Protests

Bidder Protests

Fairness and transparency are fundamental principles for FAO procurement activities. Bidders that believe they were not treated fairly in connection with a FAO procurement process may present a protest within one month of receipt of notice of non-award.

N.B This process does not apply for disputes arising in the context of contracts and contract execution, which need to follow dispute resolution provisions of the General Terms and Conditions of contracts.

Submission of the Protest

The protest should be submitted to the Procurement Authority of the FAO Office that issued the tender (i.e. signatory of the tender), with a copy to the [email protected]. 

Content of the Protest

The Bidder must clearly indicate that the submission constitutes a protest and shall include the following details:

a) The name, address, telephone number and email of the Bidder;

b) The solicitation name, number and the office issuing the solicitation;

c) A brief statement on the grounds of the protest, an explanation of how the protest is timely and an explanation of how the Bidder was directly affected;

d) Copies of relevant documents supporting the statement;

e) An explanation of the action requested.

Please note that a protest with incomplete information may not  be processed.

Review Process

Bidders will normally receive a reply within 15 working days. 

Escalation of the Protest

If the Bidder is not satisfied with the outcome of if no reply is received within this period, the Bidder may submit the protest within 10 working days directly to [email protected].

This process does not apply for disputes arising in the context of contracts and contract execution, which need to follow dispute resolution provisions of the General Terms and Conditions of contracts.