SEAO addenda: how not to miss a change

1. What an addendum is

SEAO's glossary defines an addendum as clarifications or changes made to the tender documents and sent to candidates before the bid submission date. It is not a simple information message: the addendum is part of the dossier, and the bid is evaluated against the amended version.

2. Why a PDF received by email does not protect you

Tender documents and their addenda are obtained through SEAO. A person who receives a set of documents by email from a third party has no guarantee of receiving later addenda: no one is obliged to forward them. Submitting on an outdated version exposes you to a non-compliant bid, and therefore rejection.

3. The 7-day rule

When a change may affect prices, the addendum must be sent at least seven days before the submission deadline. If that period is not respected, the deadline must be postponed by as many days as necessary. The purpose is to give bidders time to recalculate their offer.

4. The 3-day rule

Any change made three days or less before the deadline results in a postponement of at least three days, and the day before the new date must be a working day. This rule protects against last-minute changes, even when they do not directly affect prices.

5. A postponement also moves complaints

Postponing the submission date moves the complaint deadline by half of the increase in the submission period. This detail matters if you are preparing a challenge or tracking a dossier's calendar: the date from your first reading may no longer be correct.

6. Clarification requests have a deadline too

The organization may ignore a clarification request received five working days or less before the deadline, if the documents provide for it. Ask early, through the indicated channel, and keep the written answer. A verbal answer does not replace an addendum.

7. The monitoring method

1. At every work session, open the notice on SEAO and check the addenda list.
2. Download each addendum and note its publication date.
3. Keep a versioned folder: the original dossier, then one subfolder per addendum.
4. Replace the working version with the current one, without mixing the two.
5. Recheck the checklist, price schedule and dates after every addendum.
6. Before submission, verify one last time that no addendum has appeared since your last read.

8. What to recheck after an addendum

• The submission deadline and method.
• The price schedule: added, removed or changed lines.
• Forms and annexes to be signed.
• Evaluation criteria and disqualifying thresholds.
• Administrative documents and required guarantees.

9. Before submission

The final addenda check happens just before submission, not the day before. If an addendum appeared in the last few hours, re-read the dossier and, if needed, postpone the submission. A late submission is rejected; a submission on an outdated version is non-compliant. Both cost you the bid.

10. Common mistakes

• Reading only the first page of the addendum.
• Assuming an email alert is enough.
• Updating the text but not the price schedule.
• Mixing documents from two versions of the dossier.
• Not checking addenda on submission day.