Electronic bidding is a bidding activity completed in the form of data messages. In layman's terms, it means abandoning some or all of paper documents and completing bidding activities with the help of computers and the Internet.
Our country has a special definition of tendering and bidding, and tendering and bidding activities are subject to the "Tendering and Bidding Law" and its "Implementing Regulations". Regarding electronic bidding, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Commerce jointly formulated the "Electronic Bidding and Bidding Measures" and its annex "Tendering and Bidding" System Technical Specifications.
The era of electronic bidding has arrived. How should bidding agencies, as one of the main bodies of bidding activities, adjust their development direction and make a difference in the face of new things and changes in the industry? According to the relevant laws and regulations on bidding and bidding, this article further understands and explains the differences between electronic bidding procedures and traditional bidding procedures. By analyzing the advantages and problems of electronic bidding, it explains its impact on bidding agencies, and provides guidance for bidding agencies in the future. Provide some suggestions for development.
1. Differences between electronic bidding procedures and traditional bidding procedures
Article 2 of the "Electronic Bidding and Bidding Measures" stipulates that "electronic bidding activities refer to the form of data messages , all or part of the bidding transactions, public services and administrative supervision activities completed by relying on the electronic bidding system." Most of the procedures for electronic bidding activities are still the same as traditional bidding methods, but the adoption of new technical means has also caused some changes.
(1) Different provisions on whether all bidders should participate in the bid opening online on time
Since the decryption steps of the bid documents must be completed by the bidders themselves, Article 1 of the "Electronic Bidding and Bidding Measures" Article 29 states that “all bidders shall participate in the bid opening online on time.” The "Technical Specifications for Electronic Tendering and Bidding Systems" further requires that the system should provide the function for representatives participating in the bid opening to remotely handle the opening and registration of bids through the Internet.
However, Article 35 of the "Tendering and Bidding Law" stipulates that "the bid opening shall be hosted by the tenderer and all bidders shall be invited to participate." That is, in the traditional bidding procedure, it is the bidder's right whether to participate in the bid opening. Even if you do not participate, it will not affect the validity of the bid, but your absence will be deemed as automatically giving up the right to object to the bid opening process.
(2) Differences in the definitions of withdrawing bid documents and withdrawing bid documents
Article 31 of the "Electronic Tendering and Bidding Measures" stipulates the different situations and handling principles of undecrypted bid documents , that is, "If the bid documents are not decrypted due to reasons other than the bidder, the bid documents will be deemed to be withdrawn; if the bid documents are not decrypted due to reasons other than the bidder, the bid documents will be deemed to be withdrawn..."
Article 35 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tendering and Bidding Law" states that "a bidder who withdraws a submitted bid document shall notify the tenderer in writing before the deadline for bidding." "If a bidder withdraws a bid document after the deadline for bidding, the tenderer shall The bid deposit may not be returned", that is, the bid deadline is used as the basis for distinguishing between cancellation and withdrawal. In electronic bidding activities, the basis for distinguishing cancellation and withdrawal is whether it is the fault of the bidder.
During the electronic bidding process, the bidder may not be able to decrypt the bidding documents due to reasons other than the bidder's own, such as network congestion or power outage. In this case, according to Article 31 of the above-mentioned "Electronic Bidding and Bidding Measures" The provisions of this Article shall be deemed to have withdrawn its bid documents, which is equivalent to the bidder stating that it will not participate in the bidding before the deadline for submission of bid documents in traditional bidding, and the bid deposit will not be forfeited.
(3) The "Electronic Tendering and Bidding Measures" stipulates that data messages should be used to sign a contract and announce the performance of the contract
Article 36 of the "Electronic Tendering and Bidding Measures" stipulates: "The tenderer shall pass The electronic bidding and bidding trading platform signs a contract with the winning bidder in the form of a data message." Compared with the traditional bidding contract signing method, this means that the contract can be effectively supervised by the administrative department from the beginning, which greatly reduces the occurrence of "yin and yang contracts".
Article 37 of the "Electronic Bidding and Bidding Measures" stipulates: "Tenderers, bid winners and other relevant entities are encouraged to promptly submit and publish information on the performance of the winning contract through the electronic bidding and bidding trading platform." The word "encourage" indicates that this is not mandatory, but it is advocated. Once fulfilled, the whole process of the contract will be supervised.
(4) The "Electronic Tendering and Bidding Measures" stipulates that bidder information is subject to public supervision to prevent fraud
Article 42 of the "Electronic Tendering and Bidding Measures" stipulates: "People at all levels Relevant government departments shall, in accordance with the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Disclosure of Government Information" and other regulations, promptly publish and allow downloading of the following information on the department's website:... (2) Obtaining relevant engineering and service qualification certificates or goods production and operation The name of the unit, business scope and annual inspection status of the license; (3) Names and electronic certificate numbers of practitioners who have obtained relevant professional titles and professional qualifications... (5) Industry and commerce, taxation, customs, finance and other relevant information disclosed in accordance with the law." The above content is the embodiment of the principles of openness, fairness, impartiality and integrity. It will become more difficult for suppliers to forge and alter qualification certificates, and for tenderers to exclude potential bidders with unreasonable conditions.