T1054 24DPP00912 Bid Amendment 4 - Answers to Q and A 1.29.24 Final~1.docx

PHILIP D. MURPHY

Governor State of New Jersey

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

DIVISION OF PURCHASE AND PROPERTY

PROCUREMENT BUREAU

33 WEST STATE STREET

P. O. BOX 230

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0230

ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO

State Treasurer

TAHESHA L. WAY

Lt. Governor

AMY F. DAVIS, ESQ.

Acting Director https://www.njstart.gov

January 29, 2024

To: All Interested Bidders

Re: Bid Solicitation # 24DPP00912 T1054 Cigarette Tax Decals/Stamps for the Division of Revenue

Revised Question and Answer Due Date*: February 15, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Quote Submission Due Date: November 21, 2023(2:00 p.m. Eastern Time REVISED Quote Submission Due Date: December 15, 2023 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) REVISED Quote Submission Due Date: January 24, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) REVISED Quote Submission Due Date: February 15, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) REVISED Quote Submission Due Date: March 8, 2024 (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Bid Amendment #4

The following constitutes Bid Amendment #4 to the above referenced Bid Solicitation:

This Bid Amendment includes:

· Answers to questions from the Question and Answer period that concluded on October 26, 2023;

· Revised Bid Solicitation. Please refer to the Revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”;

· *The Question and Answer Period has been re-opened to address any follow up questions resulting from the questions and answers in this Bid Amendment. Please thoroughly review the questions and answers herein. Do not submit any questions that were previously asked and answered through this Bid Amendment. Any such questions may not be addressed.

· Addition of Attachment A – List of Authorized Dealers to the Bid Solicitation’s Attachments Tab in NJSTART; and

· Revised Attachment #5 – Bidder Questionnaire - Additional Information.

Please note that for all additions, deletions, clarifications and modifications to the Bid Solicitation, please refer to the Revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to be knowledgeable of all of the additions, deletions, clarifications, and modifications to the Bid Solicitation and/or the New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions relative to this Bid Solicitation as set forth in all Bid Amendments. All other instructions, terms, and conditions of the Bid Solicitation shall remain the same.

Bid Solicitation #24DPP00912 T1054 Cigarette Tax Decals/Stamps for the Division of Revenue

Answers to Questions

Where applicable, each question references the appropriate Bid Solicitation section.

Note: All references to ‘DORES’ herein refers to the State of New Jersey, Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.

Section Reference Question (Bolded) and Answer

Answer: It is recommended that users utilize Microsoft Edge to view PDFs. Certain PDF forms cannot be opened in the Chrome or Firefox built in PDF viewers that are enabled by default. If using Chrome or Firefox it is recommended that the file is downloaded instead by clicking the download button in the upper right-hand corner of the browser after an error message is received. An alternative option is to disable the built in PDF viewers in Chrome or Firefox.

Answer: Yes. Prior to the Quote Opening Deadline, a Bidder should review the documents comprising the submitted Quote to ensure that all of the required documents have been completed and attached. Oftentimes a Quote is deemed non-responsive because a Bidder fails to attach a required form or attaches a blank form. To review a submitted a Quote, a Bidder should log into NJSTART and review each document attached to the Quote submission. Instructions on how to review a submitted Quote can be found in the Quick Reference Guide entitled How to Review a Submitted Quote, which is available on the NJSTART Vendor Support Page under Vendor Reference Guides.

Answer: Please be advised that all Quotes shall be submitted electronically through NJSTART.

Answer: As stated in Bid Solicitation Section 2.2, Exceptions to the State of NJ Standard Terms and Conditions (SSTC): “Questions regarding the State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions and exceptions to mandatory requirements MUST be posed during the Electronic Question and Answer period and shall contain the Bidder’s suggested changes and the reason(s) for the suggested change(s).” Moreover, as stated in Bid Solicitation Section 3.11, Bidder proposed terms or conditions that conflict with those contained in the State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions may render a Quote non-responsive.

Answer: Yes. Bidders are required to provide, with its Quote, the signed Specification Conformance Certification as indicated in Bid Solicitation Section 3.20.

