TAMIL NADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITED

TOS/U1/Tender
E-TENDERING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS FOR SUBMISSION OF ONLINE BIDS IN E-TENDER

Techno-commercial bids and price bids should be submitted through the link
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app

The tender will be processed online through e-tender and e-reverse auction. The bidder shall submit
his response through bid submission to the tender in the online procurement platform at NIC’s website
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app. No other forms of bid submission are accepted. Bidders are
requested to quote their price through the online e-procurement portal/system only.

The procedures to be followed are explained below:

a) Techno-Commercial Bids are to be filled in the given formats attached. The required and
mandatory formats are available in the Tender Document in the e-portal.

b) Price Bids are to be filled in the e-portal in the relevant web pages enabled for the bidders. Price bids
will be opened before- reverse auction.

□ Bidders are requested to read these instructions and terms & conditions before submitting their online
tenders.
□ The Bidders are required to submit soft copies of their Bids electronically on the TAMILNADU
GOVERNMENT E PROCUREMENT Portal, using valid Digital Signature Certificates. The necessary
instructions were given to assist the Bidders in registering on the TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT
E PROCUREMENT Portal, prepare their Bids in accordance with the requirements and submitting
their Bids online on the TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT E PROCUREMENT Portal.
□ More useful information for submitting online Bids on the TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT
E PROCUREMENT Portal may be obtained at: https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app)

The bidding under this contract is electronic bid submission through website
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app only. Detailed guidelines for viewing bids and
submission of online bids are given on the website. The bidder’s can logon to this
website and view the invitation for Bids and can view the details of Materials
/works for which bids are invited.

1. REGISTRATION:

1.1. The bidder needs to submit bids online. However, the bidders are required to have
enrolment/registration in the website by clicking on the link “Online bidder enrolment” which is free of
charge.

1.2. As part of the enrolment process, the bidders are required to choose a unique username and
assign a password for their accounts.

1.3. Bidders are advised to register their valid email address and mobile numbers as part of the
registration process. These details would be used for any communication from the e-Portal.

1.4. Upon enrolment, the bidders are required to register their valid Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
(Class Class III Certificates with signing key usage) issued by any Certifying Authority recognized by
CCA India (e.g. Sify / nCode / eMudhra etc.), with their profile.

1.5. Only one valid DSC should be registered by a bidder. Please note that the bidders are responsible to
ensure that they do not lend their DSC to others which may lead to misuse.

1.6. Bidder then can login to the site through the secured login by entering their user ID / password and
the password of the DSC / e-Token.

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2. CONTACT PERSONS:

For queries related to registration and online bidding (NIC):

e-mail: [email protected]
Contact No.: 044 – 24461505

3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENT:
i. Operating System: Windows 7 or above, RAM – 1GB and above
ii. Internet connectivity with at least 2 Mbps speed
iii. Internet browser: IE 9 and above (or) Mozilla Firefox 3.5 up to version 49
iv. Signing type: Digital Signature (class III)
v. JRE 8.0 software to be downloaded and installed in the system.

To enable ALL active X controls and disable ‘use pop up blocker’ under Tools→Internet Options→
custom level (Please run IE settings once)

4. SEARCHING FOR TENDER DOCUMENT:

4.1. There are various search options built in the Website, to facilitate bidders to search active tenders
by several parameters. These parameters could include Tender ID, organization name, location,
date, value, etc.

4.2. Once the bidders have selected the tenders they are interested in, they may download the required
documents/tender schedules. These tenders can be moved to the respective ‘My Tenders’ folder.
This would enable the Tamil Nadu Govt. e- Procurement Portal, to intimate the bidders through
SMS / e-mail in case there is any corrigendum issued to the tender document.

4.3. The bidder should make a note of the unique Tender ID assigned to each tender, in case they want
to obtain any clarification / help from the Helpdesk.

