Guide
What to do when a corrigendum is issued
Last reviewed
The short answer
When a corrigendum is issued, read it in full the same day and compare it with the original, line by line. Work out which version prevails, then update your dates, eligibility check, price format and document list. If you have already submitted, find out whether you must change or resubmit anything. Check again just before the bid end date, because there can be another.
1. What a corrigendum is and why it matters
A corrigendum is a notice from the buyer that changes a published tender. Some buyers call a notice that adds something an addendum, and use the two words loosely. Either way, it forms part of the tender.
The usual changes are a new bid end or opening date, a changed specification or quantity, a changed eligibility condition, a different EMD or fee, a replaced price format or BoQ, a new form, and the buyer's answers to the pre-bid questions. Any of these can change whether you bid and what you quote.
2. Find every corrigendum
Do not wait to be told. Notification emails from portals are not a guarantee, and you may not be on the list at all.
- On GeM, open the bid's page and look for amendments or corrigendum notices, and for a changed bid end date.
- On the Central Public Procurement Portal and state portals, open the tender's details page and look for the corrigendum or addendum section.
- Check the minutes of the pre-bid meeting. Replies given there are often published as a corrigendum.
- Check again on the day you submit, and again an hour before the bid end date.
Download every corrigendum and keep it with the tender, named by date.
3. Read it against the original
Read the whole corrigendum, not the summary line. Then compare each change with the clause it replaces. Corrigenda often say "read X as Y" or "clause 4.2 is deleted", and you can only judge the effect when the clause is in front of you.
Look for knock-on effects. A new date may change your pre-bid question deadline. A new BoQ may change your price build-up. A changed eligibility condition may open the tender to you, or close it.
4. Work out which version applies
Most tenders treat the corrigendum as part of the tender, and where it conflicts with the original, the corrigendum applies. Do not assume that. Look for a clause on the order of precedence and for words in the corrigendum itself, such as "all other terms remain unchanged".
If the corrigendum and the original still disagree and the document does not settle it, ask the buyer in writing and keep the reply.
5. Update your own working
Go back through everything you built from the old version:
- Dates: the bid end date, the opening date, the pre-bid deadline and your internal approval dates.
- Eligibility: every condition the corrigendum touches, and the proof for it.
- Price: the BoQ or price format, quantities, taxes and any change in the terms of payment.
- Documents: new forms and annexures, and documents that are no longer needed.
- People: tell everyone who is working on the bid. A teammate working from the old version is the usual way a bid goes wrong.
6. If you have already submitted
Find out whether the change affects your bid. If it does, most portals let you withdraw or edit and resubmit before the bid end date, but the steps differ by portal and the bid document may say more, so check the portal's help and the tender. Some buyers extend the date to give bidders time to revise.
If you cannot tell what you need to do, ask the buyer in writing before the bid end date. Do not leave it until after the bids are opened, when it is usually too late to correct a bid.
7. If the change goes against you
A corrigendum can add a condition you cannot meet. You can raise it with the buyer in writing, giving your reason, if the tender provides a way to do so before the bid end date. The buyer may or may not change it. Decide whether to bid on the tender as it now stands.
8. Keep a short log
For each corrigendum, record the date it was issued, what changed, what it affects in your bid, what you did and who you told. Keep it with the bid file. If a bid is questioned later, the log shows you acted on the current version.
Where Tenderlytix fits
In the Tenderlytix workspace you add the corrigendum to the same tender and re-run it. You see what changed, the bid end date follows the new document, and the reminders move with it. A re-run does not use up a free tender or a credit. Tenderlytix does not watch portals, so you still need to find and download each corrigendum yourself. See the questions about corrigenda, or try the free tender check on any PDF.
Try it on your own tender
Upload one tender PDF to the free check and see its key dates, EMD, eligibility highlights and documents to submit in one place. No account and no payment.
Check a tender PDF freeSources
- Central Public Procurement Portal. Where central tenders and their corrigenda are published.
- Government e-Marketplace (GeM). The portal itself, including its general terms and conditions for bids.
- Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. General Financial Rules 2017 and the Manuals for Procurement of Goods, Works and Consultancy and Other Services.
Rules and portals change, and every buyer writes its own conditions. This guide is general information, not legal advice. The bid document you are bidding on, and any corrigendum to it, prevails over anything written here.