QCBS in tenders: how quality and cost based selection works

When you see QCBS in a tender, the cheapest bid may not win. The buyer scores the quality of your proposal and your price, weights them and adds them up. This guide explains how QCBS works, the formula with a worked example, the weightage limits in the General Financial Rules (GFR) and Department of Expenditure (DoE) orders, when a department may use it, and how to win more technical marks.

What QCBS means in a tender

QCBS stands for Quality and Cost Based Selection. Rule 192 of the GFR allows it for consultancy "where quality of consultancy is of prime concern". Since a DoE order of 29 October 2021, works and non-consultancy services can use it too, under tighter limits.

The idea is simple. Some jobs, such as a complex bridge design or a specialised survey, can go badly wrong if the cheapest firm does them. QCBS lets the buyer pay somewhat more for a clearly better proposal, while still counting the price.

The winner is called H-1: the bid with the highest combined score. H-2 and H-3 follow. In an ordinary tender the winner is L1, the lowest price; see L1 in tender for how that works.

How QCBS evaluation works, step by step

1. Technical proposals are opened and marked out of 100 against criteria and sub-criteria printed in the RFP.
2. Bids below the minimum score drop out. The manuals say the minimum is normally 70 to 80 out of 100. Their financial bids aren't opened.
3. Financial bids of qualified bidders are opened.
4. Both scores are scaled to 100. The best technical bid gets 100 technical points and the lowest price gets 100 financial points. Others get proportionately less.
5. The scores are weighted and added. The weights are stated in the RFP.
6. Bids are ranked H-1, H-2, H-3. If two bids tie, the one with the higher technical score is H-1.

The QCBS formula

The DoE's Manual for Procurement of Works 2025 (para 6.4.5) sets it out like this:

• Technical score (Ts) = your technical marks × 100 ÷ highest technical marks
• Financial score (Fs) = lowest evaluated price × 100 ÷ your evaluated price
• Combined score = Ts × W + Fs × (1 − W)

W is the weight for technical quality, written as a fraction. With 30% for quality, W is 0.30 and price gets 0.70. Scores are rounded to two decimal places.

The consultancy manual (para 8.5.3) writes the same formula with X as the weight for price, so don't be thrown if your RFP's letters differ. Some RFPs weight your raw technical marks instead of scaling them to the best bid. Always use the formula printed in your RFP.

QCBS worked example

Here are four bids for the same job (made-up numbers). The RFP sets a minimum technical score of 75.

Q has the lowest price (₹42 lakh), so Q gets 100 financial points. P has the best marks (92), so P gets 100 technical points. For R: 85 × 100 ÷ 92 = 92.39, and 42 × 100 ÷ 44 = 95.45.

Now combine them with two different weightings:

For P at 70:30: 100 × 0.70 + 87.50 × 0.30 = 70 + 26.25 = 96.25.

At 70:30, P wins although its price is 14% above Q's. At 30:70, the most quality can count for in works, Q's lower price wins. Same bids, different winner: the weights decide how much quality is worth.

QCBS weightage: the limits

Two more numbers matter:

• Minimum technical score: normally 70 to 80 out of 100 in QCBS. The works manual warns that with price at 70% or more, the minimum must be set "sufficiently high, to weed out low quality bids with low prices".
• Tie-break: equal combined scores go to the bid with the higher technical score.

When QCBS is allowed for works and non-consultancy services

For works and non-consultancy services, the normal method is price-based: the lowest-priced bid among those that pass the technical check. The manuals keep QCBS for "highly technically complex and critical assignments where it is justifiable to pay appropriately higher price for higher quality".

Works

The DoE's office memorandum of 1 November 2023 clarified that works of any value may use QCBS, but only by following the procedure for a Quality Oriented Procurement (QOP). That means:

• Declared a QOP by the Secretary of the ministry or department (or of the client body, with the executing agency's concurrence), or by the Board of a CPSE. Under the current manuals, directors of IITs and IISc can declare QOPs for their own projects until 31 March 2027.
• A Special Technical Committee of experts, with at most one member from the buying organisation, recommends the weights, the scoring method and the minimum score.
• A pre-bid meeting must discuss the technical criteria and marking scheme with bidders.
• Reasons for not using a two-cover, pre-qualification or least-cost system are recorded.

