19GE5026Q0102-0001-Attachment-5-Q-and-A.pdf

Solicitation 19GE5026Q0102 - Specialized Laboratory Equipment

SOLICITATION AMENDMENT 19GE5026Q0102 – 0001

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question 1: We notice that the Incoterm is DDP. Does it mean that the bidder has to:

a) Pay import duty?

b) Pay VAT?

c) Pay other taxes (What other taxes are expected)?

d) Pay Customs Clearance?

e) Pay transport to the final destination?

Answer: DDP has been herewith corrected to reflect FOB, as per FAR clause 52.247-34 provided in the solicitation.

Question 2: This tender, being financed by USAID, is it expected VAT, import duty and other taxes to be included?

Answer: This procurement is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), not USAID.

See the “Value Added Tax” instructions provided in solicitation attachment 3 – Pricing.

Import duty and other taxes shall be included in the delivery CLIN 0010.

Question 3: For orders placed in U.S. dollars, the delivery address must be located within the United States. The GC-MS/MS that will be proposed in our solution cannot be drop-shipped directly to Ecuador. In the past we have used US Department of State-determined freight forwarders as the delivery point. The export to Ecuador would then be handled by the freight forwarder/US Dept of State. Can you provide a US delivery address and company name for our proposal? This will also apply to all equipment requested. Will there be a CONUS ship to location?

Answer: No. Quoters shall submit quotations on a FOB destination Quito, Ecuador basis. The quoter shall be responsible for all logistics required to deliver the equipment to the final destination in Quito, Ecuador, in accordance with the solicitation requirements.

Question 4: For evaluation purposes, will CLIN 0016 (Value Added Tax) be included in the price evaluation, or will the evaluation be based on the total price excluding VAT?

Answer: The total amount will be evaluated, as stated under “Evaluation Process” on the solicitation. The total amount includes CLIN 0016.

Question 5: Could the Government please clarify whether award is intended to be made to a single vendor for all CLINs, or whether multiple awards may be made by individual CLIN or equipment category?

Answer: See “Award” on the solicitation document. Whether multiple awards will be required depend on WTO GPA applicability of all quotes received.

Question 6: For purposes of completing Attachment 2 (WTO GPA Compliance Matrix), should the country of origin be determined based on the manufacturer's Certificate of Origin and substantial transformation principles, or according to another specific methodology required by the Government?

Answer: Offerors shall complete Attachment 2 (WTO GPA Compliance Matrix) by identifying the country of origin of each product offered based on the manufacturer's information. The Government will evaluate the information submitted in accordance with the requirements of the solicitation.

Question 7: If any of the components or small pieces of equipment are from a country that is not eligible, is the bidder completely disqualified, or only for that specific item?

Answer: Only the equipment not meeting WTO GPA requirements may be disqualified from the quote.

Question 8: If installation, commissioning, training, preventive maintenance, and warranty support are performed exclusively by Ecuadorian personnel employed by the contractor or its authorized local representative, is DBA insurance still required for those personnel?

Answer: See “Defense Base Act Insurance” on the solicitation. As stated, Ecuador is not listed on the DOL waiver list. Therefore, DBA insurance is required.

Quoters shall include DBA insurance under CLIN 0015, as instructed in the pricing schedule.

Question 9: The Statement of Work requires consumables sufficient for two (2) years of operation for the GC-MS/MS system. Since the expected sample throughput is not specified, may offerors determine the consumables package based on the manufacturer’s recommended quantities for typical routine laboratory operation?

Answer: No. Offerors shall base their proposed consumables package on the solicitation requirement to support two (2) years of operation, assuming an estimated workload of 40 samples per day, as specified in the Statement of Work.

Question 10: Could the Government clarify the official start date of the warranty period?

Specifically, does the warranty begin upon:

• Delivery of the equipment,

• Completion of installation and commissioning,

• Completion of training, or

• Final acceptance by the Government/end user?

Answer: The warranty period shall commence upon completion of delivery, installation, commissioning, calibration, and Government’s verification that the equipment is fully operational, in accordance with the requirements of Solicitation No. 19GE5026Q0102.

Question 11: May the required preventive maintenance visits be scheduled in coordination with the end user during the warranty period, or does the Government require a predefined maintenance schedule at the time of proposal submission?