Answer: Once the contract is awarded to a contractor, that contractor would need to work with DORES on the stamp design approval. Then a delivery of emergency stamps would need to be made to DORES which does not have any authorized distributor associated to it. After the stamp approval, the contractor is required to send a delivery of stamps to the authorized distributor within the same business day if the order was placed before 8 am and the next business day if the order was placed after 8 am. Any request by DORES for additional emergency stamps must be sent within 7 business days of the request.

Answer: The Bidder Questionnaire is not a mandatory submission with the Quote. However, in accordance with Bid Solicitation Section 3.21, if the Bidder Questionnaire is not received with the Quote, the State reserves the right to request this information from the Bidder.

Bid Solicitation Section 3.21 states: “The Bidder should submit with its Quote the Attachment 5- Bidder Questionnaire Form. If the information is not supplied with the Quote, the State may still require the Bidder to submit it. If the Bidder fails to comply with the request within seven (7) business days, the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.”

Bid Solicitation Section 9.2 (Definitions) defines the word ‘should’ as: “Should – Denotes that which is permissible or recommended, not mandatory.”

Question: What was the previous winning quote amount?

Answer: The previous winning quote amount/current Contract pricing is as follows:

Price Line 1 - CIGARETTE TAX DECALS/STAMPS: CIGARETTE PACKAGES & RELATED SERVICES PRICE PER THOUSAND FOR YEAR 1: $0.65 per thousand Price Line 2 - CIGARETTE TAX DECALS/STAMPS: CIGARETTE PACKAGES & RELATED SERVICES PRICE PER THOUSAND FOR YEAR 2: $0.67 per thousand Price Line 3 - CIGARETTE TAX DECALS/STAMPS: CIGARETTE PACKAGES & RELATED SERVICES PRICE PER THOUSAND FOR YEAR 3: $0.745 per thousand Price Line 4 – HANDHELD TAGGENT TESTING DEVICE: $150.00 EACH

Please refer to Bid Solicitation Section 1.2 (Background) for instructions on how to review the current contract specifications and pricing information in NJSTART (www.njstart.gov).

It is important to note that Bid Solicitation Section 1.2 states, in pertinent part: “Bidders should not rely upon or use data or information from the contract when preparing a response to this Bid Solicitation as this Bid Solicitation addresses the State’s current requirements.”

Background and 4.2 Equipment Requirements Question: Sections 1.1 & 4.2 state that “the Contractor must make stamp applying machines available to Authorized Distributors through a separate purchase and/or lease agreement.” Will the State remove all references to the supply of such equipment?

Answer: The State does not intend to provide any guidance or assistance in the procurement of stamp applying equipment.

Bid Solicitation Sections 1.1 and 4.2 have been revised to include the following: “The Contractor must provide the proper specifications directly to the authorized distributors so that stamp applying machines can be obtained by a high volume stamp manufacturer through a separate purchase and/or lease.”

Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”

Affidavit of Apparel Question: Please clarify Affidavit of Apparel Production (Section 3.16). We believe this section is not relevant to this solicitation and as such will the State remove it?

Answer: Yes, the Affidavit of Apparel does not apply to this procurement. As such, the reference to the Affidavit of Apparel has been removed from Bid Solicitation Section 3.16 and the section has been revised to state: “Not applicable to this procurement.”

Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024.”

Description of Work Question: The State indicates in Section 4.1 that the stamps must consist of “five impressions or layers”. As this requirement limits the protective security features we can offer to protect the State against illegal reproduction of its stamps, and the fact that inspectors in the field are unable to verify the number of impressions or layers that a stamp has been printed with, will the State revise this requirement to read that the stamps must consist of “a minimum of five impressions or layers”?

Note: This Bidder’s question has been paraphrased.

Answer: The State will accept a minimum of five impressions or layers. Bid Solicitation Section 4.1 has been revised accordingly.

Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Description of Work Question: The State has a requirement in Section 4.1 that the stamps “must be printed by the intaglio process”. We feel that if the stamps meet the functional and security requirements defined by the State that the type of printing press used to produce the stamps is not relevant. Will the State, therefore, remove the requirement for a particular type of printing press to be used?

Answer: There is no change to the Intaglio requirement. The Intaglio process requirement is standard for secure printing. For more information about this requirement, please see Bid Solicitation Section 4.1 Description of Work.

