Section 2: Definitions

Unless the subject or context otherwise requires, in this Act, –

(a) “Procurement” means acquisition of any goods, consultancy services or other services or carrying out or causing to be carried out any construction works, by a public entity pursuant to this Act,

(b) “Public Entity” means the following entity:

(1) Constitutional organ or body, Court, Ministry, Secretariat, Commission, Department of the Government of Nepal or provincial Government or any other Governmental Entity or Office thereunder,

(2) Corporation, Company, Bank or Board owned or controlled fully or in majority by the Government of Nepal or Provincial Government or Commission, Institute, Authority, Corporation, Academy, Board, Center, Council established at the public level or formed by the Government of Nepal under the laws in force and other corporate body of a similar nature,

(3) University, College, Research Centre, which is operated by the Government of Nepal or receives grants fully or in majority from the Government of Nepal or Provincial Government, or other Academic or Educational Institution of a similar nature,

(4) Local body,

(5) Development Board formed under the Development Board Act, 2013,

(6) Body operated with a loan or grant from the Government of Nepal or the Provincial Government, and

(7) Other Bodies as specified by the Government of Nepal by publishing a notification in the Nepal Gazette, as a Public Entity,

(c) “Goods” means any kind of object, whether movable or immovable, living or non-living, and this term includes services incidental to the supply of such goods,

(d) “Construction Work” means work such as site preparation, excavation, erection, building, installation of equipment or goods and decoration, etc., associated with the construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair or renovation of any structure or works, and this term also includes services incidental to construction work such as mapping, laboratory testing, satellite photography and seismic investigation,

(e) “Consultancy Service” means any study, research, survey, design, drawing, supervision, training, testing, software development service or other intellectual or professional service of a similar nature,

(f) “Other Services” means the act of hiring motor vehicles, equipment or goods, carriage or repair and maintenance of goods,

(g) “Bid” means a document setting out price, proposal or rate submitted by a bidder in the format specified by a Public Entity as per the notice published by that entity for procurement,

(h) “Bidder” means any person, firm, organisation or company that submits or may submit a bid to take part in procurement proceedings,

(i) “Bidding Document” means a document prepared by the concerned Public Entity making invitation to bid for submission by bidders by filling up or preparing price or proposal or rate in such document and this term also includes instructions to bidders, specifications, drawing, design, terms of reference, schedule of work, evaluation criteria, bill of quantities, conditions of contract and similar other documents,

(j) “Procurement Contract” means a procurement contract entered into between a Public Entity and a supplier, construction entrepreneur, consultant, or service provider pursuant to Section 52,

(k) “Public Procurement Monitoring Office” means the Public Procurement Monitoring Office established under Section 64,

(l) “Competent Authority” means an authority authorised under this Act or the rules made thereunder to approve proceedings regarding procurement,

(m) “Security” means retention money or earnest money furnished as security pending the completion of any obligation/work, and this term also includes bid security or performance security, or an amount furnished for security required to be so furnished for any other reason,

(n) “Special Circumstance” means a circumstance resulting from natural or divine calamity and a sudden or unexpected special circumstance such as drought, no rainfall, deluge, earthquake, flood, landslide and fire, and this term also includes a circumstance such as war or internal conflict,

¹(o) “Local level” means a rural municipality, municipality or district assembly formed in accordance with the prevailing law,

(p) “Joint Venture” means the act of carrying out any work jointly by two or more companies or firms with joint or several liabilities,

(q) “Agent” means any person, firm or company that takes agency of any national or foreign person, firm or company,

(r) “One Level Higher Authority” means in relation to governmental entities, in the case of the head of office, the head of a regional office where there is such regional office and the departmental head of the concerned department where there is no regional office, in the case of regional head, the departmental head of the concerned department, in the case of departmental head, the secretary to the concerned ministry, secretariat or commission, in the case of a Secretary, the concerned departmental Minister or Minister of state, and in the case of a Secretary or administrative head of a constitutional organ or body, the head of the concerned constitutional organ or body and in the case of other public entities, the head of an entity that is one level higher than the procuring entity and the board of directors or similar other body of such Public Entity where there is no such entity,

(s) “Donor Party” means any foreign country or international or foreign organisation, which provides foreign assistance in the form of a loan or grant to the Government of Nepal under a bilateral or multilateral agreement,

(t) “Ration” means the goods in-kind specified by the Government of Nepal in respect of food for the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and governmental employees specified by the Government of Nepal, patients at hospitals, detainees in prisons, animals and birds,

(u) “Prescribed” or “as prescribed” means prescribed or as prescribed in the rules framed under this Act.

^{1 Amended by the Act to Amend Certain Nepal Acts, 2072 BS and came into effect from 2074.2.8.}