Cut Sheet Paper

Notice of Proposed Procurement (NPP) for Cut Sheet Paper DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

OVERVIEW This solicitation is open only to Canadian suppliers. For additional information, consult the bid solicitation document.

The goal of this initiative is to establish a strategic collaborative arrangement for the timely and accurate supply and delivery of Cut Sheet paper (in White and Blue) for the CRA, in an efficient manner through the application of industry best practices on an “as and when requested” basis. The Contractor is responsible for meeting the CRA’s requirements on an “as and when requested” basis, and to ensure timely, accurate service and delivery.

The resulting contract will include a minimum guarantee of $500,000.00 (applicable taxes included), for the period of the Contract, including options.

Conditional Set-Aside Under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business

• This procurement may be conditionally set aside under the federal government Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business. • In order to be considered for the set-aside, the Bidder must certify that it qualifies as an Indigenous business as defined under PSIB and that it will comply with all requirements of PSIB. If bids from two (2) or more Indigenous businesses are compliant with the terms of the Request for Proposal, the contracting authority will limit the competition to those Indigenous businesses and will not consider bids from any non-Indigenous businesses that may have been submitted. • For more information on Indigenous business requirements of the Set-aside Program for Indigenous Business, refer to Eligibility for Indigenous procurement set aside and Procurement information for Indigenous business owners

Sustainable Development

It is the Agency’s objective to promote sustainable development initiatives by purchasing environmentally preferable products, where possible, as well as encouraging vendors to use best practices in packaging and delivery to reduce environmental impacts.

The Contractor is required to assist the CRA with achieving these objectives and is responsible for the following:

Paper must be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), or other equivalent “Green” third-party certified.

Packaging

The Contractor is responsible for

• Packing all items to minimize the use of packing materials and be made of recycled and/or recyclable material, where feasible. • Using packaging and shipping materials that are designed to minimize the waste. • Using corrugated cardboard that contain a minimum 30% post-consumer recycled-fibre content. • Using reusable, returnable and recyclable packaging and shipping materials whenever feasible.

Price Escalation/De-escalation Prices for the second year of the initial contract period and optional periods of service, if exercised at CRA's discretion, will be adjusted (i.e. either increased or decreased) in accordance with the following: The firm all-inclusive lot prices per 1000 copies will be increased or decreased once a year based on: i. the Statistics Canada Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) for pulp and paper products for the preceding 12-month period; and ii. Contractor provided notices indicating the increase or decrease in the base transaction cost of the paper used to perform the Work. Such notice must contain the price publicly announced by paper suppliers who supply the grade specified in the Contract and the date the price came into effect.

TRADE AGREEMENTS

The required services are subject to the following trade agreements

Only CFTA is applicable to this requirement.

CONTRACT AND OPTIONS PERIODS

The services will be required from date of Contract to 31 December 2028 inclusive, with three irrevocable options to extend the contract period for up to three additional years, to be exercised in 1-year increments.

CONTRACTOR SELECTION METHODOLOGY

The Bidder must meet all mandatory criteria applicable to this solicitation. Only the bids meeting the mandatory criteria will be evaluated and scored in accordance with the point rated evaluation criteria. Any proposal that does not achieve the minimum score of 66 points out of 110 will be considered non-compliant and will receive no further consideration.

To determine an overall score for each proposal, technical and price will each be given a rating value; in this case, 60% for technical and 40% for price, and then combined to derive a total combined rating.

The Bidder recommended for award of the Contract will be the compliant Bidder achieving the highest combined rating.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

When responding, the proposal MUST be delivered to the Bid Receiving Unit address indicated below by the time and date indicated on Page 1. BIDDERS ARE TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO: Canada Revenue Agency Bid Receiving Unit BRUg@cra-arc.gc.ca Bids will not be accepted if emailed directly to this email address. This email address must be used to request that CRA open a Connect conversation, as detailed in Standard Instructions 2003. Bidders must not use their own licensing agreement for Connect to initiate a Connect conversation with CRA. Bidders are hereby advised that the Bid Receiving Unit of CRA is available Monday to Friday inclusive, between the hours of 0830 and 1500 EDT, excluding those days that the federal government observes as a holiday. Due to the nature of this solicitation, electronic transmissions of a proposal by facsimile is not considered to be practical and therefore will not be accepted. Proposal documents and supporting information must be submitted in either English or French. All enquiries regarding this Request for Proposal must be directed in WRITING (see email address below) to:

CONTRACTING Authority

Michael Yaehne Senior Supply/Business Analyst Contracting Division Canada Revenue Agency Tel. Number : (613) 291-3146 Email Address : Michael.Yaehne@cra-arc.gc.ca