Limited Tendering Report

A Limited Tendering Report is the written report, or maintained record, that a procuring entity must prepare for every contract it awards using limited tendering. It identifies the buyer, states the value and type of the goods or services procured, and explains the circumstances and conditions that justified skipping open competition. The requirement comes from Canada's trade agreements, including Chapter 13 of CUSMA.

Limited tendering is a procurement procedure used instead of open tendering when a specified exception applies. Examples include a requirement that only one supplier can meet, or a case of particular urgency. The treaty texts call the document a "report" or a "report on use of limited tendering". "Limited Tendering Report" is the shorthand buyers and suppliers use for it.

What a limited tendering report must contain

CUSMA sets out the required content. For each contract awarded under limited tendering, the procuring entity prepares a report or keeps a record that includes:

• the name of the procuring entity
• the value and kind of good or service procured
• the circumstances and conditions that justified the use of limited tendering

The third item is the core of the document. It ties the award to a recognized exception rather than to buyer preference. CUSMA states that covered procurement should use open tendering unless its qualification or limited-tendering provisions apply, so the report is the buyer's written proof that an exception was met. The full wording is in the CUSMA procurement chapter.

CUSMA, CPTPP and record retention

The CPTPP contains a materially similar requirement. It also requires that procurement records and reports relating to tendering and contract awards be retained for at least three years after contract award. The details are in the CPTPP government procurement chapter. A limited tendering report therefore has a long life. A buyer may be asked to produce it years after a contract was signed.

How limited tendering is documented in Canadian federal procurement

CanadaBuys states that limited tendering may only be used in specific circumstances. Where more than one trade agreement applies to a procurement, the buying organization must identify an appropriate limited-tendering justification under each applicable agreement. This guidance is in the Supply Manual annexes on CanadaBuys, which also covers limited-tendering reasons and the information an Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) must contain, including the explanation and justification for a non-competitive authority.

The same logic shows up in published contract data. Federal contract records on Open Government include fields such as "Limited Tendering Reason", "Solicitation Procedure" and "Trade Agreement Exceptions and Exclusions". You can see them in a National Defence contract record, and similar fields appear in records from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the National Research Council of Canada.

Other public bodies apply the same principle. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority's trade-agreement procedure permits limited tendering in specified circumstances. It states that limited tendering must not be used to avoid competition or to discriminate against suppliers protected by the applicable agreement.

What a limited tendering report means for a supplier

The report is a buyer obligation, not a supplier form. The sources establish the buyer's documentation and justification duties. They do not set a universal supplier response procedure for limited-tendering procurements.

For a bid team, the practical points are these:

• Read the stated justification in any ACAN or other limited-tendering notice. It shows which exception the buyer is relying on.
• Address the stated requirement directly, since the buyer's justification rests on it.
• Check the "Limited Tendering Reason" field in past contract records to see how buyers have justified non-competitive awards in your market.