Canceling and reissuing a solicitation

Cancelling and reissuing a solicitation is a step a federal buyer takes when an open competition can no longer proceed as posted. The buyer ends the existing solicitation before awarding a contract, standing offer or supply arrangement, then publishes a new solicitation for the requirement. The new solicitation replaces the old one.

CanadaBuys, the federal government's procurement portal, sets out when buyers may do this and how they must do it. The practice applies to competitive solicitations for goods, services, construction and defence-related requirements. It is closely related to terms such as reissue of solicitation of offers, notice of proposed procurement (NPP) and limited tendering. The buyer's guidance requires the procurement file to document the rationale, and it stresses fair treatment, approvals and transparency (CanadaBuys buyer's guide).

Circumstances that support cancelling and reissuing

CanadaBuys says a buyer may cancel and reissue before issuing a contract, standing offer or supply arrangement when the requirement has changed significantly or the offer-acceptance period has expired. It also identifies three response-related situations: no compliant offers were received, no offer represents fair value, or no offers were received in a competitive solicitation. Where no compliant offers are received, the buyer must cancel the competitive solicitation (When to cancel or reissue a solicitation).

Federal bid documents also build in the right to do this. The cited federal standard instructions authorize Canada to cancel a bid solicitation at any time and reissue it. If no responsive bids are received and the requirement is not substantially modified, Canada may invite only the previous bidders to resubmit (standard instructions for goods or services, competitive requirements).

Notice and clause requirements for a reissued solicitation

When a solicitation is cancelled and reissued, CanadaBuys says a new NPP must be posted (Modifying a solicitation). For a reissued solicitation subject to trade agreements, the buyer should publish a new NPP. A reissued solicitation must also include a clause about the reissuance at the beginning of the reissued solicitation and NPP documents.

There is a narrow exception. If no compliant offers were received, the requirement has not changed significantly, and the buyer invites only the firms that bid originally, a new NPP may not be required. The guidance still recommends reposting for openness and transparency (How to reissue a solicitation).

Cancelling versus extending or negotiating

Cancelling and reissuing is one of several options open to a buyer. If an amendment leaves too little time for potential offerors to review and respond, the buyer may extend the solicitation period or cancel and reissue it. Either way, the buyer must allow sufficient time for businesses to respond appropriately.

Where at least two compliant offers are received but none represents fair value, the buyer may negotiate with all compliant offerors or cancel and reissue the solicitation, subject to applicable trade-agreement rules (When to negotiate).

Examples from federal departments

• The Canada Revenue Agency revised and reissued an Invitation to Qualify after the first produced no compliant responses. The second ITQ cancelled and superseded the first (CRA fairness monitor report).
• A CanadaBuys tender notice states that the replacement solicitation cancelled and superseded the previous one. It offered debriefing or feedback to businesses that had bid previously (CanadaBuys tender notice).

What it means for a supplier

Treat the reissued solicitation as the governing procurement. Read the new documents and any amendments, follow the new closing date and submission instructions, and resubmit a bid if you want to compete. A prior bid does not carry forward automatically unless the reissued documents expressly provide for that. Where feedback is offered to earlier bidders, request it, since it can show why the first round failed. Watch CanadaBuys for the new NPP, because a reissue is posted as a fresh opportunity.