Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, ATTN: M:P:T:I, Oxon Hill, MD 20745

R -- ON-LINE AUTOMATED VALUATION SERVICES OF STOCKS/BONDS FOR ESTATE/GIFT RETURNS SOL TIRNO-97-Q-00262 DUE 092997 POC Purchasing Agent, Helen Carmona, 202-283-1514 (FAX) In accordance with FAR Part 12, via this NOTICE, the IRS is soliciting offers to provide on-line automated valuation services of stocks and bonds. The product shall be delivered electronically to no fewer than 4 and not more than the 10 Service Centers located within the US: NORTHEAST REGION: MA (Andover Service Center); NY (Brookhaven Service Center); OH (Cincinnati Service Center); and PA (Philadelphia Service Center). SOUTHEAST REGION: GA (Atlanta Service Center) and TN (Memphis Service Center) MIDSTATES REGION: MO (Kansas City Service Center) and TX (Austin Service Center) WESTERN REGION: CA (Fresno Service Center) and UT (Ogden Service Center). This will be a FIXED-PRICE, INDEFINITE DELIVERY/INDEFINITE QUANTITY contract for a 12 month base period, with 4 one-year option periods. The SIC is 7375 and the small business size standard is $18,000,000. Offers are due 2:00 PM, EST, on 09/29/97, in Rm 700 at the address shown above. Submit questions in writing, via fax, to the number and attention of the Purchasing Agent shown above. FAR clauses 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS (05/97); 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS (08/96) are applicable to this effort. 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS COMMERCIAL ITEMS (01/97) must be submitted with any offer. Requests for these can be made via the INTERNET to contract.specialist@ccmail.irs.gov or to the FAX number listed above. The clauses will be provided in the same manner the request was made (via FAX or INTERNET). Clauses transmitted via the INTERNET will be in WordPerfect 6.0. AUTOMATED VALUATION SERVICE: During the examination of an Estate Tax Return, Form 706, it may be necessary to substantiate the returned value of stocks and bonds, dividends, and any changes in capital structure. Values of regularly and irregularly traded stocks and bonds have historically been confirmed by researching the closing prices and values contained in financial periodicals, such as the Wall Street Journal. This function has generally been performed by a clerk at a District Office. Clerks who value the stocks and bonds, typically look up a CUSIP number for the security to be valued in a CUSIP Directory Book. The CUSIP number and other specified data are transmitted to the vendor via a modem from a personal computer (PC). After a specified period of time the vendor transmits a report back to the source of origin containing the applicable valuation data. The IRS requires the services of a single Contractor to provide these valuation services on a nation-wide basis. The Contractor shall provide an electronic source of CUSIP numbers and valuations of stocks and bonds that would be more cost efficient and beneficial to the IRS and provide a more uniform product. The request for valuation of any issue will be made by use of the CUSIP numbering system. All corrections to the input should be able to be made to individual issues prior to entering the request for valuation for the particular account. After receipt of the report, the Clerk/operator should be able to edit the report with any changes to an individual issue without re-submitting the request for the entire account. The database shall be capable of reporting the valuation of municipal bonds when the issue and number of shares is entered into the PC. The database shall be able to produce a report with at least the following 12 data elements/items for each security valuation request: CUSIP Numbers; Securities Descriptions; High/Low or Bid/Asked Prices; Price Sources; Mean Values; Number of Shares/Par Value; Extensions; Accrued Dividends/Interest; Status Information; Per Return Amounts; Differences from Return Amounts; and Totals. The deliverable product shall be a report containing all the elements noted above. The completed valuations shall be available within 24 hours of the initial request. The report information shall be downloadable to an IBM-compatible PC located at specified sites listed below. The data shall be capable of being stored on the PC hard drive to be printed when needed. The report data shall be presented in color on the PC monitor. The database shall contain security information from 1980 to the present and shall consist of data from at least these sources: Listed stocks on the New York and American Stock Exchanges; Unlisted securities -- NASDAQ System (over the counter); Listed Corporate bonds -- NYSE and AMEX; Unlisted Corporate bonds -- NYSE and AMEX; U.S. Regional Stock Exchange; U. S. Treasury Issues; U.S. Federal Agency Bonds (FLB, FHL, FNMA, GNMA, GNMA Pass-Through); Foreign Stock Exchanges; Mutual Funds; Municipal Bonds and Bond Funds; OptionMarkets (CBOE); Ex-Dividends and Accrued Interest Computations; and Capital Changes. In addition to deliverable products noted above, provide the following to maintain the automated system: Toll-Free telephone number for trouble-solving/assistance; User friendly software; Initial on-site training and up-date/maintenance refresher training; Unique and discrete numbering system of return information to protect taxpayer identity; Ease of editing reports; On-line instantaneous correction; and Tracking of Municipal Bond blocking. 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 1995) (a) Standard industrial classification (SIC) code and small business size standard. The SIC code and small business size standard for this acquisition is described above. However, the small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, but which proposes to furnish an item which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees. (b) Submission of offers. Submit signed and dated offers to the office specified in the Heading of this NOTICE at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offers may be submitted on letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, offers must show -- (1) The solicitation number; (2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers; (3) The name, address, and telephone number of the offero r; (4) A technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary; (5) Terms of any express warranty; (6) Price and any discount terms; (7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address; (8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3; (9) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments; (10) Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and (11) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. (c) Period for acceptance of offers. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation. (d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of offers. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender's request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing. (e) Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers presenting alternative terms and conditions or commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each offer submitted will be evaluated separately. (f) Late offers. Offers or modifications of offers received at the address specified for the receipt of offers after the exact time specified for receipt of offers will not be considered. (g) Contract award (not applicable to Invitation for Bids). The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest offer; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. (h) Multiple awards. The Government may accept any item or group of items of an offer, unless the offeror qualifies the offer by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, offers may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the offer. (i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation. (1) The Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions and the documents listed in it may be obtained from the General Services Administration, Federal Supply Service Bureau, Specifications Section, Suite 8100, 470 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20407 ((202) 755-0325/0326). (2) The DOD Index of Specifications and Standards (DODISS) and documents listed in it may be obtained from the Standardization Documents Desk, Building 4D, 700 Robbins Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094 (telephone (215) 697-2569). (i) Automatic distribution may be obtained on a subscription basis. (ii) Individual documents may be ordered from the Telespecs ordering system by touch-tone telephone. A customer number is required to use this service and can be obtained from the Standardization Documents Order Desk or the Special Assistance Desk (telephone (610)607-2667/2179). (3) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication or maintenance. 52.212-2 EVALUATION -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 1995) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: 1. Descriptive Literature of proposed product/services; and 2. Past Performance/List of References: Five (5) contracts within the last three (3) years (Government and Non-Government clients). Technical and past performance, when combined, are approximately equal to cost or price. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. Numbered Note 1 applies for this requirement. (0260)

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