Module 1 · Chapter 3 of 5 8 min read
The life of a tender, start to finish
Every stage a Karnataka tender passes through: publication, pre-bid, corrigenda, closing, technical opening, financial opening, L1, negotiation, scrutiny, award, agreement. What happens at each, how long it takes, and where bids die.
In this module
A tender is a sequence of dated events, and every one of them is visible on KPPPKPPP (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.Read in the glossary → if you know where to look. This chapter walks the whole sequence once, so that when Module 4 teaches you to bid you already know where in the story you are standing.
- Sanction and estimateBefore anything is published the department has an approved estimate, built from its Schedule of RatesSchedule 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.Read in the glossary →, and a sanction that says the money exists. You never see this stage, but it explains a lot: the estimate is not a guess, and a tender with no funds behind it cannot be published.
- Publication of the NITThe Notice Inviting TenderNIT (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.Read in the glossary → goes up on KPPP, and for larger works in the newspapers and the state tender bulletin. From this day the clock runs. The KTPP Rules set the minimum: 30 days to the closing date for tenders up to ₹2 crore, 60 days above that, unless a senior officer records a reason to shorten it.
- Document download and the pre-bid meetingYou download the full tender document (free on KPPP) and, for larger works, attend the pre-bid meetingPre-bid meetingA 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.Read in the glossary → where bidders ask questions. Answers are issued as a clarification or a corrigendum and bind everyone.
- CorrigendaAny change after publication, a new date, a revised quantity, an added condition, is issued as a corrigendumCorrigendumAn 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.Read in the glossary →. It is part of the tender from the moment it is published. A closing date extended by corrigendum is a common and easily missed event; BiddingView tracks them per tender.
- Closing (bid submission deadline)The exact date and time after which KPPP will not accept a bid. Not 5 pm on the day; the minute printed in the notice. The tender fee and EMDEMD (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.Read in the glossary → must be paid before this too.
- Technical openingUsually a day or two after closing. The technical covers are opened and each bid is checked for eligibility: class, experience, turnover, EMD, declarations. Bids that fail are marked non-responsive and go no further.
- Financial openingThe price covers of the responsive bidders are opened, on KPPP and in the presence of whoever attends. The prices are read out and ranked: L1L1 (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.Read in the glossary →, L2, L3. This is the first moment anyone learns what the competition quoted.
- Evaluation, negotiation, scrutinyThe evaluating officer checks the L1 bid arithmetic and reasonableness. If L1 is above the estimate the department may negotiate, with L1 only. Works above ₹5 crore in PWD and irrigation (₹1 crore elsewhere) also pass a Tender Scrutiny CommitteeTender Scrutiny CommitteeA 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.Read in the glossary →. This stage is where weeks disappear.
- Award: the LOAThe Letter of AcceptanceLOA (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.Read in the glossary → tells L1 the bid is accepted and gives 20 days (the K/W documents' figure) to furnish the security depositSecurity 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.Read in the glossary → and sign the agreement.
- Agreement and work orderThe agreement is signed at the division, the work orderWork orderThe instruction to start work, issued after the agreement. The completion period usually counts from this date.Read in the glossary → is issued, and the completion period starts counting. Module 5 begins here.
How long does it all take?
| Stage | Typical time in Karnataka |
|---|---|
| Publication to closing | 30 days (≤ ₹2 crore) or 60 days (> ₹2 crore) by rule; often extended once by corrigendum |
| Closing to technical opening | 1 to 3 days |
| Technical to financial opening | Same day to two weeks, depending on how many bids need evaluating |
| Financial opening to LOA | Two weeks for a small division work; two to four months where a scrutiny committee or negotiation is involved |
| LOA to agreement | The days stated in the LOA, usually 15 to 20 |
Reading the stage on BiddingView
Every tender page on this site carries its status history: published, corrigendum, closed, under evaluation, awarded, with dates. The tenders list filters by stage, and an alert tells you the morning a matching tender is published or a closing date moves. The one thing the portal never tells you, and BiddingView does, is what happened last time: who won the previous tenders like this one and at what discount.
Key takeaways
- A tender moves through fixed stations: NIT, pre-bid, corrigenda, closing, technical opening, financial opening, evaluation, LOA, agreement.
- The law sets 30 or 60 days from publication to closing. Everything after closing is unregulated time, and it can be months.
- Bids die at technical opening for documents, and tenders die before LOA for lack of bids or funds.
- A cancelled tender usually returns as CALL-2, and it is worth watching.
Check yourself
0 / 3- 1.A tender for ₹3.5 crore is published on 1 October. By rule, what is the earliest closing date?
- 2.When do bidders first learn what their competitors quoted?
- 3.What does CALL-2 on a KPPP tender mean?
Frequently asked
Can a closing date be extended?
Yes, by corrigendum, and it happens often. The extension is published on KPPP and counts for everyone. BiddingView records each corrigendum on the tender's page and alerts subscribers when a closing date moves.
What is a non-responsive bid?
A bid that fails the technical check: missing or invalid documents, wrong class, EMD not paid, an unsigned declaration. Its financial cover is never opened.
How long is a bid valid after closing?
The tender states it; 90 days is the Karnataka standard. Within that window you cannot withdraw without losing the EMD, and the department may issue the LOA at any time.
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Put 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.
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.