Director of Purchasing is authorized, in order to minimize
delay in contract awards, to make the administrative determinations described
below in connection with mistakes in bids alleged after opening of bids and
before award. The authority contained herein to permit correction of bids is
limited to bids which, as submitted, are responsive to the Invitation for Bids,
and may not be used to permit correction of bids to make them
responsive.
a) A determination may be
made permitting the Bidder to withdraw its bid where the Bidder requests
permission to do so and clear and convincing evidence establishes the existence
of a mistake.
b) If the evidence is
clear and convincing both as to the existence of a mistake and as to the bid
actually intended, and if the bid, both as uncorrected and corrected, is the
lowest received, a determination may be made to correct the bid and not permit
its withdrawal.
c) A determination
may be made permitting the Bidder to correct the bid where the Bidder requests
permission to do so and clear and convincing evidence establishes both the
existence of a mistake and the bid actually intended. However, if such
correction would result in displacing one or more lower acceptable bids, the
determination shall not be made unless the existence of the mistake and bid
actually intended are ascertainable substantially from the invitation and bid
itself. If the evidence is clear and convincing only as to the mistake, but not
as to the intended bid, a determination permitting the Bidder to withdraw
his/her bid may be made.
d) If the
evidence does not warrant a determination under subsections (a), (b), or (c) of
this Section, a determination may be made that a Bidder may neither withdraw
nor correct his/her bid.