(1) If it is required to blacklist any bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company pursuant to Section 63 of the Act, the public entity shall send a request in writing, along with the relevant details and the reason, as well as the relevant documents, to the Public Procurement Monitoring Office.
(2) Upon receipt of the request pursuant to sub-rule (1), if, in examining such details, reasons and documents, it appears that such a bidder, proponent, service provider, consultant, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company has to be immediately prevented from participating in public procurement, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office may so prevent from participating in new procurement proceeding until the process for blacklisting referred to in this Rule is completed.
(3) If the Public Procurement Monitoring Office decides to prevent pursuant to sub-rule (2), it shall give information thereof to the concerned bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company and publish a notice publicly, within seven days of such a decision.
(4) Upon receipt of the request pursuant to sub-rule (1), except in cases where prevention is to be made immediately pursuant to sub-rule (2), the Public Procurement Monitoring Office shall send a notice in writing of thirty days, accompanied by a copy of the statement, reason and document so received to the office or house of the concerned bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization
or company, requiring him or her to submit the grounds and clarification, if any, for not blacklist him or her.
(4a) If he or she is not found upon sending the written notice referred to in sub-rule (4) to his or her office or house, ………. a public notice to that effect shall be published in a newspaper of national circulation, and such a notice shall be deemed to have been given if the notice is so published.
(5) Upon receipt of the notice pursuant to sub-rule (4), the concerned bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company shall submit to the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, clarification, together with relevant documents, setting out the reason and ground, if any, for not blacklisting.
(6) The concerned bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company may, in submitting explanation pursuant to sub-rule (5), request the Public Procurement Monitoring Office that joint hearing be conducted in the presence of him or her and the concerned public entity.
(7) Where a request is made pursuant to sub-rule (6) for hearing and the Public Procurement Monitoring Office considers it appropriate to conduct such hearing, it shall give a written notice as to the time and place of such hearing to the concerned public entity and the bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company.
(8) The public entity and the bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company receiving the notice referred to in sub- rule (7) shall appear before the Public Procurement Monitoring Office within the period specified in that sub-rule.
(9) If both parties appear within the period referred to in sub- rule (8), the Public Procurement Monitoring Office shall provide both the parties with an opportunity to present their respective written or oral explanation and statement.
Provided that the hearing shall not be adjourned for the sole reason that any party has not appeared.
(10) The Public Procurement Monitoring Office shall, in consideration of, inter alia, the hearing, if any, conducted pursuant to sub-rule (9), and failing such hearing, on the basis of the documents submitted by the public entity and the concerned bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company, make a decision to or not to blacklist him or her.
(11) Where the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, while making a decision pursuant to sub-rule (10), decides to blacklist him or her, it shall give information thereof in writing to the concerned public entity and the bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company and publish it in a newspaper of national circulation.
(12) Where the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, in making a decision pursuant to sub-rule (11), decides not to blacklist, the prevention, if any, made pursuant to sub-rule (2) shall, ipso facto, be removed and the Office shall publicly publish the matter to that effect.
(13) Where a decision is made pursuant to sub-rule (10) to blacklist a bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company who has been prevented pursuant to sub-rule (2), the time of blacklisting shall be computed from the date on which such a prevention has been made.
(14) The Public Procurement Monitoring Office shall complete the proceeding of blacklisting pursuant to this Regulation within six months of the receipt of the request relating thereto.
(15) If any public entity has blacklisted or decided to blacklist a bidder, proponent, consultant, service provider, supplier, construction entrepreneur or other person, firm, organization or company prior to the commencement of this Regulation, such an entity shall send information thereof to the Public Procurement Monitoring Office within thirty days of the commencement of this Regulation.