Attested copy
A photocopy signed and stamped by a gazetted officer or notary as a true copy. Registration offices ask for attested copies of PAN, Aadhaar, GST and IT returns.
Explained in: Documents for registration and renewal, class by classGlossary
Every word a tender throws at you
55 terms, each in two or three plain sentences, with the chapter that explains it properly. Hover a dotted word anywhere in the course to see its entry.
A
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BOQ (Bill of Quantities)
The itemised list of everything the work needs, with quantities and units. You price it line by line (item rate) or quote one percentage over the whole thing (percentage rate).
Explained in: The BOQ and pricing your bidC
Chief Engineer (CE)
Heads a PWD zone. Registers Class I and Class II contractors, whose registration is valid across the state.
Explained in: Where to apply, fees, and how long it takesClass of contractor
The grade of your PWD registration. In Karnataka there are four: Class IV up to ₹25 lakh, Class III up to ₹2 crore, Class II up to ₹5 crore, Class I for any value.
Explained in: The four KPWD classes: Class I to Class IVCorrigendum
An official correction to a published tender: a new closing date, a changed quantity, an added document. It is part of the tender the moment it is issued, whether or not you read it.
Explained in: Submitting on KPPP: the final checklistD
Defect liability period (DLP)
The months after completion during which you must fix defects at your cost. The security deposit is released only when it ends.
Explained in: Completion, the final bill and the defect liability periodDSC (Digital Signature Certificate)
A USB token that signs your online bid the way a pen signs paper. KPPP needs a Class 3 DSC in the name of the person authorised to bid.
Explained in: The Digital Signature CertificateE
e-Procurement portal (eproc)
Karnataka's earlier tender website, eproc.karnataka.gov.in, in use since 2007. Some older tenders and departments still refer to it; the NIT tells you which portal a tender lives on.
Explained in: KPPP and e-Procurement: which portal is whichEMD (Earnest Money Deposit)
A refundable deposit paid with your bid to show you are serious. Usually a small percentage of the estimate. Returned to losing bidders after the award; forfeited if you withdraw or refuse to sign.
Explained in: EMD, tender validity and forfeitureEOT (Extension of Time)
A formal extension of the completion date, applied for in writing with reasons. Without it, delay attracts liquidated damages.
Explained in: Extension of time, deviations and liquidated damagesEstimate (amount put to tender)
The department's own costing of the work, prepared from the schedule of rates. Your bid is quoted against it, the EMD is calculated on it, and your class of registration is checked against it.
Explained in: How to read a tender noticeExecutive Engineer (EE)
The officer in charge of a PWD division, roughly a district. Signs work done certificates, registers Class IV contractors, and is usually the tender inviting authority for smaller works.
Explained in: Where to apply, fees, and how long it takesF
Financial bid (Cover 2)
Only the price: your BOQ rates or your percentage. Opened after technical evaluation, in front of the qualified bidders.
Explained in: The two-cover systemG
GST on works contracts
Government works contracts attract 18% GST (raised from 12% on 18 July 2022). Whether your quoted rate includes it is stated in the tender, and it changes your price by a sixth.
Explained in: GST on government works contractsGST TDS
Government departments deduct 2% GST at source (1% CGST + 1% SGST) on contract payments above ₹2.5 lakh. It shows up as a credit in your GST account, not a loss.
Explained in: TDS, GST TDS, cess and other deductionsI
Item-rate tender
A tender where you write your own rate against every BOQ item. Your total is the sum. More work to price, more room to be clever about where your margin sits.
Explained in: The BOQ and pricing your bidK
K/W-1 to K/W-6 (standard tender documents)
Karnataka's six standard tender documents for works, prescribed by the Finance Department in 2005: K/W-1 below ₹20 lakh, K/W-2 to ₹50 lakh, K/W-3 to ₹1 crore, K/W-4 to ₹10 crore, and K/W-5 and K/W-6 for prequalification above that. The form on the cover tells you the gate.
Explained in: Eligibility: similar work, turnover and tender capacityKPPP (Karnataka Public Procurement Portal)
The state's e-procurement website, kppp.karnataka.gov.in. Tenders are published, bids are submitted and fees are paid there. It replaced the older e-Procurement portal.