Scope of Work, 4.1.1 Size, Design and Color Question: Does the State wish to continue using the current stamp design or should there be a new design for this contract? If it is the intent to continue with the current stamp design, can the State provide an image for reference?

Answer: A new design will be created and approved by DORES once the contract is awarded. Section 4.1.1 of the Bid Solicitation has been revised to include this statement.

Paper Question: There is a requirement that the “base paper must contain fibers”. As these fibers do not transfer with the Tax Stamp to the cigarette package, and is discarded as non-secure waste during the application process, this type of security feature is only able to be authenticated within a Distributor’s facility. In this location there are many security features in the Tax Stamps themselves that can be authenticated by an Inspector to ensure only genuine Tax Stamps are being used. These are the same security features that can be authenticated at a Retail location, while the security fibers cannot be authenticated at a Retail location. As the base paper stock is discarded in a non-secure manner by the Distributors after the Tax Stamps are transferred to packages of cigarettes, any security contained in the base paper stock becomes available to potential counterfeiters and/or criminals who may search trash containers outside of a Distributor’s facility. For these reasons, will the State change the mandatory use of security fibers in the base paper, to make this an optional requirement?

Answer: No, this will not be changed to optional. The language in Bid Solicitation 4.1.3 will not be revised.

The inclusion of fibers in the base paper is a security standard used across the secure printing industry as a fraud prevention method. For more information about the requirement, please see Bid Solicitation Section 4.1.3 Paper.

Quantity Question: Does the State have an estimate of the annual quantity of Emergency Stamps needed to be delivered to DORES and how many orders of Emergency Stamps does the State anticipate over a twelve (12) month period?

Answer: DORES orders approximately 100 rolls twice per year of the Emergency Stamps. Bid Solicitation Section 4.1.2 has been revised to include the following statement: “It is estimated that DORES will order Emergency Stamps up to twice per year at 100 rolls per order.”

Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024.”

It is important to note that Bid Solicitation 4.1.2 states, in pertinent part, “The State makes no guarantees of Contract usage or total quantities ordered during the Contract term, including any extension(s) thereof. The State reserves the right to increase, decrease or eliminate quantities in their entirety. Product ordering is on an as-needed basis and will vary.”

Transmission of Approved Orders Question: Section 4.3.1 indicates that DORES will provide information on distributors that are authorized to order stamps, including the “number of stamps approved to ship”. Is this number of stamps the total allowed to order at one time or is this number that total allowed to order over a period of time? For example, if this number of stamps approved to ship is 120,000 (4 rolls) can the distributor place multiple orders on the same day for this quantity? Can they order this quantity each day? Something else?

Answer: “Number of stamps approved to ship” refers to the number of stamps requested in any given order.

This information is to ensure that no ordering abnormalities occur. For example, if a distributor who consistently orders one (1) roll of stamps attempts to order twenty-five (25) rolls of stamps, then this would be considered abnormal and the order would be investigated by the State prior to completion.

Bid Solicitation Section 4.3.1 has been revised. Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Transmission of Approved Orders Question: Section 4.3.1 states that the Contractor is to provide ordering information to DORES on a daily batch process after the order has been validated and approved. Can the State provide additional information on this order validation process? Is this simply verification by the Contractor that the Distributor is in good standing, approved to order at the current time and that the order is within their defined maximum number of stamps or is there additional order validation to be done by DORES?

Answer: The order validation process will be the final report of approved orders for the day. This will occur after the State has verified and approved orders.

Bid Solicitation Section 4.3.1 has been revised. Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Transmission of Approved Orders Question: The last sentence in Section 4.3.1 states that “should DORES see an order that needs to be withdrawn prior to the order being shipped, the Contractor must have processes in place to accomplish these types of exceptions.” With the order process being as described and the information being provided to DORES at the end of the day in a batch data transmission mode it’s likely that any orders included in the daily batch update will have already been shipped and therefore there is no way to allow DORES to withdraw the order. Can the Contractor propose a process that will provide this ability to DORES in our proposal?

Answer: Contractors must outline the process under Question 3 under the revised attachment titled “Attachment 5 – Revised Bidder Questionnaire”.

