Tender Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms you meet when bidding for government tenders: the process, the money, the documents, eligibility and the portals. Rules vary by buyer and state; the tender's own NIT always decides.

Process

NIT (Notice Inviting Tender)full guide →: The published notice that announces a tender: the work, estimated cost, EMD, tender fee, eligibility, how to bid and the key dates.
Corrigendumfull guide →: An official amendment to a published tender: a new deadline, a changed quantity or specification, a revised EMD, or an answer to bidders' queries. It binds every bidder.
L1 (Lowest bidder)full guide →: The technically qualified bidder with the lowest evaluated price. Most government works and supply contracts are awarded to L1.
Two-bid system (technical and financial bid)full guide →: Bids in two covers: a technical bid (eligibility documents and compliance) opened first, and a financial bid opened only for bidders who qualify technically.
Pre-bid meeting: A meeting before the bid deadline where bidders' questions are answered. Answers are usually published as a corrigendum.
Bid submission endfull guide →: The last date and time to upload a bid on the portal. Portals close submission at that minute; a bid half-uploaded is not received.
Bid validity: How long a bid stays open for acceptance after the deadline, often 90, 120 or 180 days. Withdrawing within it can forfeit the EMD.
Bid opening: When bids are opened on the portal, technical cover first. Bidders can usually see the opening summary online.
Reverse auction: Online price bidding after technical evaluation where qualified bidders lower their prices in rounds; common on GeM.
Open, limited and single tender: Open tender: anyone eligible may bid. Limited tender: invited firms only, for smaller values. Single tender: one supplier, when only one can supply.
Item rate and percentage rate: Item rate: the bidder quotes a rate for each BOQ item. Percentage rate: the bidder quotes one percentage above or below the estimated rates.
Letter of Acceptance (LoA) / Work order: The buyer's letter awarding the contract to the successful bidder; performance security and agreement signing follow.
Re-tender: A fresh tender for the same work after the first was cancelled, for example for too few bids or prices far above the estimate.
Defect liability period: The period after completion during which the contractor must repair defects at its own cost; security deposits are held until it ends.

Money

EMD (Earnest Money Deposit)full guide →: The bid security a bidder deposits with the bid. It is returned to unsuccessful bidders and forfeited if a bidder withdraws during bid validity or, after winning, does not sign the contract or furnish performance security.
Performance Security / Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG)full guide →: Security the winning bidder furnishes after award, usually a bank guarantee, to cover proper performance of the contract. It is returned after the contract, including any warranty or defect liability period, is complete.
Tender fee / Document cost: A non-refundable fee for the tender documents, paid online on the portal or as a draft. Often waived for MSEs in central procurement of goods and services.
Estimated cost / Put-to-tender value: The buyer's estimate of the contract's value, printed in the NIT. Eligibility thresholds (turnover, similar work) and EMD are usually set as percentages of it.
Security deposit / Retention money: A percentage deducted from each running bill of a works contract and released after the defect liability period.
Mobilisation advance: An interest-bearing advance some works contracts pay the contractor at start, against a bank guarantee, recovered from later bills.
Price variation clause: A clause that adjusts the contract price for changes in the cost of labour, materials or fuel during a long contract, by a formula the tender states.

Documents

BOQ (Bill of Quantities)full guide →: The itemised list of the work's items with units and quantities, against which bidders quote rates. On e-procurement portals it is an Excel file filled in and uploaded as the financial bid.
DSC (Digital Signature Certificate)full guide →: The Class 3 digital certificate, on a USB token, used to log in to e-procurement portals, sign bids and encrypt them.
Technical bid documents: Scanned copies uploaded in the technical cover: registration, PAN, GST, turnover and experience certificates, forms and undertakings the tender lists.
Experience / completion certificate: A certificate from a past client confirming a completed work's value and dates; used to prove similar work experience.
Solvency certificate: A bank's certificate of a bidder's financial capacity up to a stated amount; some works tenders require one.
Affidavit / Undertaking: Signed declarations a tender asks for, such as not being blacklisted or the genuineness of documents submitted.

Eligibility

MSE benefits in tendersfull guide →: Under the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises, registered MSEs get free tender documents, EMD exemption and a purchase preference in central procurement of goods and services.
Contractor registration class: Enlistment of contractors with a department (CPWD, state PWD, water resources, MES) in classes with tendering limits; many works tenders admit only contractors of a stated class.
Similar work experience: Proof of past works like the one tendered. A common rule (CPWD's) is three similar works each of at least 40% of the estimated cost, two of 50%, or one of 80%, completed in the last seven years. The tender states its own.
Average annual turnover: Turnover over the last few financial years (often three), required to be at least a stated share of the estimated cost; proved by audited accounts or a CA certificate.
Startup relaxation: DPIIT-recognised startups may be exempted from prior turnover and experience criteria in central procurement, subject to meeting quality and technical specifications.
Udyam registration: The Ministry of MSME's registration of micro, small and medium enterprises; the proof of MSE status for tender benefits.
EPF / ESI / Labour licence: Registrations manpower, security and housekeeping tenders commonly require: provident fund, employees' state insurance, and a licence under the Contract Labour Act.
Blacklisting / Debarment: A ban on a firm bidding for a buyer's tenders for a period, for reasons such as fraud or failure to perform; bidders usually declare they are not debarred.

Portals

CPPP (Central Public Procurement Portal): eprocure.gov.in / etenders.gov.in: where central ministries, departments and many PSUs publish tenders, run on NIC's GePNIC software.
GePNIC: NIC's Government eProcurement System, the software behind CPPP and most state e-procurement portals; one bidder account and DSC per portal.
GeM (Government e-Marketplace): The central government's online marketplace for goods and services, with direct purchase, bids and reverse auctions; bids are published on GeM BidPlus.
e-Procurement / e-Tender: Tendering done online: documents downloaded, bids signed with a DSC and uploaded, and bids opened on the portal.