Corrigendum in Government Tenders: Why Missing Amendments Gets You Rejected

A corrigendum is an official amendment to a published tender. It can change deadlines, specifications, eligibility criteria, BOQ quantities, or any other tender condition. Missing a corrigendum is one of the most common reasons bids get rejected — you submit based on the original document, but the evaluator checks against the amended version.

What Can Change in a Corrigendum

• Bid submission deadline — extended (common) or rarely, shortened. Always check for date changes.
• Technical specifications — material grades, dimensions, capacity requirements. Your bid must match the amended specs.
• Eligibility/PQ criteria — turnover thresholds, experience requirements, certification needs. Can make you newly eligible or disqualify you.
• BOQ changes — additional items, quantity revisions, unit changes. Your financial bid must reflect the amended BOQ.
• Commercial terms — payment terms, warranty period, penalty clauses, delivery schedule.
• EMD amount or format — changed deposit amount or accepted instruments.

Where Corrigenda Are Published

• Same portal as original tender — CPPP, state portals, GeM. Look in the tender details section.
• Newspaper notices — for major changes, some departments publish corrigendum notices in newspapers (as required by GFR 2017).
• Department website — some organisations post corrigenda on their official websites alongside the original NIT.
• Tenderkart — corrigenda are tracked and displayed alongside the original tender, so you see all amendments in one place.

How to Handle Corrigenda

• Check daily — corrigenda can be issued until the bid opening date. Check the portal every day after downloading the tender.
• Revise your bid — if specifications or BOQ change, your technical approach and pricing must be updated to match.
• Re-submit if needed — on e-procurement portals, you may need to withdraw and re-submit your bid to incorporate corrigendum changes.
• Acknowledge the corrigendum — some tenders require a signed acknowledgment of each corrigendum as part of your bid. Missing this acknowledgment can disqualify you.

Using Corrigenda Strategically

• Request corrigenda — if you find errors or restrictive specifications, submit written queries during the pre-bid period. The response comes as a corrigendum, benefiting all bidders.
• Deadline extensions — if you need more time, request an extension with valid reasons. Procuring entities often extend when they receive multiple requests.
• Track competitor impact — a PQ criteria change in a corrigendum might eliminate or add competitors. Reassess your position after each amendment.