Bid Solicitation 4.3.1 has been revised. Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Price Sheet Instructions Question: This section states that shipping costs are to be included in the stamp prices. With several Direct To Distributor operations in other States, the shipping cost is billed directly to the Distributors’ FedEx / UPS accounts, and they have the option to select the type of shipping service (Next Day, 2 Day, Ground, etc.) when they place their order. Is this of interest to the State and can we propose this system?

Answer: Bid Solicitation Section 3.35 will not be revised. DORES does not intend to require the distributors to pay for shipping. This cost must be included in the price per stamp to be paid by the State to the contractor.

As stated in Section 3.35 State-Supplied Price Sheet Instructions Step 4, (emphasis added in bold): “The Bidder shall insert a firm, fixed, price in U.S. dollars in the “Unit Price per Stamp” column on the State-Supplied Price Sheet. The “Unit Price Per Stamp” must be for each stamp as indicated within the ‘Item Description’ on the State-Supplied Price Sheet, and must be submitted Freight On Board (F.O.B.) Destination. Any additional costs, including freight, should be included in pricing offered on the State-Supplied Price Sheet.”

Scope of Work Question: Can the State indicate the current number of authorized distributors and the number of States that they are located in with estimated shipments to allow us to estimate shipping costs?

Answer: The State currently has 24 active distributors located in 4 States (NY, PA, NJ, OH). A complete list of these authorized distributors has been published under Attachment A. Please see Attachment A in NJSTART for more information.

Payment This is a 3 part question:

Question #1: Section 4.3.5 on “Payment” indicates that each shipment of stamps is to be invoiced separately and that a bond amount must be maintained within the ordering system for each authorized distributor. Can the State clarify this, as normally the Contractor would invoice the State for the stamps, while the State would invoice the Distributor for the Tax Value of their order, and hold the bond.

Answer #1: The bond is submitted to the State by the Authorized Distributors as part of their annual application process. The bond amount must be maintained in the Contractor’s system while the State of New Jersey has a physical copy of it.

Question #2: Is the State requiring the Contractor to invoice each Distributor, on behalf of the State, for the tax value of their order?

Answer #2: Yes, an invoice must be generated for each order for the tax value of the stamps ordered. The payee of the invoice is the State.

Question #3: If this is the case, to whom should the Distributor remit payment?

Answer #3: The money will be automatically sent via ACH from the Authorized Distributors bank account when the invoice becomes due.

DORES requires an invoice to be created for each order with the State of New Jersey as the payee. The payment is made directly through the State with an ACH Transfer. The bond amount must be maintained in the Contractor’s system while the State of New Jersey has a physical copy of it.

Forms, Registrations and Certifications to be Submitted with Quote Question: Certification for Executive Order No. 271 COVID-19 Vaccine: As we don’t have any employees in the State of New Jersey and are not using subcontractors does this form need to be submitted with the bid?

Answer: No.

Please see Bid Solicitation Section 3.12 (Forms, Registrations and Certifications to be Submitted with Quote) for the forms, registrations and certifications required at the time of Quote submission.

Transfer Shipping information

Question: The last sentence in Section 4.4 states that “The Contractor should have reporting flexibility which allows for changes to the system data needed to fulfill DORES system”. Will DORES provide the Contractor with a definition of the system data needed to fulfill DORE’s systems upon contract award?

Answer: The last sentence of Section 4.4.2 has been revised to state the following: “The Contractor should have reporting flexibility which allows for changes to the system data needed to fulfill DORES system requirements.”

Any additional information needed will be provided by DORES to the awarded Contractor after award.

Answer: No.

Transmission of Approved Orders Question: The solicitation states “the contractor must provide an interface with DORES”. Will DORES provide API specifications for DORES interface with contractor systems?

Answer: For this Bid Solicitation, an interface means a front end system for DORES to view the contractor’s system. There will be no API (Application Programming Interface) and all data transfer will be done via a secure file transfer or another secure methods such as an encrypted email. These methods will be mutually agreed upon between the Contractor and DORES after Contract award.

Section 9.3 Contract-Specific Definitions has been updated to include a definition for ‘Interface’. Please see the Revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Shipping Costs Question: In order to accurately estimate shipping costs, will DORES provide a list of carriers acceptable to DORES?

