RFQ Number:                RFQ-KZN-CSA-2024-0011 

Issuance Date:              November 22, 2024

Deadline for Questions: November 25, 2024 - 3:00 PM

Deadline for Offers:       November 26, 2024 - 5:00 PM

Description:                  Procurement of Security Equipment with Installation 

For:                              USAID/Climate Smart Agriculture Activity 

Funded By:                   United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 

Implemented By:          The Kaizen Company (A Tetra Tech Company)

Point of Contact:           Procurement Department ([email protected])

 Section 1: Instructions to Offerors

1. Introduction: USAID/Climate Smart Agriculture activity is part of the U.S.-Pakistan "Green Alliance" aims to increase agricultural productivity and incomes sustainably in Pakistan. The Climate Smart Agriculture Activity aligns with USAID’s goals of inclusive economic growth, gender equity, and environmental stewardship. Climate Smart Agriculture requires the purchase of security equipment for its office in F8 Markaz Islamabad. The purpose of this RFQ is to solicit quotations for these Items. 

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by the company in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this RFQ. Failure to adhere with instructions described in this RFQ may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

1. Offer Deadline and Protocol: Offers must be received no later than November 26, 2024, local Islamabad time on 5:00 PM in a sealed bid. Offers must be submitted via email to [email protected] with a subject line: RFQ-KZN-CSA-2024-0011: Procurement of Security Equipment.

Please reference the RFQ number in any response to this RFQ. Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of the company.

1. Questions: Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted no later than 3:00 PM local Islamabad time on November 25, 2024 by email to [email protected] with a subject line: Q&A - RFQ-KZN-CSA-2024-0011: Procurement of Security Equipment. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that the company believes may be of interest to other offerors will be circulated to all RFQ recipients who have indicated an interest in bidding. 

Only the written answers issued by the company will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of the company, or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.

1. Specifications: Section 3 contains the technical specifications of the required items. All commodities offered in response to this RFQ must be new and unused. In addition, all electrical commodities must operate at 240V, 50Hz. 

Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, stated brand names or models are for illustrative description only. An equivalent substitute, as determined by the specifications, is acceptable.

Items/equipment that are made by Huawei Technology Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company are not acceptable as per USAID policies.

1. Quotations: Quotations in response to this RFQ must be priced on a fixed-price, all-inclusive basis, including delivery and all other costs. Pricing must be presented in Pakistani Rupees.  Offers must remain valid for not less than (30) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide quotations on their official quotation format or letterhead; in the event this is not possible, offerors may complete the table in Section 3.

In addition, offerors responding to this RFQ are requested to submit the following:

• Organizations responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their official registration or business license.
• Individuals responding to this RFQ are requested to submit a copy of their identification card.

1. Delivery: The delivery and installation location for the items described in this RFQ is 3^rd Floor, 1-C Tower, F-8 Markaz, Islamabad. As part of its response to this RFQ, each offeror is expected to provide an estimate (in calendar days) of the delivery timeframe (after receipt of order). The delivery estimate presented in an offer in response to this RFQ must be upheld in the performance of any resulting contract.

1. Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All goods and services offered in response to this RFQ or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 937 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFQ is Pakistan. 

Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.

Any and all items that are made by Huawei Technology Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company will not be accepted. If quotes include items from these entities, please note that they will be deemed not technically responsive and excluded from competition.”

1. Warranty: Warranty service and repair within the cooperating country is required for all commodities under this RFQ. The warranty coverage must be valid on all commodities for a minimum of (12) months after delivery and acceptance of the commodities, unless otherwise specified in the technical specifications.  At the time that any commodity is transferred to the Government of Pakistan, the Climate Smart Agriculture Activity or another entity within the cooperating country, all rights to warranty support and service shall be transferred with the commodity to that entity’s end-user.  

1. Taxes and VAT:  

The agreement under which this procurement is financed is not exempt from the payment of taxes, VAT, tariffs, duties, or other levies imposed by any laws in effect in Pakistan.  Therefore, offerors must include taxes, VAT, charges, tariffs, duties and levies in accordance with the laws of Pakistan.

