Request for proposals is one of the most popular procurement options under Federal Law No. 223, together with a request for quotations. A feature of this competitive procurement is its openness and unlimited number of participants. The essence of the request is the evaluation of applications that come from different participants, according to various criteria, as well as non-price and price parameters.
Commercial offer
The request for proposals under 223- is a procurement form, which some people confuse with the request for proposals of a commercial type, carried out in the process of monitoring the current market by the customer.
In the second case, the applicant determines the initial maximum price, which will subsequently be reflected in the procurement-type documentation. According to the rules of the request for proposals under 223-, the customer is not entitled to independently increase the declared price.
When determining the upper limit of the amount, customers use different methods. Most often, the parties to transactions use the technique of market comparable prices. The essence of this method is that the buyer finds out prices from several sellers of the necessary goods or services. After analysis, a weighted average value is calculated or the highest bid is set.
It should be remembered that the mere presentation of a price list for goods or services is not yet an offer and does not oblige the participant to immediately conclude an agreement on the conditions that were offered to him. This is due to the fact that the purpose of the analysis procedure is to select the most favorable conditions for the implementation of the contract for the customer within the framework of the application received.
Request for Proposals
In the process of filling out the request for proposals (according to the Federal Law No. 223) as a procurement form, by submitting an application, the participant confirms his willingness to conclude a deal in the future. If in the future he refuses to conclude an agreement or avoids this in every possible way, he will be entered into a special register where all unscrupulous suppliers are recorded.
In the future, being in this group may negatively affect the desire of other customers to conclude agreements with such a seller. This is due to the fact that before entering into transactions, the parties carefully study their counterparties to determine more profitable and reliable partners.
The legislative framework
The main regulatory legal act governing the procurement of services and goods by the customer, as well as the process of conducting the request for proposals, is 223-FZ of July 18, 2011. Each customer organization should, on the basis of this document, develop a Procurement Regulation that is relevant for this legal entity.
According to the Federal Law No. 223, the general rules for the request for proposals determine that the customer must prescribe what procedures he uses in the process of selecting suppliers who provide the services and goods he needs.
The Regulation also prescribes the conditions for selecting a request for proposals. According to the law, there are three procurement options:
- contest;
- auction;
- request for various offers.
The latter method is not basic, unlike the first two. Legislative norms establish the right of the customer to use the comparative method at prices. After the method of determining the supplier is selected, it must be fixed in the procurement plan.
Like the Provision on procurement, the plan should be drawn up taking into account all the requirements of Federal Law No. 223 and Resolution No. 908, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, which reflects the rules for posting information on procurement in the Unified Information System.
When placing information, it is important to indicate in the corresponding column of the procurement plan (procurement method) the option of the procurement procedure: auction, tender or request for proposals.
Benefits of various offers
Conducting the request for proposals procedure (in accordance with 223-) in closed or open form is the most preferable option for procurement for the following reasons:
- It differs from bidding, and therefore is not regulated by Articles 447-449 in the Civil Code. Thus, the customer is not required to sign a contract with the supplier, which proposed the most favorable conditions, becoming the winner in the request for proposals on the results of the purchase.
- The customer has the right to establish regulations for the procurement procedure in the Regulation.
- The customer has the right to refuse to make a purchase at any time. At the same time, there is no obligation on him to pay compensation to the procurement participants (for example, to reimburse postal expenses for sending proposals).
- By conducting a request for an arrangement, the customer can quickly select for himself the most suitable supplier due to the fact that he himself determines the period for submitting written applications.
Procedure Algorithm
When participating in a tender on an electronic trading platform, according to 223-, it is very important that the Procurement Regulation from one or another customer is posted there. In this document, the entire algorithm for the implementation of the procedure for familiarizing with the proposals of suppliers, as well as the requirements for the procurement, should be recorded.
The following points are reflected in the Regulation:
- filing written applications;
- proposal form;
- requirements for applications;
- rejection of the purchase;
- securing applications;
- the procedure for accepting proposals from suppliers;
- criteria for evaluating and determining the winner;
- the consequences of making a purchase as failed;
- deadlines for concluding a deal with the winner;
- other conditions.
In the process of preparing the Procurement Regulation and the rules for conducting the request for proposals, according to the Federal Law No. 223, in open or closed form, the customer is obliged to remember that in addition to the requirements of the specified regulatory legal act, he must also comply with the rules of Federal Law No. 135 in the field of antitrust policy.
When choosing as an option the request for proposals in an open form, the customer independently determines the selection criteria for participants. An open request is considered to be the most convenient option in cases where the customer is not only interested in the price criteria offered by the supplier.
The main requirement for procurement in the form of a request is meeting deadlines. The customer is given only twenty days to post a notice on the site about the desire to conclude an agreement before signing it with the selected supplier.
