Instructions to Bidders (ITB)

The Instructions to Bidders (ITB) is a section of the tender document that tells bidders exactly how to prepare and submit their bid, what documents are required, how bids will be evaluated, and what happens after evaluation. It is the rulebook of the tender. While the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) advertises the opportunity and states the key dates and eligibility, the ITB provides the detailed procedural guidance that bidders must follow to avoid disqualification.

What are Instructions to Bidders in government procurement?

The ITB typically appears as Section 1 or Section A of the full tender document, before the General Conditions of Contract and Special Conditions. It is applicable only during the bidding phase and does not form part of the contract once it is signed. Its purpose is procedural: it governs what happens between the NIT and the Letter of Acceptance.

A complete ITB covers the following areas. Scope of bid describes what is being procured and the contract location. Eligibility defines who is permitted to bid, including any restrictions on nationality, registration, or blacklisting status. Bid documents explains what is included in the tender set and how to seek clarifications. Bid preparation covers the language of the bid, how to fill out the BOQ, how to handle alternative bids, and the requirement to prepare two covers. Bid submission specifies the deadline, the portal, the DSC requirement, and what constitutes a valid submission. Bid opening describes when and how bids are opened and whether bidder representatives may attend. Bid evaluation describes the criteria and process for technical and financial evaluation. Award describes how the LOA will be issued and what the successful bidder must do next, including submitting the Performance Bank Guarantee and signing the agreement.

Government tender documents in India follow standardised formats. The Standard Bidding Documents published by the Ministry of Finance provide model ITBs for goods, services, and works. CPWD, MoRTH, and other major procuring organisations also publish their own standard ITB formats. Bidders who regularly participate in tenders from the same organisation become familiar with its standard ITB and focus their reading on any departures from the standard.

Why it matters for bidders

Reading the ITB is the starting point of any bid preparation. The specific documents listed in the ITB checklist, the prescribed formats for declarations, the number of copies required, the specific validity period for the EMD bank guarantee, and any restrictions on who can sign documents are all stated in the ITB.

Many disqualifications are traceable to ITB non-compliance rather than substantive deficiency. A bid submitted to the wrong portal, a financial envelope that contains a document from the technical envelope, a cover letter not signed by the authorised signatory, or a bank guarantee not issued by the bank category specified in the ITB are all ITB failures.

For new entrants to government procurement, reading the ITB of a few completed tenders in the relevant category before bidding on a live tender helps build familiarity with the standard structure and typical requirements.

Example

An engineering services firm downloads a works tender document and turns directly to the ITB. It notes that the ITB requires: Cover 1 to contain eligibility documents, an unpriced BOQ acknowledgment, methodology, and EMD; Cover 2 to contain only the priced BOQ with no other documents; the EMD to be a bank guarantee from a scheduled commercial bank (not a cooperative bank) valid for 180 days beyond the bid validity date; and the bid to be uploaded through the state's GePNIC portal using a Class III DSC registered on that portal by no later than 3:00 PM on the submission date. Armed with this checklist from the ITB, the firm builds its submission plan.