Notice to Prospective Vendors:

The U.S. Government, through its U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, has procurement and contracting requirements throughout the year to receive supplies and services. Requests for Proposal / Quotation (RFP/RFQ) are required to allow the Embassy to more accurately budget for these supplies and services; these will be announced on this Embassy website. Many will also be advertised in the SAM.GOV website for Contract Opportunities at https://sam.gov (formerly Federal Business Opportunities – FedBizOps).

The Embassy highly recommends that vendors are registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting their quotes/offers for an open RFR/RFP. This facilitates the Embassy review process and results in a more efficient awarding of the contract. SAM is the official, U.S. government-operated website. It is free – there is NO charge to register or maintain your entity registration record in SAM.

Vendors submitting RFP/RFQ are reminded that these projects are not yet funded, and the Embassy is not making any guarantee that the project will result in a solicitation or award of a contract.

All RFP/RFQ, solicitation announcements and awarded contracts will include all applicable provisions and clauses. All companies, firms, and agencies that respond to the solicitation must be technically qualified, financially responsible, and have the necessary personnel, satisfactory record of performance, satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics, equipment, licenses, and permits required by local authority.

Two specific provisions and clauses are copied below since they have been recently required as integral parts of all RFQs.

1. Risk Analysis Management (RAM) Vetting

Offers that fall within our competitive range require additional processing for companies wishing to do business with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

This extra risk analysis vetting is performed on key contractor personnel; including host country, third country, U.S. citizens, and Legal Permanent Residents of the United States. The vetting process applies to all contracts, purchase orders, delivery orders, Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), and BPA calls.

A request for information will be emailed to offerors in the competitive range or selected vendors, and all interested vendors must provide all information requested in the form DS-4184, Risk Analysis Information. Vendors are required to submit the requested data required for vetting via a secure online portal linking them to the Risk Analysis Management (RAM) office; access to the Portal and instructions for creating an account will be provided to the vendor by email.

Successful passing of vetting is one condition of receiving award. Other factors are price reasonableness and technical acceptability. Each vendor should submit the requested data via the secure online RAM portal within 3-5 days after being contacted. Vendors who do not provide the information will not be considered for contract awards.

2. Excise tax imposed on all payments made under specific U.S. Government contracts

For all contracts awarded by the U.S. Government after June 5, 2020 that exceed $250,000, Section 5000C of the Internal Revenue Code requires a 2% excise tax be imposed on all payments associated with that contract.

Section 5000C will not be applied if the payment is made to a foreign person entitled to relief from the tax imposed under section 5000C pursuant to an international agreement with the United States, including relief pursuant to a nondiscrimination provision of a qualified income tax treaty when the foreign person is entitled to the benefit of that provision.

For all offers that exceed $250,000, the offeror must submit Internal Revenue Service form W-14 that requests exemption as noted in the preceding paragraph. If approved, the excise tax will not be imposed under the contract.

3. NDAA Section 889 restrictions on specific telecommunications equipment

Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits the federal government, government contractors, and grant and loan recipients from procuring or using certain “covered telecommunication equipment or services” that are produced by Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua and their subsidiaries as a “substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system.”

All potential or current contractors with the U.S. Government must review their direct and indirect usage of equipment manufactured by or provided by the above-mentioned companies and/or their subsidiaries. The U.S. Government will require a certification by the Contractor that affirms this. Click here to open the Embassy Letter with FAR Clauses to be completed and returned to the Embassy.

In cases where this certification is not possible – either because the contractor does use these companies and/or equipment, or the contractor cannot reliably determine this with confidence – the U.S. Government will seek a contract-specific waiver covering a specified period of time not to exceed one year.

To assist with questions or clarifications about specific contract opportunities, the Embassy Procurement and Contracting Section, may be reached through local telephone 051-201-4000 or via e-mail at Islamabad_GSO_Procurement@state.gov. Please note that this email address is for contracting and procurement inquiries only. Questions related to visas or other issues will not receive a reply.

The above information was updated on September 20, 2020.