Explained in: KPPP and e-Procurement: which portal is whichKPWD
The Karnataka Public Works, Ports and Inland Water Transport Department. Roads, bridges and government buildings, and the department whose contractor registration most others accept.
Explained in: Do you need a "contractor licence"?KTPP Act
The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, 1999, and its Rules of 2000. The law every Karnataka government purchase above a small limit must follow: publish, allow time, open in public, pick the lowest responsive bid.
Explained in: The KTPP Act in plain wordsL
L1 (lowest bidder)
The bidder with the lowest evaluated price among those who qualified technically. L2 is the next, and so on. Under the KTPP Act the department may negotiate only with L1.
Explained in: L1, evaluation and negotiationLabour welfare cess (BOCW cess)
1% of the construction cost, deducted from every bill and paid to the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
Explained in: TDS, GST TDS, cess and other deductionsLiquidated damages (LD)
A pre-agreed deduction for every day or week the work runs late, capped at a percentage of the contract value. Set out in the agreement, not negotiated afterwards.
Explained in: Extension of time, deviations and liquidated damagesLOA (Letter of Acceptance)
The letter telling you your bid has been accepted. From here you have a fixed number of days to pay the security deposit and sign the agreement.
Explained in: LOA, agreement and the security depositM
Measurement book (MB)
The department's record of the work actually done, measured on site by the engineer. Every bill is prepared from it; nothing gets paid that is not in the MB.
Explained in: Running bills, the measurement book and deductionsMobilisation advance
An interest-free advance of 5% of the contract price against a bank guarantee, to be drawn before 20% of the contract period and repaid by 7.5% deductions from interim payments once payments reach 15%. In K/W-4 works, and since 2024 in reserved-category K/W-3 works.
Explained in: Cash flow: surviving between billsN
NIT (Notice Inviting Tender)
The notice that announces a tender: what the work is, the estimate, the EMD, who may bid, and the dates. On KPPP each NIT has a number that follows the tender for life.
Explained in: How to read a tender noticeP
Percentage-rate tender
A tender where the department's rates are fixed and you quote one figure: so many percent above, below, or at par with the estimate. Most small PWD works are like this.
Explained in: The BOQ and pricing your bidPerformance guarantee / bank guarantee
A bank's promise to pay the department if you fail to perform. Larger tenders accept it instead of cash for the security deposit.
Explained in: LOA, agreement and the security depositPre-bid meeting
A meeting the department holds before the closing date where bidders ask questions about the work. The answers, issued as a corrigendum or clarification, bind everyone.
Explained in: Submitting on KPPP: the final checklistPrice adjustment (escalation)
The clause in K/W-4 that changes the contract price with the cost of labour, materials, fuel and lubricants on works with a completion period over 12 months. Shorter works, and every K/W-1 to K/W-3 work, are fixed-rate.
Explained in: The BOQ and pricing your bidR
RA bill (running account bill)
An interim bill for work done so far. Also called a running bill or part bill. The final bill closes the account.
Explained in: Running bills, the measurement book and deductionsReserved tender
A construction work up to ₹1 crore tendered only among SC and ST contractors (since 2023) or backward classes in Category-I and II(A) (since June 2024), under section 6 of the KTPP Act, with half the EMD, the deposit taken from bills and lower qualification bars.
Explained in: Reserved tenders: SC, ST and Category-I and II(A) contractorsRetender / CALL-2
When a tender gets no valid bids, or too few, it is cancelled and issued again. KPPP marks the second attempt CALL-2, the third CALL-3. A second call is often a softer competition.
Explained in: Finding the tenders that fit youRoyalty / seigniorage
A charge on sand, stone and earth taken from quarries, recovered from your bill unless you produce receipts showing it was paid to the Mines department.
Explained in: TDS, GST TDS, cess and other deductionsS
Schedule of Rates (SR)
The department's published rate book for every item of work, revised each year. Estimates are built from it, so it is also the benchmark your quote is measured against.