1. GST Compliance: The project is eligible for a sales tax exemption. GST amount will be withheld, an exemption letter will be provided within 100 days upon receipt of the invoice. If the exemption letter is not provided within this timeframe, the withheld GST amount will be paid upon receipt of GST payment allowability from USAID.

1. UEI Number: N/A

1. Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this RFQ, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. The Kaizen Company (Tetra Tech Inc. Subsidiary) will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.

1. Evaluation and Award:

Pre-Selection Criteria: 

1.                                  I.                               PASS/FAIL: Offeror must have valid NTN and STRN. 
2.                                 II.                               PASS/FAIL: Company must have supplied security equipment. Please provide a minimum of 3 executed purchase orders/contracts for similar products. Companies with fewer than 3 executed purchase orders/contracts will not be eligible.
3.                                III.                               PASS/FAIL: Delivery and installation of equipment within two days following the issuance of the purchase order (PO).

Offeror’s meeting the PASS/Fail will be evaluated on below criteria.

The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFQ instructions, meets the eligibility requirements meets or exceeds the minimum required technical specifications, and is judged to be the best value based on a lowest-price, technically acceptable basis. 

Please note that if there are significant deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration. The company reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.

Best-offer quotations are requested. It is anticipated that the award will be made solely on the basis of these original quotations. However, the company reserves the right to conduct any of the following:

• The company may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award.
• While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, the company may issue a partial award or split the award among various suppliers, if in the best interest of the Climate Smart Agriculture Activity. 
• The company may cancel this RFQ at any time.

Please note that in submitting a response to this RFQ, the offeror understands that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented—in writing with full explanations—to the Climate Smart Agriculture Activity for consideration, as USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. The Kaizen Company (A Tetra Tech Company), at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.

1. Terms and Conditions: This is a Request for Quotations only. Issuance of this RFQ does not in any way oblige the company, the Climate Smart Agriculture Activity, or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer. 

This solicitation is subject to the company’s standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:

(a)   The company’s standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFQ and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.

(b)   Any award resulting from this RFQ will be a firm fixed price, in the form of a purchase order.

(c)    No commodities or services may be supplied that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.

(d)   Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this RFQ must take place on U.S.-flag carriers/vessels.

(e)   United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.

(f)    The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFQ shall be passed to the company following delivery and acceptance of the goods by the company. The risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to company.

Section 2: Offer Checklist

To assist offerors in preparation of proposals, the following checklist summarizes the documentation to include an offer in response to this RFQ:

• Cover letter, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (see Section 4 for template)

• Official quotation, including specifications of offered services (see Section 3 for example format)

Section 3: Specifications and Technical Requirements

The table below contains the technical requirements of the commodities/services. Offerors are requested to provide quotations containing the information below on official letterhead or official quotation format. In the event this is not possible, offerors may complete this Section 3 and submit a signed/stamped version to The Kaizen Company (Tetra Tech Inc. Subsidiary).

Delivery time (after receipt of order):                  calendar days

Length of warranty on offered equipment:                      years

Location of service center(s) for after-sales service, including warranty repair:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Section 4: Offer Cover Letter

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

To:                   USAID/Climate Smart Agriculture Activity

Reference:        RFQ No. RFQ-KZN-CSA-2024-0011: Procurement of Security Equipment with Installation

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced RFQ. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced RFQ. We further certify that the below-named firm—as well as the firm’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this RFQ—are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under USAID regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any The Kaizen Company (Tetra Tech Inc. Subsidiary) or Climate Smart Agriculture Activity project staff members.
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced RFQ; and
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• All information in our proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
• We understand and agree to the company prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.

We hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.

Authorized Signature:                                                                                                          

Name and Title of Signatory:                                                                                                

Date:                                                                                                                                  

Company Name:                                                                                                                 

Company Address:                                                                                                              

Company Telephone and Website:                                                                                       

Company Registration or Taxpayer ID Number:                                                                     

Company UEI Number:                                                                                                        

Does the company have an active bank account (Yes/No)?                                                    

Official name associated with bank account (for payment):