Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 12 - Finance and Administration › Part 6 - Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management › Chapter 3 - Source Selection and Contract Formation › Sec2 12-6-3.109 - Sole-Source Procurement › Section 12-6-3.109.02 - Conditions for Use of Sole-Source / Research Procurement(s)

Current through June 25, 2024
Sole-source procurement is not permissible unless a
					 requirement is available from only a single supplier. A requirement for a
					 particular proprietary item does not justify sole-source procurement if there
					 is more than one potential bidder or offerer for that item. The following are
					 examples of circumstances which could necessitate sole-source
					 procurement:
(1) Where the
				  compatibility of equipment, accessories, or replacement parts is the paramount
				  consideration (and manufacturer is sole supplier).
(2)Where a sole supplier's item is needed for
				  trial use or testing.
(3) Where a
				  sole supplier's item is to be required when no other item will serve the need
				  of the user entity.
Any agency seeking sole source procurement authority for
					 commodities shall advertise in the same manner provided in Section
					 31-7-13(c),
					 Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated. Such advertisement shall direct vendors to
					 the procurement portal website established by Sections
					 25-53-151
					 and
					 27-104-165,
					 where the agency shall publish for a minimum of fourteen (14) days the terms of
					 the proposed sole source procurement. The portal publication shall include, but
					 is not limited to, the following information:
1. A description of the commodity that the
				  agency is seeking to procure;
2. An
				  explanation of why the commodity is the only one that can meet the needs of the
				  agency;
3. An explanation of why
				  the source is the only person or entity that can provide the required
				  commodity;
4. An explanation of why
				  the amount to be expended for the commodity is reasonable;
5. The efforts that the agency went through
				  to obtain the best possible price for the commodity; and
6. Procedures for any person or entity that
				  objects and proposes that the commodity published on the procurement portal is
				  not sole source and can be provided by another person or entity. These
				  procedures shall direct the objecting person or entity to notify the agency
				  that published the proposed sole source procurement request with a detailed
				  explanation of why the commodity is not a sole source procurement. If such an
				  objection has been raised, the agency shall follow the following steps:
(a)If the agency determines after review that
				  the commodity in the proposed sole source request can be provided by another
				  person or entity, then the agency must withdraw the sole source request
				  publication from the procurement portal website and submit the procurement of
				  the commodity to an advertised competitive bid or selection process.
(b)If the agency determines after review that
				  there is only one (1) source for the required commodity, then the agency may
				  appeal to the Public Procurement Review Board. The agency has the burden of
				  proving that the commodity is only provided by one (1) source.
(c) If the Public Procurement Review Board
				  has any reasonable doubt as to whether the commodity can only be provided by
				  one (1) source, then the agency must submit the procurement of the commodity to
				  an advertised competitive bid or selection process.
Once the procedures listed above have been followed, and an
					 item has been certified as a single source item, the item may be purchased
					 without complying with provisions for competitive bidding. Authority must be
					 granted by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management prior to
					 acquisition of the item by using the electronic P-1 process. A letter must be
					 accompanied as an attachment to the P1 request outlining the results of the
					 procedures that have been detailed above.
Following the approved purchase, per Section
					 31-7-13(m)(viii),
					 Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated, t he executive head of the state agency,
					 or his designees, shall file with the Department of Finance and Administration,
					 documentation of the purchase, including a description of the commodity
					 purchased, the purchase price thereof and the source from whom it was purchased
					 when submitting the applicable payment request as more particularly prescribed
					 in the DFA MAAPP Manual. I n the case of Institutions of Higher Learning, this
					 can be done by adding an attachment to the university's previously approved P1
					 request.