Significantly Low-priced Tender. Under Schedule-18, a bid priced so low that the office has serious concern the contractor cannot perform at that price.

What happens to a bid caught as SLT?

It becomes non-responsive. The lowest among the remaining responsive bids is recommended for the NOA, under rule 118(26).

Does this formula apply to everything?

No. Schedule-18 is for domestic procurement. LTM works have a separate 5% band around the estimate (rule 80(2)).

Abnormally low bids (SLT) and their rules under PPR 2025

Last updated: 27 Oct 2026 · 5 min read

At a glance

In domestic procurement, very low bids are screened by a formula, not by guesswork. It is in Schedule-18, and rule 118(25) and (26) refer to it.
A bid caught as SLT becomes non-responsive. Among the rest, the lowest gets the work.
The formula averages three things: the responsive bids, the office's estimate and the recent rate index on e-GP.
LTM domestic works have a separate band. Quote more than 5% below or above the estimate and the bid is cancelled (Schedule-2, rule 80(2)).

The lowest rate does not always win the work. In domestic procurement, PPR 2025 has a rule to drop very low rates by formula. Here is how it works.

This is not legal advice. The formula and limits are taken from the BPPA gazette. Check which rule applies to your tender in the document. Sources at the end.

What counts as a low bid

Schedule-18 says an abnormally low bid (SLT) is one priced so far below the office's estimate, recent market prices and the other acceptable bids that the office has serious concern the bidder cannot finish the work at that price. Such a rate can lead to poor work, delay or even a stalled contract.

The formula in plain words

Rule 118(25) requires this screening in domestic procurement. The steps in Schedule-18:

Work out a weighted average (x̄). It has three parts. The average of all acceptable bids gets weight 0.5. The office's estimate gets 0.2. The rate from the recent price index on e-GP (NPPI) gets 0.3.
Work out the weighted standard deviation (Sd), a measure of how spread out the acceptable bids are around that weighted average.
Lower limit = x̄ minus Sd. Every rate below this limit is an SLT and that bid is cancelled.

NPPI is the index of recent public procurement rates on the e-GP portal. For the same category (goods, works or services), it comes from the average percentage below the estimate at which contracts were awarded on the bid opening day and the 27 days before. In the rules' own example the index is 8.32% below the estimate, a factor of 0.9168. LTM cases are left out of that average. The portal publishes the index.

One more point. Paragraph 7 of Schedule-18 says that to avoid undue influence, any bid more than 10% above the estimate is not taken into the calculation and is treated as non-responsive.

When only one bid is acceptable. Under paragraph 8 the formula is not used. That one bid's price is compared directly with the estimate. If it is more than 20% below the estimate it is not acceptable. At 20% below or less, the NOA can be recommended.

International procurement and outsourced services. Under paragraphs 9 and 10 the SLT formula is not applied here. But if a bid is far below the estimate, the committee looks into why. If the bidder is clearly inexperienced or has not priced correctly, or cannot give a reasonable justification for the low price, the bid can be treated as not acceptable.

How exactly this works for your tender, check in your tender document. For example, how many acceptable bids the formula needs is something to confirm there.

After SLT bids are dropped, rule 118(26) says the lowest among the remaining acceptable bids is recommended for the NOA. So the lowest bidder above the lower limit is in line for the work.

A separate band in LTM works

LTM domestic works (rule 80(1)(ঘ)) have another simple rule. A bid more than the Schedule-2 percentage below or above the estimate is cancelled (rule 80(2)). The schedule says 5%. The rules' own example: with an estimate of Tk 100 lakh you must quote between Tk 95 lakh and Tk 105 lakh. Below 95 lakh or above 105 lakh, the bid is cancelled.

What to do

Set your rate inside the estimate band. In LTM works, going outside 5% means the bid does not count.
In OTM work, do not guess far below. The lower limit also depends on the other bidders' rates, so going very low to be lowest risks getting thrown out.
Price from your real costs. Whether the work can be done at that rate is the actual question the rules ask.
See what rates won before. Our rates page shows, by type of work, what percent of the estimate the work actually went at. It is not the official NPPI. It is our own calculation, so use it only as a guide.
Check the estimate and conditions of the tender. Find it on all tenders. The Bid Brief on a tender page shows estimate and security separately. Plans are on pricing.

Previous post: non-responsive bids. Next: NOA to contract.

Sources

Common questions

What does SLT mean?: Significantly Low-priced Tender. Under Schedule-18, a bid priced so low that the office has serious concern the contractor cannot perform at that price.
What happens to a bid caught as SLT?: It becomes non-responsive. The lowest among the remaining responsive bids is recommended for the NOA, under rule 118(26).
Does this formula apply to everything?: No. Schedule-18 is for domestic procurement. LTM works have a separate 5% band around the estimate (rule 80(2)).

Rules and amounts change now and then. Check the latest rules on e-GP or the BPPA site before you bid.

Source: eprocure.gov.bd