Definitions

PURCHASE ORDER
A properly executed and numbered Authority purchase order authorizes the vendor to provide the goods or services identified on the purchase order.

LIMITED PURCHASES (X-1,000)
Procurement transactions under $1,000 are authorized without an Authority purchase order. The $1,000 limit applies to the total of the invoice. If required by the vendor, a purchase order will be issued for a transaction under $1,000.

EMERGENCY PURCHASE ORDER (EPO)
The Authority may order goods or services on an emergency basis. Such an order requires authorization by the Procurement Office in the form of an emergency purchase order (EPO) number. Call the Procurement Office at (703) 289-6255 if you wish to verify that an EPO number has been issued for a specific purchase.

NOTICE OF AWARD
The Authority reserves the right to determine the lowest responsive arid responsible Bidder, either on the basis of the individual items, a group of items, or all items, and to make an award, either in whole or in part, unless otherwise provided in the solicitation.
If a vendor is awarded a contract, a Notice of Award is issued identifying the contract term, and the terms and conditions of the award. The vendor is not authorized to perform under the contract until the vendor receives a valid Authority purchase order covering a purchase against the contract.

SPECIFICATIONS
Any questions pertaining to the contents of an Invitation to Bid or Request for Proposal, shall be addressed to the Procurement Office at least 10 days before the scheduled response opening. If necessary, addenda will be issued to change or clarify the specification.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS/OFFERORS
Vendors must carefully review all General Terms and Conditions and Instructions to Bidders sections of solicitations received. These sections are tailored to each solicitation and may contain contractual and other information that could affect vendor pricing.

"NO RESPONSE" FORM
A "No Response" form may be included in certain solicitations to allow vendors to indicate that they do not wish to respond to the solicitation. Failure to return this form to the Procurement Office will result in removal from the Bidder List for the commodity or service covered by the solicitation.

EQUIVALENT ITEMS
The Authority may identify an item with a brand and model number adding the words, "or equivalent," or "or equal." In such cases, the Authority encourages submission of bids for items that perform the same function as the named brand and model, as well as any appropriate literature describing the item.
When the specification identifies a brand as "No Substitute," only the specified brand is acceptable. If a vendor feels that the request for a "No Substitute" item is not justified, the vendor may contact the Procurement Office to obtain the Authority's reasoning for the "No Substitute" designation.

PROTEST OF BID AWARD
Any bidder or offeror may protest the award or decision to award a contract by submitting such protest in writing to the Procurement Manager, no later than 10 days after the award or announcement of the decision to award, whichever occurs first. Said protest shall be handled as set forth in Authority regulations on protest of award in accordance with Section 2.2-4360 of the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

COMMODITY CODES
The commodity codes used are those of the National Institute of Governmental Procurement (NIGP). Because of the specialization of our needs, many of the general and specific codes have been eliminated from the listing we provide to prospective vendors. Inclusion under any particular commodity code does not assure a vendor that their company will be sent a public notice on bids and proposals. No guarantee is made to include every vendor in quotations, nor rotate use of vendors for all small purchases.