Non-consultancy services

Non-consultancy services are services with measurable outputs, such as security, vehicle hire, maintenance, drilling and mapping (GFR Rule 197). The same OM says they can use QCBS at any value:

• Above ₹10 crore (including taxes and option clause): the QOP procedure above.
• Up to ₹10 crore: a simpler route. An officer two levels above the one who finalises the purchase, or the Secretary if lower, approves it, and a Technical Committee fixes the criteria.

If an up-to-₹10 crore QCBS tender ends up with a contract above ₹10 crore, there's no bar only if the gap over the estimate is under 10%. Otherwise the process is scrapped and restarted.

Where QCBS is not allowed

• Reverse auctions and limited tenders, for works and services.
• Two-stage bidding for works, where the buyer can't define the specifications clearly.

QCBS vs LCS vs L1

LCS means least cost selection. The consultancy manual makes it the default and asks for written reasons to use anything else. The works and services manuals call their normal price-based method "Least Cost Selection (L1)". For how RFPs and EOIs are set out, see RFP, RFQ and EOI.

Other rules that change in QCBS tenders

• Make in India purchase preference doesn't apply. It covers bids judged on price alone, so the works manual says it doesn't apply where non-price criteria count, as in QCBS. More in our Make in India guide.
• Joint ventures are discouraged. The works and consultancy manuals say JVs "may be avoided as far as possible" in QCBS, though high-technology projects may need them.
• ISO certificates don't earn extra marks in works QCBS. The works manual says such fixed credentials "cannot be used for relative comparison between various bidders".

How to maximise your technical marks

Technical marks are where QCBS bids are won. Work through the RFP's marking table line by line.

1. Clear every mandatory criterion first. The manuals allow some criteria to be mandatory. Miss one and your bid isn't evaluated further.
2. Self-mark your bid. The manuals want marking schemes "so specific and clear that bidders can self-mark their own bids". Score yourself honestly against each line before you submit.
3. Put your effort where the marks are. The consultancy manual's model scheme gives key staff 30–60%, methodology and work plan 20–50%, firm's experience 5–10% and transfer of knowledge 0–10%.
4. Send signed, accurate CVs. The manual says unsigned CVs may be left out of the evaluation, and swapping key experts at negotiation isn't agreed unless the RFP allows it.
5. Answer the terms of reference point by point. A proposal that doesn't respond fully to them is rejected before marking.
6. Prove past performance in the format given. Buyers may give weight to timely completion of similar past projects. Attach completion certificates with dates and values.
7. Make the presentation count if the RFP asks for one. Works QCBS tenders can ask for a detailed presentation of your proposal, in soft copy, with the bid.
8. Use the pre-bid meeting. In a QOP, the marking scheme is discussed there. Raise vague criteria in writing; see pre-bid meetings.
9. Keep prices out of the technical proposal. The consultancy manual rejects a technical proposal that discloses material pricing information.

GovtTenderHub lists live consultancy work from central and state portals on its consultancy tenders page.

Common questions

What is the full form of QCBS?

Quality and Cost Based Selection. DoE orders also write it as quality-cum-cost based selection. Both mean a method where technical quality and price are scored and combined.

What is the QCBS formula?

Technical score = your marks × 100 ÷ highest marks. Financial score = lowest price × 100 ÷ your price. Combined score = technical score × technical weight + financial score × price weight. The highest combined score wins.

What is the maximum technical weightage in QCBS?

For consultancy, 80% under GFR Rule 192. For works and non-consultancy services, 30%, so price always carries at least 70%.

Is QCBS allowed for works contracts?

Yes, for works of any value, but only when the procurement is declared a Quality Oriented Procurement, with a Special Technical Committee and a pre-bid meeting. It can't be combined with two-stage bidding, reverse auction or limited tenders.

What is H1 in QCBS?

H-1 is the bid with the highest combined score of quality and cost. It wins the QCBS tender, even if another bidder quoted a lower price.

What is the difference between QCBS and LCS?

In LCS, technical proposals only need to pass a minimum, and then the lowest price wins. In QCBS, the technical score keeps counting after the minimum and is added to the price score.