Module 5 · Chapter 4 of 5 6 min read

Extension of time, deviations and liquidated damages

Why works run late, how liquidated damages are calculated and capped, the hindrance register, applying for extension of time with reasons and evidence, deviations and extra items, and the letters that keep a delay from becoming a deduction.

The completion date, the hindrances, the extension. What is recorded in writing moves the date; what is remembered does not.

In this module

Most works finish late. Monsoon, a site handed over in pieces, a drawing that arrives after the foundation, a bill that stalls the material. The contract expects it and has a mechanism for it. The mechanism is paperwork, and the contractor who does the paperwork pays nothing while the one who does the same work without it pays liquidated damages.

Liquidated damages

A pre-agreed deduction for late completion: a rupee amount per day, for the whole work and for each milestone, stated in the Contract Data, and capped at 10% of the final contract price in the K/W documents. It is written in the conditions of contract, not decided later, and the department may recover it from bills or the security deposit. It applies to delay attributable to you. Delay caused by the department, the weather beyond the norm, or events outside your control is the ground for extension, and extension is what cancels LD.

The hindrance register

A record, kept at site and countersigned by the department's engineer, of every event that stopped or slowed the work: site not handed over, drawings pending, a road closed, unseasonal rain, a bill unpaid, a change ordered. Each entry has a date it began and a date it ended. It is the evidence for every extension you will ever ask for, and an entry made the week it happened is worth ten letters written a year later. If the division does not keep one, write a letter for each event instead, and ask for acknowledgement.

Applying for extension of time

Apply before the date, not after
The conditions usually require the application within a stated time of the cause arising, and in any case before the completion date. An application after expiry is weaker and some contracts refuse it.
State the causes with dates
Each hindrance, its start and end, the days lost, with the register entries or letters as evidence. Weather from the local rainfall record; site handover from the handover note; drawings from the correspondence.
Ask for a specific period
So many days, to a specific new completion date. Ask for what the evidence supports; a padded request invites a smaller grant.
Say whether it is with or without LD
Extension may be granted without penalty (department-caused delay) or with LD (your delay, tolerated). Ask explicitly for extension without levy of liquidated damages, and give the reasons.
Follow up in writing
The sanctioning authority (EE, SE or CE by the value) records the decision. Until it is granted, keep working and keep recording.

Deviations and extra items

Quantities in the BOQ are estimates. When an item exceeds its quantity by more than the permitted deviation (often 25%), or an item not in the BOQ is needed, the engineer prepares a deviation statement or an extra item rate analysis for sanction by the competent authority. Two rules: do not execute a deviation or extra item without written instruction, and get the rate agreed before execution wherever possible. Work done on a verbal instruction is work you may be asked to justify at the final bill.

Termination, the other end

Persistent delay with no application can lead to notices under the contract and, ultimately, termination at your risk and cost, with the balance work done by another contractor and the excess recovered from you, plus a confidential report that follows you to renewal. It is rare and it is always preceded by letters. Answer every notice, in writing, within the time given.

Key takeaways

LD is a pre-agreed daily or weekly deduction for delay attributable to you, capped as a percentage of the contract.
A hindrance register or dated letters are the evidence for extension. Record events the week they happen.
Apply for extension before the completion date, with causes, dates and evidence, asking for a specific period without LD.
Deviations and extra items only on written instruction, with the rate agreed first.

Check yourself

0 / 3

1.What cancels liquidated damages for a delay caused by late site handover?
2.When should an extension of time application be made?
3.Rock is found where the BOQ assumed soil. What should you do before excavating it?

Frequently asked

How are liquidated damages calculated in PWD contracts?

As a rupee amount per day of delay attributable to the contractor, stated in the Contract Data for the whole work and for each milestone, and capped at 10% of the final contract price in the Karnataka standard documents. The rate and cap are in the agreement.

What is a hindrance register?

A site record, countersigned by the department's engineer, of every event that delayed the work with start and end dates. It is the primary evidence for an extension of time application.

Can extension of time be granted after the completion date has passed?

Sometimes, at the authority's discretion, but the application should be made before expiry. Many conditions require notice within a set number of days of the cause.

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Written from the KTPP Act and Rules, the Karnataka Public Works Departmental Code 2014, KPWD bidding documents and office checklists, and checked against awarded tenders on this site. Figures change; the tender document and the registering office are the final word. Spotted an error? Tell us.