The Tender Advisory Service (TAS) was established by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in consultation with SME stakeholders, to address concerns in relation to perceived barriers for SMEs in competing for tender opportunities.
The Tender Advisory Service is an informal outlet, provided free of charge, to suppliers in order to raise concerns in relation to a live tender process carried out by the OGP or other public sector contracting bodies.
The Tender Advisory Service can be used by individuals and companies in the following circumstances:
- where a Request for Tender (RFT) has been published
- the supplier must have registered an interest in a specific live tender process
- the supplier has sought answers to their queries through the normal clarification process with the Contracting Authority and
- where the supplier is not satisfied with the response from the contracting authority
A Tender Advisory Service query must be submitted after the clarification process has been utilised and no less than six days before closing date for receipt of tenders to allow for concerns or issues to be fully communicated and processed by Tender Advisory Service.
The service has been developed to assist suppliers and in no way impedes them from pursuing their rights formally under the remedies legislation.
Enquiries should in the first instance be made to the OGP Support Helpdesk, who will advise the enquirer on their eligibility for the service and the various steps involved in pursuing their enquiry.
Interested parties are strongly encouraged to read the Tender Advisory Service Information note before submitting a query.
A Standard Enquiry form should be completed for queries which fall within the remit of TAS and emailed to tenderadvisoryservice@ogp.gov.ie .