Answer: The Contractor must securely ship the stamps utilizing any common carrier that can fulfill this requirement. The State/DORES will not make a determination as to which carrier the Contractor chooses to utilize.

Scope of Work Question: To provide the State with an accurate cost estimation, will DORES provide the complete list of distributor names and locations for the DtD (Direct to Distributor) service?

Answer: Please see the answer to Question #20 above.

A complete list of these authorized distributors has been published under Attachment A. Please see Attachment A in NJSTART for more information.

Quantity

Question: To manage shipping costs would NJ DORES consider an order minimum of 1 roll, or 10 sheets?

Answer: The current minimum order is one roll (30,000 stamps) and/or 10 sheets (1,000) stamps.

Bid Solicitation 4.1.2 has been revised. Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Payment

Question: Section 4.3.5 states: “A bond amount must be maintained within the ordering system for each authorized distributor to ensure that all invoices are insured against non-payment.” Will DORES confirm that bond Information and reconciliation will be shared and maintained through the successful bidder’s interface with DORES?

Answer: The bond amount must be maintained in the Contractor’s system while the physical copy of the bond will be housed with the State.

The State will provide bond information for each authorized distributor and provide this information to the Contractor.

The interface will be developed between DORES and the Contractor after Contract award.

Affidavit of Apparel Question: Section 3.16 states: “This Bid Solicitation requests Quotes for Apparel. N.J.S.A. 34:6-158 et seq. states purchases by the State are to be produced in production facilities within the United States and that such production facilities meet certain minimum requirements. The Bidder should submit the Affidavit of Apparel Production...”. Will DORES confirm the affidavit is NOT required?

Answer: Please see the answer to Question #10 above.

Delivery of Emergency Stamps to NJ Question: In Section 4.1.6, states: “Delivery of an emergency supply of stamps to the Using Agency will be required within four to five weeks after receipt of the first purchase order and artwork approval by the Division of Revenue’s Contractor shall be responsible for delivery including security guards and other appropriate measures to assure that finished goods and production materials are properly accounted for until arrival at destination” However, section 4.3.3 requires next day delivery and requires shipping costs to be included in the cost of Direct to Distributor. Will DORES remove the requirement for security guards for delivery of emergency stamp orders?

Answer: The requirement for security guards for the delivery of emergency stamp orders has been removed and Bid Solicitation Section 4.1.6 has been revised accordingly. Please see the revised Bid Solicitation titled “T1054 Revised Bid Solicitation 1.29.2024”.

Equipment Requirements Question: In Section 4.2, the solicitation references stamping machines. The current machines are provided by High Volume Stamp Manufacturer’s such as REDSTAMP and USI. Will DORES remove this legacy requirement from the Bid Solicitation requirements?

Answer: Please see the answer to Question #9 above.

Bidder Data Sheet/Form Question: DORES provides a Bid Solicitation Checklist in the T1054 Form Packet which details the required documents to submit a complete and responsive quote. However, the Bidder Data Sheet (3.16) is not included in this checklist. Will DORES add the Bidder Data Sheet to the Bid Solicitation Checklist as a required document?

Answer: The Bidder Data Sheet/Form is published in NJSTART under the Bid Solicitation’s Attachments Tab as a separate document/attachment titled: “Attachment 4 - Bidder Data Sheet/Form”.

Bidder Data Sheet/Form Question: Will DORES confirm that scope of the reference contracts must include Direct to Distributor which is a requirement of the solicitation?

Answer: No. The contracts listed by the Bidder are merely to exhibit to the State that the Bidder is able to service contracts of a similar size and scope, as evidenced by the contract listing on the Bidder Data Sheet/Form with other States or Agencies, cooperative purchasing participants, etc. The State will contact those references at its discretion. This information is in no way part of the Quote evaluation criteria but merely a way to see how much experience the Bidder has with contracts of a similar size and scope.

Bid Solicitation Section 3.15 states, in pertinent part (emphasis added in bold): “The Bidder should submit the Bidder Data Sheet with its Quote. The Bidder Data Sheet will be used to evaluate the Bidder’s ability to complete the Scope of Work.”

Bid Solicitation Section 9.2 defines ‘should’ as: “Should – Denotes that which is permissible or recommended, not mandatory.”

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