In many federal contracts as per the instruction to offerors, during the proposal stage, the bidders are advised to send their questions related to the RFP vide 'projnet' online portal and the same is answered by the Government there itself. This online portal is accessible to all the bidders who are bidding for that project and all the bidders are submitting their offer accordingly. But not all the clarifications given to the bidders inquiry in the projnet portal are updated on the specifications or drawings through an official amendment to the RFP due to the time constraints during the bidding stage. Most of the cases the clarifications are given till the last the minute of the proposal submission.
Now the issue here, in general, when the Contract is awarded, the clarifications given vide the projnet, during the proposal stage, are not included as part of the Contract. So, at the time of construction, when scope dispute arises, the CO is NOT accepting the clarifications provided vide projnet during the proposal stage and demanding for the reference shown on any official amendment to the RFP or any reference from the Contract drawings or specifications.
So, it will be great, if any one confirm whether the bidders inquiry clarified during the proposal stage is part of the final contract or not?