Explained in: The BOQ and pricing your bidSection 4(g) exemption
The clause of the KTPP Act that lets the government exempt a specific purchase from tendering by notification. Controversial, and the reason some large works never appear on the portal.
Explained in: The KTPP Act in plain wordsSecurity deposit (SD)
Money held by the department for the whole contract as a guarantee of performance, commonly 5% of the contract value in Karnataka works. Part is paid at agreement, the rest deducted from bills.
Explained in: LOA, agreement and the security depositSimilar work
The qualification test: have you completed a work of the same nature and a stated size in the last few years? The tender defines what counts as similar.
Explained in: Eligibility: similar work, turnover and tender capacitySingle tender
Only one bid was received. Departments usually retender rather than award on a single bid, unless the rules allow it and the price is reasonable.
Explained in: L1, evaluation and negotiationSolvency certificate
A certificate from your bank or the Deputy Commissioner's office that you are good for a stated sum. It is addressed to the registering officer and proves you can carry a work until the first bill.
Explained in: The three certificates everyone struggles withSuperintending Engineer (SE)
Heads a PWD circle, a group of divisions. Registers Class III contractors.
Explained in: Where to apply, fees, and how long it takesT
TDS under section 194C
Income tax deducted from contractor payments: 1% for an individual or HUF, 2% for a firm or company. Claimed back against your income tax when you file.
Explained in: TDS, GST TDS, cess and other deductionsTechnical bid (Cover 1)
Everything that proves you are allowed to do the work: registration, certificates, turnover, EMD, declarations. No prices in here.
Explained in: The two-cover systemTender
A public invitation from a government body asking for priced offers to do a job or supply something. The offers are compared and one is picked by the rules, not by preference.
Explained in: What is a government tender, really?Tender capacity (bid capacity)
A formula in every K/W document that caps how much work you can take on at once: (A × N × F) − B, where A is your best year's works, N the years to finish, B your current commitments, and F a factor of 1.5, or 2.5 for works up to ₹1 crore, or 5 in reserved tenders.
Explained in: Eligibility: similar work, turnover and tender capacityTender fee / processing fee
A non-refundable amount paid to buy the tender document or to process the bid online. Small, fixed per tender, and separate from the EMD.
Explained in: Paying the tender fee and EMD onlineTender premium / discount
How far your quote sits from the estimate. Quoting 4% below is a 4% discount; 3% above is a 3% premium. The winning figure in a department and district is the number every bidder wants to know.
Explained in: The BOQ and pricing your bidTender Scrutiny Committee
A committee that reviews larger tenders before award: above ₹5 crore in PWD and irrigation departments, above ₹1 crore elsewhere. Adds weeks between closing and award.
Explained in: The KTPP Act in plain wordsTender validity
How long your offer must stay open after the closing date, usually 90 days in Karnataka. Withdraw inside it and the EMD is forfeited.
Explained in: EMD, tender validity and forfeitureTurnover certificate
A chartered accountant's certificate of your business turnover for the last five years. Registration and most tenders set a minimum.
Explained in: The three certificates everyone struggles withTwo-cover system
Your bid is submitted in two sealed parts: a technical cover (eligibility, documents, EMD) and a financial cover (the price). The price is opened only for bidders who pass the technical check.
Explained in: The two-cover systemU
Udyam registration (MSME)
The free online registration that makes a small business an MSME. Some tenders exempt registered MSMEs from EMD or tender fee, and it helps with bank credit.
Explained in: Setting up the business: PAN, GST, bank, Udyam, labourW
Work done certificate
A certificate from the Executive Engineer stating the works you completed, their value and that they were done satisfactorily. The proof of experience behind your class.
Explained in: The three certificates everyone struggles withWork order
The instruction to start work, issued after the agreement. The completion period usually counts from this date.
Explained in: LOA, agreement and the security depositPut it to work
Every live Karnataka tender, with the history the portal never shows.
Who won the last ones like it, at what discount, and the documents it asks for. Browse without an account; sign up when you want alerts.
Independent site, not a government one. Tender data is published by the Karnataka Public Procurement Portal. Source: kppp.karnataka.gov.in