As part of the timeline determination, Procurement Officers/Assistants shall, in consultation with the Submission Opening Officers, set the closing date and closing time for the receipt of submissions and the opening date and opening time for opening of submissions. The closing and opening dates and times shall be clearly stated in the solicitation documents.

The Procurement Staff shall ensure that prospective vendors are given sufficient time to review the solicitation documents and formulate an appropriate response to the solicitation. Any extension of such dates and times shall be communicated to all invited Vendors.

Period of Validity of Bids and Proposals
Bids and Proposals shall remain valid for a period to be specified in the solicitation documents. Depending on the circumstances and complexity of the case, the usual validity period should range from 60 to 180 days. A minimum validity period of 90 days is recommended in large procurement cases with an estimated value of
USD 500,000 or more and/or complex cases.

A Bid or proposal which contains a shorter validity period than specified in the solicitation documents shall be rejected as non-responsive, unless the vendor confirms that the submission is valid for the specified period and amends the submission accordingly.

In exceptional circumstances, prior to the expiration of the validity period, the Procurement Officer/Assistant may request the vendors to extend the validity period of their bids or proposals. The request and the responses shall be made in writing to all invited vendors.