Disqualification at the compliance stage is the main reason South African businesses lose government tenders—and it's usually for the same few mistakes.
Here's what goes wrong most often and how you can avoid it.
1. Missing or incorrect mandatory documents
Tax clearance (from SARS), B-BBEE certificate or affidavit, company registration (e.g. from CIPC), certified ID—if the tender says you must submit them, you must.
Expired tax clearance or B-BBEE, or the wrong level when a minimum is specified, leads to instant disqualification. So does forgetting one document entirely. Keep a standard checklist and always cross-check against the specific tender.
For a simple list: Documents required for government tenders in South Africa.
2. Incomplete or wrong SBD forms
Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) are part of most government tenders (often found on the eTender Portal). They must be filled in fully and signed where indicated.
Common mistakes: leaving sections blank that should be completed, using the wrong company details, not signing, or submitting an outdated version of the form. Procurement officers treat SBDs as non-negotiable. One wrong tick or missing signature can be enough to make your bid non-responsive.
If you're not sure what "responsive" means in practice, read What is a responsive tender?.
3. Skipping the compulsory briefing session
When the tender says attendance at the briefing is compulsory, you must attend—or send a representative with a proper letter of authority.
Failure to attend (or to submit proof if required) is a direct route to disqualification. Diarise the date and time as soon as you decide to bid, and make sure someone with authority to commit your company is there.
4. Submitting after the closing time
Late submissions are not accepted. Full stop. Most organs of state close the bid box or electronic submission at a specific time. If you're one minute late, your bid is not considered.
Plan to submit well before the deadline and allow for last-minute problems (traffic, internet, printing).
5. Not reading the mandatory requirements
Every tender has a section that lists what is mandatory. Sometimes it's under "eligibility", sometimes "minimum requirements", sometimes scattered through the document.
If you don't read it thoroughly, you'll miss something. The result is the same: your bid is non-responsive. That's why most South African tenders fail before price is even opened. Build a habit of listing every "must" and checking your submission against that list.
How to reduce the risk of disqualification
Before you submit, run a compliance check. List every mandatory requirement from the document—documents, forms, attendance, deadlines—and tick each one off.
Use a simple process so nothing is left to chance. We've outlined a practical approach in How to check tender compliance before you submit. It doesn't have to be complicated; it just has to be complete.
Bottom line
The same mistakes trip up bidders again and again: missing or wrong documents, incomplete SBDs, missing the compulsory briefing, submitting late, or not following the mandatory requirements.
All of these are fixable if you prepare properly. Get your checklist. Complete every requirement. Only then focus on price and quality.
