Requesting Entity: AQA Global Construction Inc.

Issues Concern: Bill of Quantities; Zero and/or Dash

Details

Whether the bid would be considered responsive if there are no prices indicated in the columns for “Material” and “Labor” although “0” (zero) is indicated in the “Total” column in the Bill of Quantities.

[T]he Generic Procurement Manual (GPM) for Consulting Services expressly provides that specifying a “0” (zero) or a “-” (dash) for the required item means that the same is being offered free of charge. While the GPM for both Goods and Infrastructure Projects only indicates “0” in the evaluation of bids, it can be gleaned that the intention of the rules is to provide a standard procedure for the procurement of government projects.

Based on the foregoing, a bid that does not provide all the required items or where no price was indicated in the “Material” and “Labor” columns in the Bill of Quantities shall be considered non-responsive, and the bidder is automatically disqualified. While indicating a “0” (zero) or a “-” (dash) in the “Total” column in the Bill of Quantities means that the total items are being offered for free to the government. However, leaving the “Per Unit” column for either “Material” or “Labor” columns blank still makes the bid non-responsive, which will automatically disqualify the bidder.