A bidder submitted its tender bid while it contained substantial amendments in the tender documents, particularly in the contract. The tender committee allowed the bidder to amend its bid while "ignoring" the amendments made and chose it as the winner of the tender.
The Court accepted the petition and disqualified the bid due to a fundamental flaw in both the submission of the bid and the decision of the tender committee. The bid of each participant in the tender must conform to the terms of the tender. A bid that contains a reservation, stipulation or a material amendment to the terms of the tender, will, as a general rule, be disqualified from participating in the tender. In light of the principle of equality, there is no room to allow a bidder to amend its bid retrospectively, so that it complies with the terms of the tender. Here, the bidder included in its bid many substantial amendments to the engagement agreement, in a manner that gives it an advantage over other bidders. The tender did include a clause that allows the tender committee to ignore a change or stipulation made in the tender documents, but the "ignore clause" does not give the tender committee permission to ignore or accept substantial amendments made to the tender documents, in a manner that undermines the principle of equality. Therefore, the bidder's bid was disqualified and the matter was returned to the tender committee for further discussion.