5. PREPARATION OF BIDS:

5.1. Bidder should take into account any corrigendum published on the tender document before submitting
their bids.

5.2. Bidders are requested to go through the NIT and the tender document carefully to understand the
documents required to be submitted as part of the bid. Please note the number of covers in which the
bid documents have to be submitted, the number of documents including the names and content of
each of the document that need to be submitted. Any deviations from these may lead to rejection of the
bid.

5.3. Bidders, in advance, should get ready the bid documents to be submitted as indicated in the
tender document and generally, they can be in PDF / XLS / RAR / DWF / JPG formats. Bid
documents may be scanned with 100 dpi, which helps in reducing size of the scanned document.
Since the uploaded documents shall be downloaded for evaluation of bid, bidders are advised
to upload clear scanned copies.

5.4. The completed bid comprising scanned copy of the necessary technical and commercial documents
should be uploaded on the website along with signed and scanned copies of requisite
certificates as are mentioned in the different sections in the tender document.

6. PROCEDURE FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF BIDS:

The bidder shall submit through online the requirements under
qualification criteria, Technical Documents and Price Schedule/BOQ as per
tender. All the documents are to be signed digitally. After electronic online
bid submission, the system generates a unique bid reference number which
is time stamped. This shall be treated as acknowledgement of bid
submission.

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6.1. Bidder should login to the site well in advance for Bid submission so that they can upload the
Bid in time i.e. on or before the Bid submission time. Bidder will be responsible for any delay
due to other issues.

6.2. The Bidder has to digitally sign and upload the required Bid documents one by one as indicated in
the Bid document.

6.3. Bidder has to select the payment option as “Online” to pay the tender fee / EMD as applicable.

6.4. Bidder should prepare and submit the EMD as per the instructions specified in the Bid document.

6.5. Bidders are requested to note that they should necessarily submit their price Bids in the format
provided and no other format is acceptable. If the price Bid has been given as a standard BOQ
format with the tender document, then the same is to be downloaded and to be filled by the
Bidder. Bidders are required to download the BOQ file, open it and complete the Blue colored
(unprotected) cells with their respective financial quotes and other details (such as name of the
Bidder etc). No other cells should be changed. Once the details have been completed, the Bidder
should save it and submit it online, without changing the filename. If the BOQ file is found to be
modified by the Bidder, the Bid will be rejected.

6.6. The server time (which is displayed on the Bidders’ dash board) will be considered as the standard
time for referencing the deadlines for submission of the Bids by the Bidders, opening of Bids
etc. The Bidders should follow this time during Bid submission.

6.7. All the documents being submitted by the Bidders would be encrypted to ensure the secrecy of
the data. The data entered cannot be viewed by unauthorized persons until the time of Bid opening.
The confidentiality of the Bids is maintained using the secured Socket Layer 128 bit encryption
technology. Data storage encryption of sensitive fields is done. Any Bid document that is uploaded
to the server is subjected to symmetric encryption using a system generated symmetric key.
Further this key is subjected to asymmetric encryption using buyers/Bid openers public keys.

6.8. The uploaded Bid documents become readable only after the tender opening by the authorized
Bid openers

6.9. Upon the successful and timely submission of Bid (i.e., after Clicking “Freeze Bid Submission”
in the portal), the portal will give a successful Bid submission message & a Bid summary will be
displayed with the Bid no. and the date & time of submission of the Bid with all other relevant details.

6.10. The Bid summary has to be printed and kept as an acknowledgement of the submission of the Bid.

6.11. In all cases, Bidders should use their own ID and Password along with Digital Signature certificate at
the time of submission of their Bid.

6.12. During the entire e-tender process, the Bidders will remain completely anonymous to one another
and also to everybody else.

6.13. The e-tender floor shall remain open from the pre-announced date & time till the specified due
date & time.

6.14. The electronic Bid submitted during the e-tender process shall be legally binding on the Bidder. Any
Bid will be considered as valid only if it is submitted in the prescribed format given in the Bid
document.

6.15. It is mandatory that all the Bids are submitted with digital signature certificate otherwise the same will
not be accepted by the system.

6.16. TNPL reserves the right to cancel or reject or accept or withdraw or extend the due date for
submission of Bid as the case may be without assigning any reason thereof.

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6.17. The NIC server time shall be treated as final and binding. Bids recorded in the server before the
Bid closing time will only be treated as valid Bid. Bidders are, therefore, advised to submit their
Bids well before the closing time of e-tender. If any Bid reaches the server after the Bid closing time
as per server time, the same will not be recorded and no complaint in this regard shall be
entertained. TNPL is not responsible for any sort of delay or the difficulties faced during the
submission of Bids online by the Bidders due to local issues.

6.18. Bidders are advised to exercise caution in submitting their Bids in e-tender and e- Reverse
Auction, as the case may be, to avoid any mistake. Bids once submitted can’t be recalled.

6.19. Any order resulting from this Bidding process shall be governed by the terms and conditions
mentioned in the Bid Documents.

6.20. No deviation to the technical and commercial terms & conditions are acceptable.

6.21. TNPL may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of bids by amending the bidding
document, in which case all rights and obligations of TNPL and bidders subject to the previous
deadline shall thereafter be subject to the deadline extended.

7. LATE BID:

The Electronic bidding system would not allow any late submission of bids after due
date and time, as per server time.

8. MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS:

8.1. Bidders may modify their bids online before the deadline for submission of bids.

8.2. In case a bidder intends to modify his bid online before the deadline, the bidder need not make any
additional payment towards the cost of bid processing. For bid modification and consequential re-
submission, the bidder is not required to withdraw his bid submitted earlier. Modification and
consequential re-submission of bids is allowed any number of times. The last modified bid
submitted by the bidder within the bid submission time shall be considered as the bid. For this purpose,
modification/withdrawal by other means will not be accepted. The bidder may withdraw his bid by
uploading his request before the deadline for submission of bids, however, if the bid is withdrawn, the
re-submission of the bid is not allowed.

8.3. No bid may be modified after the deadline for submission of Bids.

9. ASSISTANCE TO BIDDERS:

9.1. Any queries relating to the tender document and the terms and conditions contained therein
should be addressed to the Tender Inviting Authority for a tender or the relevant contact person /
email ID indicated in the Notice inviting tender.

9.2. Any queries relating to the process of online bid submission or queries in general may be directed to
the 24x7 Central Public Procurement Portal Helpdesk.

It may be noted by the bidders that NIC is only a service provider for conducting the online bidding
process against this tender and shall not be a party to any contract between TNPL and the
successful bidder(s) subsequent to the bidding process.

10. SUBMISSION OF HARD COPIES OF DOCUMENTS, IF REQUIRED

The Bidders needs to submit all the documents through online submission. However, the required
documents should be submitted in Hard copies after online submission, if demanded from TNPL.

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11. E – TENDER AND E- REVERSE AUCTION

11.1. Bidder has to quote unit rates for all the items. In e-tender, price Bids received from
Technically Qualified Bidders only will be opened, electronically. Bids shall be evaluated on the basis
of the lowest evaluated total price, which shall also be considered in arriving the opening price for E
reverse auction. Technically Qualified Bidders only will be allowed to participate in the E- Reverse
auction process.

11.2. After opening of the Price Bid, the Bidders who shall become eligible to participate in the Reverse
Auction as per the conditions stated in this Document, known as the Qualified Bidders, will be
intimated about their qualification through notification on the
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app website within their secured login as well as a system
generated email. It shall be the sole responsibility of the Bidder to regularly check the
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app website and log in to see whether they have qualified
or not. TNPL will not be responsible for non-receipt of email by the Bidder and its consequences.

11.3. The Qualified Bidder will remain anonymous to other Qualified Bidders participating in the electronic
Bidding process. The Qualified Bidder will be able to see the prevailing lowest price Bid, but the
name of the current L1 Bidder at any point of time will not be displayed. The Qualified Bidder shall
have to put their price Bid below the displayed current L1 to become the L1 Bidder. The lowest
price obtained after completion of the Reverse Auction Process, shall be the Closing Price and the
bidder quoting the same will be considered as the L1 bidder.

11.4. The electronic Bidding process for E-reverse auction will have a scheduled start and close time
which will be displayed on screen. A Qualified Bidder will be able to put their price Bid after the start
of Bid time and till the close time of electronic Bidding. The current server time (IST) will also be
displayed on the screen. In the event a Bid is received during the last 10 (ten) minutes before the
scheduled close time of electronic Bidding the close time of electronic Bidding will be automatically
extended by 10 (ten) minutes from the last received Bid time to give equal opportunity to all other
Qualified Bidders. This process of auto extension will continue till there is a period of 10 (ten)
minutes during which no price Bids are received.

11.5. During the tender process for electronic Bidding the Bidder shall be required to sign their Bids with
their respective digital signature certificate (DSC) which has been used to login. Any digital
signature certificate other than the above shall not be acceptable for Bid submission by the
system.

11.6. Bidders in their own interest are advised to get themselves acquainted with the electronic Reverse
Auction process of (https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app) by getting their Authorized
Representative trained through demo electronic – Reverse Auction schedule at the link
https://demoetenders.tn.nic.in/nicgep/app.

12. ABOUT DIGITAL SIGNATURE CERTIFICATE:

12.1. A Bidder shall be required to possess a valid Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of signing type to be
able to submit its Bid and to participate in the electronic Reverse Auction on
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app website. For this purpose, Bidders shall be required to
authorize its Authorized Signatory to procure a Class III DSC of signing type from any Certifying
Authority or their authorized agencies in India.

12.2. The Bidder may note that only one user id will be mapped with a given DSC for the
Authorized Representative. DSC once mapped with a particular user id of a Bidder will normally
not be changed and therefore Bidders are advised to carefully select the DSC before forwarding
the same to NIC for mapping.

12.3. The Digital Signature Certificate will be used to digitally sign the Bids that the Bidder will submit
online.

12.4. It will be the sole responsibility of the Bidder and its respective Authorized Representative to
maintain the secrecy of the password for the Digital Signature Certificate. The Bidder and its
contact person shall be solely responsible for any misuse of the DSC and no complain /
representation in this regard shall be entertained at any stage by TNPL
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13. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR E-REVERSE AUCTION:

13.1. After completion of the online E-Reverse Auction, the lowest price shall be available for further
processing.

13.2. If no Bid or single Bid is received in the Bidding system/website within the specified time duration
of the online E-Reverse Auction then TNPL may scrap the online Reverse Auction process and may
proceed with the lowest Price Bid received through e-tendering for further processing.

13.3. Only those Bidders whose offers are found to be technically and commercially Responsive, shall be
eligible to participate in E-Reverse Auction process.

13.4. Online Reverse Auction shall be conducted by TNPL on a pre-specified date and time, while the
Bidders shall be quoting from their own offices/place of their choice. Internet connectivity shall
have to be ensured by Bidders themselves.

13.5. To ward-off contingent situation, Bidders are requested to make all the necessary
arrangements/alternatives whatever required so that they are able to circumvent such situation
and still be able to participate in the Reverse Auction successfully. Failure of power or loss of
connectivity at the premises of Bidders during the Reverse Auction cannot be the cause for not
participating in the Reverse Auction. TNPL shall not be responsible for such eventualities.

13.6. Bidders are advised to get fully trained and clear all their doubts such as refreshing of Screen,
tender value being Bid, Bidding rules etc.

13.7. Upon receipt of the system report after completion of the Online Reverse Auction Closing Price
will be considered for further processing. TNPL’s decision on award of contract shall be final and
binding on all the Bidders.

13.8. TNPL reserves the right to cancel/reschedule/extend the Reverse Auction process/tender at any time,
before ordering, without assigning any reason.

13.9. TNPL shall not have any liability to Bidders for any interruption or delay in access to the site
irrespective of the cause. In such cases, the decision of TNPL shall be binding on the Bidders.

13.10. Other terms and conditions shall be as per TNPL’s Bidding documents and other correspondences,
if any, till date.

13.11. Bidders are required to submit their acceptance to the stipulated terms and conditions before
participating in the Reverse Auction

13.12. For the Reverse Auction technically and commercially acceptable Bidders only shall be eligible
to participate.

13.13. Bidders shall ensure online submission of their ‘Bid Price’ within the Bidding Period.

13.14. Rules for Reverse Auction like event date, time, Bid decrement, extension etc. shall be as per the
business rules, enumerated above, for compliance.

13.15. If the Bidder or any of his representatives are found to be involved in Price manipulation/ cartel
formation of any kind, directly or indirectly by communicating with other Bidders, action as per
extant TNPL guidelines shall be initiated by TNPL.

13.16. The Bidder shall not divulge either his Bids or any other exclusive details of TNPL to any other
Bidder.

13.17. Period of validity of Prices received through Reverse Auction shall be same as that of the period
of validity of Bids offered.

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13.18. Bidders may note that, although extension time is 10 minutes, there is a time lag between the
actual placing the Bid on the local computer of the Bidder and the refreshing of the data on to
the server for the visibility to the TNPL. Considering the processing time for data exchange and the
possible network congestion, Bidders must avoid the last minute hosting of the Price Bid.

13.19. Participating Bidder will agree to non-disclosure of trade information regarding the purchase,
identity of TNPL, Bid process, Bid technology, Bid documentation and Bid details.

13.20. It is brought to the attention of the Bidders that the Bid event will lead to the closing price only.

13.21. Technical and other non-commercial queries (not impacting price) can only be routed to the
TNPL contact personnel indicated in the Bidding documents.

13.22. Order finalization and post order activities would be transacted directly between Successful Bidder
and TNPL.

13.23. Order shall be placed outside the e-portal & further processing of the order shall also be outside
the system.

13.24. TNPL will not be responsible for any PC configuration/Java related issues, software/hardware
related issues, telephone line glitches and breakdown/slow speed in internet connection of PC at
Bidder’s end.

13.25. In case of any problem faced by the Bidder during Reverse Auction and for all bidding process
related queries, tenderers are requested to call helpdesk at
(https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app) Contact No.: 044 – 24461505

13.26. Bidders may note that it may not be possible to extend any help, during Reverse Auction, over
phone or in person in relation to rectification of PC/Internet/ Java related issues and Bidder may
lose the chance of participation in the Bidding.

13.27. For access to the Bidding site, the following URL is to be used:
https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app.
For user guidance, please follow the manual which is there in the website.

13.28. No queries shall be entertained while e-Reverse Auction is in progress.

13.29. In case user ID is locked, you are requested to call helpdeskat

(https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app)

13.30. The tenderers are requested to go through the General terms and Conditions of the Tender,
Terms and Conditions for e-reverse Auction and Process Compliance Statement carefully and
attach the signed Process Compliance Statement along with the Techno- Commercial Bid in
NIC’s e-procurement portal https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app. All bids shall be prepared
and submitted in accordance with the given instructions. The tenderer shall examine all
instructions, forms, terms and conditions detailed in the specification and Annexure and submit
the rates and other particulars called for in this specification, as per the instructions and formats
enclosed herewith.

Signature Not Verified

Digitally signed by MOHAMED MUSTHAFA
SHAHUL HAMEED Page 7 of 7
Date: 2024.11.14 10:31:24 IST
Location: Tamil Nadu-TN