5.4 Quotations
For purchases costing up to £1000, the purchaser, while expected to ensure any purchase offers value for money, may dispense with a formal assessment of the market and as guide, a minimum of 1 verbal quotation should be sought. Justification for not assessing the market should be recorded along with the details of the verbal quote. When using the GPC you must be fully compliant with all aspects of Sections 12 of the Finance/Procurement Manual.
1. Verbal quotations for purchases with a value between £1000 and £5000 are permitted but a record of these quotations must be retained. As a guide, a minimum of 3 verbal quotations should normally be sought and pertinent details recorded. Details of these quotes must be posted on Pecos in the form of ‘Internal Comments’. Where the quotes have been received electronically (e.g. email) then these must be sent as requisition ‘Attachments’ on Pecos.
2. When considered appropriate, sets of electronic 'quotation' or tender documents must be issued to potential sources of supply. The Buyer should ensure that an instruction is issued to the potential supplier asking then to 'acknowledge' Receipt of the document[s].This arrangement helps protect RoS in that evidence exists to show that the documentation was indeed issued to and received by the potential supplier. This is only applicable to quotations for goods and service with a value between £5,000 and £25,000. Emailed quotations with a value between £5,000 and £25,000 are permitted. Again, where the quotes have been received electronically (e.g. email) then these must be sent as requisition ‘Attachments’ on Pecos. For purchases with an anticipated value between £25,000 and £50,000 see the additional guidance set out in Appendix D.
3. The use of email is also acceptable for quotations with a value less than £25,000. Electronic tendering is also permissible as long as it is undertaken using the PCS (Public Contracts Scotland) e-tendering system and is fully compliant with the defined policy and procedures.
4. Each procurement transaction (for goods, services, utilities, rents, rates and the like) must be supported by an electronic requisition complete with any ‘Internal Notes’ and ‘Attachments’ together with an Official Purchase Order all of which must be posted to and published on Pecos.
5. In certain instances low value and/or routine purchases costing up to £1000 (incl. VAT) per transaction may be made using the Government Procurement Card (GPC). If doubt exists about the validity of the proposed transaction contact the Procurement Department. At the end of each accounting month a single purchase order must be raised by RoS’s GPC co-ordinator to cover all the card transactions for that month. (Cardholders will be given separate instructions on the administrative requirements for the GPC). Please also refer tothe GPC Guide for additional detailed information on the use of the GPC.
6. It is expected that value for money appraisal will be made in the execution of every purchase and this will involve periodic checks by the Internal Auditors and the Procurement Department on 'routine' orders and transactions. Evidence of Value for Money appraisal will be required and where practical a log of telephone quotations for significant GPC transactions should be maintained. E-mail quotations must be attached to any Pecos requisition and these will be checked by Procurement Department staff prior to raising a purchase order.
7. When an acceptable offer has been submitted, a duly completed Official Purchase Order shall be issued to the supplier offering the most economically advantageous terms. In order that RoS Terms and Conditions of Purchase are met a phrase such as: 'RoS Terms and Conditions of Purchase apply' must appear on the face of the Official Purchase Order. All unsuccessful suppliers should be notified, and if requested in writing as to the reason their quotation failed. Since confidentiality must be respected, details of the terms offered by the successful supplier should not be revealed to unsuccessful bidders. For audit purposes records should be kept of correspondence arising out of each quotation exercise. (See 6. Register of Tender/Bid Documentation for further information)
8. For proposed procurements with anticipated values in excess of £25,000 (see Appendix C), full and formal tendering procedures must normally be carried out. (See Tendering) The exception to this requirement can be applied only when the Head of Procurement is satisfied that a full Tender exercise would not add value but would add significant cost (see 9 below).
9. For proposed procurements with an anticipated value of less that £50,000 the formal quotation process may be suspended but only where the Head of Procurement is satisfied that other compelling factors can justify the procurement from a single source. The authority and reason[s] which obviate the need to carry out a Tendering Exercise must be recorded in writing, signed and appended to Pecos as ‘Internal Notes’ to all Purchase Orders which fall within this category.
Important: The Scottish Government requires that purchases exceeding £50,000 in value will have to be advertised widely. RoS have set a policy that advertising may be required for purchases with a value between £25,000 and £50,000. In all instances of proposed purchases with a value exceeding £25,000 individuals must contact the Procurement Department before any action is taken.
QUICK QUOTE
Quick Quote (QQ) often referred to as Invitation to Quote (ITQ) is an online quotation facility which allows purchasing authorities to obtain competitive quotes electronically for low value or less complex requirements. QQ is an efficient solution for low value procurement exercises, this will benefit contracting authorities and still provide a “one stop shop” for suppliers intending to supply the Scottish public sector.
Details of the QQ are created online and sent to a selected list of suppliers who are registered on the portal. They can then complete the required details and submit their quotation using the secure tender postbox. QQs are only distributed to the selected suppliers and are not made public on the website. A full electronic audit trail is maintained.
It should be noted that Quick Quote will not be used for high value or complex tenders (unless approved by the Head of Procurement) although contract opportunities will still be advertised through the PCS portal.