Requisition receipt

Requisition receipt is the stage in federal procurement where a contracting organization receives a requisition from a client and reviews it before any acquisition action begins. In the Government of Canada Supply Manual, the term covers the receipt, allocation, registration, authorization review and routing of requisitions to the appropriate procurement office.

The term is used in the Canadian federal process, particularly by Public Works and Government Services Canada, now Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). It applies to requisitions for goods, services and construction, including price-and-availability inquiries. The current CanadaBuys Supply Manual describes the stage as defining the requirement and requisition receipt.

What happens when PSPC receives a requisition

Client departments send requisitions to PSPC when they want it to acquire goods, services or construction on their behalf. The requisition is allocated to an appropriate office, assigned a file number, entered into the procurement system and routed for action. The older federal Supply Manual states that requisitions and requisition amendments are sent to an allocation unit, assigned a file number, entered into the Automated Buyer Environment and routed to the appropriate office.

That older manual also identifies a headquarters allocation function responsible for defence priorities. Defence-related requisitions and their amendments must be sent to an allocation unit.

The requisition review checklist

The CanadaBuys Supply Manual provides a requisition-review checklist. PSPC uses it to confirm that the requisition is ready to be acted on. The checks include whether the requisition:

• has been directed or allocated to the appropriate office;
• uses the current requisition form;
• contains the required signatures and approvals;
• identifies the requirement accurately;
• includes funding information;
• specifies destination or consignee codes and the applicable Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN).

Client certification and electronic requisitions

The client must certify three things. Funds are available under subsection 32(1) of the Financial Administration Act. The requisition is approved. PSPC is being requested to acquire and provide the goods, services or construction described in the requisition.

Requisitions received through the e-Purchasing electronic interface are deemed to have the required authorization and signatures under the Financial Administration Act. For these requisitions, the signature check is satisfied by the channel they arrive through.

Requisition receipt compared with receipt of offers

The two terms describe opposite sides of a procurement. Requisition receipt happens on the buyer side, when a client's request reaches the contracting office. Receipt of offers is the term used in the NATO procurement manual for receiving supplier submissions through a designated point of contact or electronic bidding functionality. Suppliers take part in receipt of offers. They do not take part in requisition receipt.

What requisition receipt means for a supplier

Requisition receipt is an internal stage between a client department and the contracting authority. It is not a supplier deliverable, and suppliers do not submit anything at this point. Suppliers become involved later, through solicitations, requests for information, price-and-availability inquiries, bids or proposals.

A supplier should not treat requisition receipt as acceptance of an offer, award of a contract or a purchase commitment. It means only that the contracting office has received the client's request and is reviewing it. Knowing the review criteria still helps. Requirements that are clearly identified, correctly coded by GSIN and backed by confirmed funding are the ones that move from requisition to solicitation.