Answer: In accordance with Attachment 1 – Statement of Work, Section 11 (Industry Standards), the required three (3) on-site preventive maintenance visits for Items 1 and 2 shall be scheduled in coordination with the National Police during the warranty period. A predefined preventive maintenance schedule is not required as part of the proposal submission.

Question 12: For Item 1, would gas generators manufactured by a company different from the GC-MS/MS manufacturer be acceptable, provided that:

• Full compatibility is documented,

• The generators meet all technical specifications,

• The complete system warranty remains valid?

Answer: Yes. Gas generators manufactured by a company other than the GC-MS/MS manufacturer will be acceptable, as the specification does not require all system components to be from the same manufacturer.

To be considered acceptable, the offeror shall:

• Provide official documentation demonstrating the compatibility of the gas generators with the proposed GC-MS/MS, FID detector, and all other system components.

• Fully comply with all specified technical requirements, including technology, gas purity, flow rate, pressure, safety, electrical supply, and noise level.

• Include all accessories, tubing, filters, traps, and any other components necessary for complete installation and operation.

• Guarantee that the use and integration of the gas generators will not affect, limit, or invalidate the warranties provided for the GC-MS/MS, the FID detector, the gas generators, or any other component of the proposed system.

• Deliver the complete system fully installed, integrated, tested, and operational.

Accordingly, proposals will be evaluated based on the technical compatibility, performance, and comprehensive warranty of the complete system, rather than on whether the gas generators and the chromatograph are manufactured by the same company. The solicitation permits either individual modular configurations or combined generator units, provided that all operational requirements are met and official compatibility is demonstrated.

Question 13: The specification requires forensic spectral libraries with a minimum cumulative content of 10,000 spectra. May this requirement be satisfied through multiple integrated libraries whose combined content exceeds 10,000 spectra?

Answer: Yes. The requirement may be satisfied through multiple integrated spectral libraries; it is not mandatory that all 10,000 spectra be contained within a single library.

The combined content of the proposed libraries will be considered acceptable, provided that:

• The total cumulative content is at least 10,000 spectra.

• All libraries are provided with perpetual licenses.

• The libraries are fully installed, operational, and fully compatible with the FTIR system software.

• The libraries collectively cover the required categories: drugs of abuse, pharmaceuticals, precursors, solvents, polymers, and fibers.

• The offeror provides documentation identifying the name, content, and number of spectra contained in each library.

• The system includes the required multi-component search capability for mixture analysis.

A cumulative content exceeding 10,000 spectra will be acceptable; however, the minimum required content remains that specified in the technical specification.

Question 14: Given that installation activities depend on the completion of a separate laboratory construction project, could the Government confirm whether delivery of the equipment may occur before the facility is ready for installation, or whether delivery should be scheduled only after notification that the site is prepared for commissioning?

Answer: In accordance with Attachment 1 – Statement of Work, Section 9 (Special Terms and Conditions), equipment delivery, installation, and calibration shall occur after the laboratory facility is ready for installation and commissioning, as these activities are dependent upon the completion of a separate construction contract. The Contractor will be notified when the site is ready to receive the equipment.

Question 15: The solicitation instructions indicate that blocks 12, 17, 23, 24, and 30 must be completed. Could you please clarify if these are the only blocks required from our side, or if we are also expected to fill in blocks 7, 5, 8, 19, 20, 21, and 22? Please provide a definitive list of the blocks that must be completed by the offeror.

Answer: We are not able to identify this requirement in our solicitation. The Governments intends to award a firm-fixed price Purchase Order, as stated on the solicitation.

Question 16: Regarding block 20, if an item description exceeds a single line, is it permissible to utilize a second line, or should we condense the text to fit within the space provided?

Answer: See answer to question 15.

Question 17: We have prepared our technical specifications in a separate document that adheres to the requirements stipulated in FAR 52.212-1(b). Could you please confirm if this approach is correct, or if we should submit only the specifications themselves rather than a separate file?

Answer: As stated in the solicitation, this solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul. This solicitation incorporates provisions and clauses by reference. The full text of provisions and clauses may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov/overhaul The FAR Overhaul FAR 52.212-1(b) states: (b) Period for acceptance of offers. The Offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 60 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.

Note that the period of acceptance of quotation is extended to 90 calendar days as stated in the addendum to FAR 52.212-1, incorporated in the solicitation.

[END OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS]

http://www.acquisition.gov/overhaul