Most often, the request for proposals is used in cases where the initial contract price does not exceed ten million rubles. In addition, this method is especially popular with customers who want to be able to refuse to make purchases without encumbrance at any time.
When choosing a method for implementing a procurement measure, customers should be guided by the recommendations of the Federal Antimonopoly Service published on the website. FAS experts indicate that this option of concluding transactions is most relevant when purchasing goods for urgent and urgent needs, if the initial price of the contract is small.
Varieties
According to the Federal Law No. 223, when conducting a request for proposals, you can cover an unlimited number of suppliers. In this case, this form of procurement will be considered open and accessible to all comers.
Individuals and legal entities, as well as individual entrepreneurs who meet the requirements specified in the procurement documentation, can take part in open procurement.
The requirements for suppliers include the following conditions:
- Availability of a license, if required by law, or another option to meet customer requirements.
- The organization should not be at the liquidation stage.
- Supplier activity should not be suspended under the rules of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.
- The seller must not be in the registry of unscrupulous suppliers.
If purchases are conducted in the form of a closed request, therefore, suppliers are invited in a separate order. At the same time, data on the ongoing procurement are not posted in the Unified Information System.
Only suppliers who have passed prequalification qualification can participate in closed requests. Most often, this option for concluding transactions is used if the customer needs to purchase a product that is unique or technically complex.
Recently, the most frequent option for procurement is the request for proposals in electronic form. Federal Law No. 223 provides such an opportunity. In addition, in the near future this will be the only form of selection of a supplier for concluding a contract. And the written version will be canceled, according to the provisions of Federal Law No. 503.
Requests for proposals in the paperless version are carried out by holding a tender on an electronic trading platform. 223- determines that the list of sites may not be limited to a specific list, as is the case with purchases under Federal Law No. 44.
Conducting electronic procurement is more convenient for the customer due to the fact that it allows you to automate the entire procedure for selecting a counterparty and concluding a transaction.
Implementation procedure
Direct procurement mechanisms and stages of conducting inquiries are not spelled out in Federal Law No. 223 and other regulatory legal acts. Each customer independently sets the rules for concluding a contract, which is enshrined in the third part of the third article of the law in question.
There are six mandatory steps to an inquiry procedure:
- The first stage is the development of conditions for the acquisition of services and goods, as well as the basic requirements for suppliers.
- The second stage is the preparation of procurement documentation, the placement of a notice about the possibility of concluding an agreement in the Unified Information System. It also fixes the deadlines for sending applications, requirements for the seller and the supplied goods (service), the terms of the contract and other important points. The legislation allows for the possibility of sending additional messages to customers with clarifications of these requirements if some points are not clear. In this case, the customer must respond to all persons in writing. At the same stage, you can make changes to the notice, which are immediately published in the UIS.
- Reception and verification of applications received from suppliers. Evaluate submitted proposals can only be based on those criteria that are indicated in the procurement requirements placed by the customer. This is fixed in the sixth part of the third article of the law in question.
- Winner selection. The supplier is determined by the criterion of optimality of the terms of the contract. If two applicants with the same indicators are identified, the one who submitted the application wins.
- Publication of the request for proposals protocol (this is regulated by 223-FZ) in the Unified Information System.
- Conclusion of a contract with the winner.
Documentation
According to the Federal Law No. 223, the documentation for the request for proposals includes the following papers drawn up by the customer:
- Procurement Planning Notice.
- Documentation on the subject of the contract.
- Draft contract.
The procurement documentation should indicate all the requirements for the design, content and composition of applications from potential suppliers. Counterparties must submit the following documents to the customer:
- applicant's profile: name, details (TIN, OKPO, KPP, bank account number), date of registration, etc.
- copy of the charter;
- extract from the relevant registry;
- a decision on the completion or approval of a transaction in a large amount;
- power of attorney for the representative of the applicant;
- information on consumer and functional characteristics of the service and goods, conditions for fulfilling the terms of the contract, etc.
- paper confirming the fact of making a deposit.
Dates
According to 223-FZ, the request for commercial offers, along with the remaining steps of the procedure for accepting applications from suppliers, must be completed within twenty days. There is no specific time frame for submitting proposals in the legislation.
In practice, this period is from five to ten days from the date of publication of procurement information in the UIS. The stage of signing the contract also does not exceed a ten-day period. As a result, the whole procedure fits into a twenty-day framework.
Grounds for canceling a request for proposals
Federal Law No. 223 regulates this issue. The customer has the right at any time before choosing a winner to cancel the application for the conclusion of the transaction. At the same time, he should immediately put this information in the EIS and adjust the schedule for this purchase.
The list of reasons for cancellation is fixed in the Regulation of the customer. In addition, the cancellation may be carried out by the Federal Antimonopoly Service if the purchase does not meet the requirements of legislative norms.
Request for proposals is the best option for those who want to buy a specific product or service in a short time, without being liable for canceling the application at the last moment.