What is Bid validity?
Bid validity is the period after bid opening during which a bidder’s offer stays open and binding, and cannot be withdrawn or changed.
What is bid validity?
Bid validity is the period for which your bid remains open for acceptance. During this time the buyer can accept your offer at the price and terms you quoted, and you cannot withdraw or change it.
The tender states the period, usually counted from the bid submission deadline or the bid opening date. Periods such as 90, 120 or 180 days are common, but the number differs by buyer and tender.
How it works
Evaluation, committee meetings and approvals take time. Bid validity gives the buyer a window to finish them and issue the award while your offer still stands.
If the process runs late, the buyer may ask bidders to extend validity. In common practice a bidder can refuse an extension without losing their EMD. Bidders who agree usually must extend their bid security too, and cannot change their price.
Withdrawing a bid during the validity period can lead to forfeiture of EMD, or suspension under a Bid Security Declaration.
Tips for bidders
- Quote prices you can hold for the full validity period, especially for items with volatile input costs
- Make sure any bank guarantee given as EMD stays valid beyond the bid validity period, by the margin the tender asks for
- Do not state a shorter validity than the tender requires; that can make your bid non-responsive
- Track extension requests and reply in writing before the deadline
Common questions
Common questions about Bid validity in government tenders.
Usually not without a penalty. Withdrawal after the deadline and within validity can lead to EMD forfeiture or suspension under a Bid Security Declaration.
You can usually accept or decline. If you accept, you normally extend your bid security as well and keep your quoted price unchanged.
It depends on the tender. Most documents state clearly whether the period runs from the submission deadline or the bid opening date.
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