, that is based on the evaluation criteria set out in the tender documentation and that will be used in the automatic ranking or re-ranking during the auction;
(b) the results of any initial evaluation of the elements of its tender if the contract is to be awarded on the basis of the most advantageous tender; and
(c) any other relevant information relating to the conduct of the auction.
Article 19.14. Treatment of Tenders and Awarding of Contracts
Treatment of Tenders
1. A procuring entity shall receive, open and treat all tenders under procedures that guarantee the fairness and impartiality of the procurement process, and the confidentiality of tenders.
2. A procuring entity shall not penalise any supplier whose tender is received after the time specified for receiving tenders if the delay is due solely to mishandling on the part of the procuring entity.
3. If a procuring entity provides a supplier with an opportunity to correct unintentional errors of form between the opening of tenders and the awarding of the contract, the procuring entity shall provide the same opportunity to all participating suppliers.
Awarding of Contracts
4. To be considered for an award, a tender shall be submitted in writing and shall, at the time of opening, comply with the essential requirements set out in the notices and tender documentation and be from a supplier that satisfies the conditions for participation.
5. Unless a procuring entity determines that it is not in the public interest to award a contract, the entity shall award the contract to the supplier that the entity has determined to be capable of fulfilling the terms of the contract and that, based solely on the evaluation criteria specified in the notices and tender documentation, has submitted:
(a) the most advantageous tender; or
(b) if price is the sole criterion, the lowest price.
6. If a procuring entity receives a tender with a price that is abnormally lower than the prices in other tenders submitted, it may verify with the supplier that it satisfies the conditions for participation and is capable of fulfilling the terms of the contract.
7. A procuring entity shall not use options, cancel a procurement or modify awarded contracts in a manner that circumvents the obligations under this Chapter.
Article 19.15. Transparency of Procurement Information
Information Provided to Suppliers
1. A procuring entity shall promptly inform participating suppliers of the entity's contract award decisions and, on the request of a supplier, shall do so in writing. Subject to Articles 19.6.2 and 19.6.3, a procuring entity shall, on request, provide an unsuccessful supplier with an explanation of the reasons why the entity did not select its tender and the relative advantages of the successful supplier's tender.
Publication of Award Information
2. Not later than 72 days after the award of each contract covered by this Chapter, a procuring entity shall publish a notice in the appropriate paper or electronic medium listed in Annex 19-8. If the entity publishes the notice only in an electronic medium, the information shall remain readily accessible for a reasonable period of time. The notice shall include at least the following information:
(a) a description of the goods or services procured;
(b) the name and address of the procuring entity;
(c) the name and address of the successful supplier;
(d) the value of the successful tender or the highest and lowest offers taken into account in the award of the contract;
(e) the date of award; and
(f) the type of procurement method used, and in cases where limited tendering was used in accordance with Article 19.12, a description of the circumstances justifying the use of limited tendering.
Maintenance of Documentation, Reports and Electronic Traceability
3. Each procuring entity shall, for a period of at least three years from the date it awards a contract, maintain: