Authority to reject a bid/offer/arrangement

Authority to reject a bid, offer or arrangement is the right of a buyer to refuse a supplier's submission, in whole or in part, when the solicitation or the applicable procurement rules permit it. In Canadian federal procurement the wording usually appears as "Right to Reject" or "Authority to Reject a Bid", and it can cover bids, offers and arrangements.

A submission can be rejected because it is non-responsive, for example when it fails a mandatory requirement. It can also be rejected on grounds the solicitation names, such as conflict of interest, bankruptcy, improper conduct or a vendor-performance corrective measure. The term is used in Government of Canada solicitation templates and policy rather than as one universal NATO definition.

What the right to reject covers

The Government of Canada's Supply Manual materials distinguish the right to reject bids at the evaluation stage and state that the right also applies to offers and arrangements. The Supply Manual Annex 8.6 diagram sets this out for federal buyers.

Federal requests for proposals commonly state that Canada may reject any or all offers, negotiate with offerors, accept an offer in whole or in part, or cancel the solicitation. A Department of National Defence solicitation on CanadaBuys, such as solicitation W8476-257005, shows this wording in practice. Related terms in these documents include "Rejection of Offer", "non-responsive bid" and "Contracting Authority".

Non-responsive bids and mandatory requirements

The most common reason for rejection is failure to meet a mandatory requirement. The Treasury Board contracting policy states that a bid or proposal is non-responsive if it does not meet all mandatory requirements in the request for proposal or other solicitation documents, and that it will be rejected. The policy is published on the Treasury Board Secretariat website.

In practice, a missing certification, a missing form or a response that falls short of a stated minimum can end a submission's chance of award, however strong the rest of it is.

Conflict of interest, integrity and eligibility grounds

Federal solicitations also name grounds that have nothing to do with the technical content of the bid. These include:

• Conflict of interest and unfair advantage: the offeror, a subcontractor or their personnel helped prepare the solicitation, or had access to information that other offerors did not, or obtained or appeared to obtain an unfair advantage.
• Integrity grounds: bankruptcy, improper conduct, fraud, bribery, fraudulent misrepresentation or violations of discrimination law.
• Vendor performance: an applicable vendor-performance corrective measure that makes the supplier ineligible.

The solicitation W8476-267045-A lists several of these integrity and eligibility grounds.

The Office of the Procurement Ombud reviewed a Department of National Defence request for quotations containing a "Conflict of Interest – Right to Reject" clause. It concluded that DND should have exercised the right to reject a bid that presented an apparent conflict of interest. The Ombud's report shows the clause is meant to be applied.

Opportunity to make representations and NATO practice

Some federal clauses require the Contracting Authority to inform the offeror and give it an opportunity to make representations before rejecting an offer under specified provisions. The conflict-of-interest wording in solicitation W8476-257005 is an example. Where this step is offered, the offeror has a stated period in which to respond.

NATO bodies also hold this authority. NATO's standard bidding and contract specifications state that the Contracts Award Committee may accept or reject bids in whole or in part, as provided in the applicable specifications.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Submit a fully compliant and eligible response. Check every mandatory requirement before the closing date, because a failure is grounds for rejection. Disclose the information the solicitation asks for, and avoid any role in preparing the solicitation or any access to information that other bidders lack. If the Contracting Authority invites representations before a rejection, answer within the stated period. Read the rejection clauses in each solicitation, since the listed grounds differ from one document to the next.