0003 Attachment A QA from interested parties 191S7020Q0002.pdf

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ATTACHMENT A

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ASKED BY INTERESTED PARTIES

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Question #1 Do the pricing rates, need to include the excise tax?

Answer #1: Clause 652.229-70 of the contract states the following, “This is to certify that the item(s) covered by this contract is/are for export solely for the use of the U.S. Foreign Service

Post identified in the contract schedule. The Contractor shall use a photocopy of this contract as evidence of intent to export. Final proof of exportation may be obtained from the agent handling the shipment. Such proof shall be accepted in lieu of payment of excise tax.” For the purposes of this solicitation, the US Government will submit and receive an excise tax exemption from the Israel Government and as such the fuel prices proposed shall not include any excise tax.

Question #2: What is the definition of the statement from section 1.x Price adjustment (a) –

“The unit price per liter for 95 - Octane, 98 - Octane and Diesel fuel may be adjusted based on increases or decreases in the official price of vehicle and Generator fuel, mandated by the government of Israel”?

Answer #2: The statement, “mandated by the Government of Israel”, as mentioned in section 1.x

Price Adjustment”, is defined as the Ashdod refinery rates as mandated by the Government of

Israel and world fuel refinery rates.

Question #3: What is defined as Generator diesel fuel in the pricing line items 1.ii – 1.v?

Answer #3: Generator Diesel fuel is heating diesel fuel and any diesel fuel which functions as heating fuel is acceptable.

Question #4: Is it allowable to use a subcontractor to perform the generator diesel fuel delivery as required in section 1.x of the solicitation?

Answer #4: Yes, it is permissible to use a subcontractor to perform the fuel delivery as long as the subcontractor adheres to section 2, clause 252.242-73 of the solicitation which states, “ (a)

The Contractor warrants the following: (1) That is has obtained authorization to operate and do business in the country or countries in which this contract will be performed; (2) That is has obtained all necessary licenses and permits required to perform this contract; and, (3) That it shall comply fully with all laws, decrees, labor standards, and regulations of said country or countries during the performance of this contract. (b) If the party actually performing the work will be a subcontractor or joint venture partner, then such subcontractor or joint venture partner agrees to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this clause.”

Question #5: May the written notification on the price adjustment be sent to the Government less than one week before the price is to take effect if the contractor will not be aware of the change within that time frame?

Answer #5: Yes, in accordance to section 1.x price adjustment (b), the requirement that “the

Contractor must provide written notification of the price change to the Contracting Officer at least one week before the new price is to be effective”, is only applicable if the price change has been published within that time frame. If the price change is published at a time frame less than one week before the new price is to be effective, then the Contractor must provide written notification immediately at the time the change is known.

Question #6: What is meant by section1.x “Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (QASP) in the solicitation and is it not enough that the contractor adheres to the standard required by the official Israeli standard?

Answer #6: Section 1.x Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (QASP) states that, “The Contractor, not the Government, is responsible for management and quality control to meet the terms of the contract”, and that, “All required services are performed and no more than one (1) customer complaint is received per month”. The contractor must show that there is a quality assurance plan in place that adheres to this requirement.

Question #7: Does the contractor still have to show in the proposal adequate financial resources, if the contractor is a public company whose financial information is readily available on the internet?

Answer #7: In accordance to section 4, Evaluation factors of the solicitation, the proposals must show “Adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain them”. The bidders must show proof of this regardless if this information is readily available on the internet.

Question #8: May the proposals be submitted electronically due to the COVID 19 virus crisis?

Answer #8: Yes, the proposals may be submitted electronically to the following email addresses; HowardML@State.gov and SternCC@State.gov.

mailto:HowardML@State.gov mailto:SternCC@State.gov