Flat Forms

OVERVIEW

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) wishes to establish a contract(s) to deliver the CRA’s Flat Form print and related service requirements, in an efficient manner through the application of industry best practices.

Up to two contracts may be awarded through this RFP process.

One contract may be awarded for the forms identified in Appendix 3: Financial Proposal 2024 Tables A, A1, B, C, D, F, G, H, and I. All Bidders MUST provide pricing in these tables.

A second contract may be awarded for the PD7A-RB and W1-RB Remittance Booklets. Information on these booklets can be located within the RFP at:
- SOW: Page 61 & 62 (A1-18.0 ADDITIONAL ITEMS ; A1 - 18.1 Remittance Booklets)
- Appendix 3 – Financial Proposal 2024: Table E-Remittance Booklets)

Any Bidder that is not bidding on the PD7A-RB and W1-RB Remittance Booklets should enter N/A for the pricing in Appendix 3: Financial Proposal 2024 Table E - Remittance Booklets.

The Contractor will be responsible for meeting CRA’s requirements on an as-and-when-requested basis, and to ensure timely, accurate service delivery.

The CRA has been spending approximately $210,000 annually over the last three years on flat forms for various programs within the Agency. There are approximately 200 different flat forms that are printed for various CRA programs. This would include but is not limited to: Flat Forms (includes folding, perforating, or scoring), Pads, NCR Forms, Numbering (includes MICR/OCR, static or variable/sequential), Personalization/Mailings, etc.

The total estimated number of annual impressions is approximately 13,000,000. The number of impressions per requirement typically range from 500 to 6,000,000 impressions.

Flat forms are required in either or both Official Languages, French and English.
The production time ranges from 4 (four) to 20 (twenty) working days.

If one contract is awarded for all services, the resulting contract will include a minimum guarantee of $50,000.00 (applicable taxes included), for the period of the Contract, including options.

If two contracts are awarded for the services, the resulting contracts will each include a minimum guarantee of $25,000.00 (applicable taxes included), for the period of the Contracts, including options.

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:

All paper products must contain a minimum of 30% PCW, or contain virgin fiber originating from a sustainably-managed forest certified to a third-party verified forest certification standard such as or equivalent to the Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA/SFMS), the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Canada reserves the right to request proof of such qualifications, at its sole discretion, throughout the life of the Contract. All designated stocks are listed in the tables of the Basis of Payment.

Products that are equivalent in certification to the certifications specified will be considered where the Contractor:

a) designates the certification(s) name of the product;
b) states that the substitute certification is fully interchangeable with one of the certifications specified in the offer;
c) provides complete specifications and descriptive literature for each substitute certification;
d) provides compliance statements that include technical specifics showing the substitute certification meets all mandatory performance criteria that are specified in one of the certifications specified in the offer; and
e) clearly identifies those areas in the specifications and descriptive literature that support the substitute product's compliance with any mandatory performance criteria.

Certification(s) offered as equivalent in form, fit, function and quality will not be considered if:

a) the offer fails to provide all the information requested to allow the Contracting Authority to fully evaluate the equivalency of each substitute certification; or
b) the substitute certification fails to meet or exceed the mandatory performance criteria of one of the specified certifications identified in the offer.

The CRA may, but will have no obligation to, request the Contractor demonstrate, that the substitute certification is equivalent to the certifications specified herein. The cost to demonstrate the equivalency shall be borne by the Contractor.

All paper products must be manufactured such that if a whitening process is used, the fibre must not have been whitened with elemental chlorine.

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.
• Forms must be packed in new, uniform shipping cartons to ensure stability of transportation and storage.

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 negotiated (i.e. either increased or decreased) in accordance with the following, as published by Statistics Canada:

For printed products: The firm all-inclusive lot prices per 1000 copies will be negotiated once a year (for the preceding 12-month period) as per Statistics Canada Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) for pulp and paper products and proof of price increases in the form of verified Mill letters for the paper products required for these services.

For services: Table 1 Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada - Not seasonally
adjusted for Services.

For transportation costs: Table 1 Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada - Not
seasonally adjusted for Transportation.

Release dates for major economic indicators can be accessed via https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/dai-quo/cal1-eng.htm

The prices of the previous contract year will be multiplied by the “% change” published for the
twelve month period preceding the month in which the Option is exercised.

TRADE AGREEMENTS

Only CFTA is applicable to this requirement.

CONTRACT AND OPTIONS PERIODS

The Services will be required from date of Contract to 31 March 2026 inclusive, with 3 irrevocable options to extend the contract period for up to 3 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.

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