Pusuc PRocuREMENT AND DisPOSAL oF Pusuc AssETS No.S/2017 Cap.22:23 "procurement contract" means a contract between a procuring entity and a contractor which results from procurement proceedings; "procurement management unit" means a procurement management unit established in terms of section 17; "procurement notice" means a notice published in terms of section 38(2); "procurement proceedings" or "procurement process" means all stages or any stage of the procurement of goods, construction works or services conducted by a procuring entity from the pre-bid stage up to and including the award of the contract; "procurement requirement" means the goods, construction work or service to be acquired by procurement; "procuring entity" means(a) a Ministry, department or other division of the Government; or (b) a corporate body established by or in terms of any Act for special purposes laid down in that Act; or (c) any company in which the State has a controlling interest, whether by virtue of holding or controlling its shares or by virtue of a right of appointment of members to its controlling body or otherwise, and includes any company which is a subsidiary, as determined in accordance with section 143 of the Companies Act [Chapter 24:03], of such a company; or (d) a provincial or metropolitan council or a local authority; or (e) any partnership or joint venture between the State and any person, which is prescribed in terms of this Act or the Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:19] (No. 11 of2009); "public asset" means any asset of whatever nature, whether corporeal or incorporeal, belonging to or vested in the State or a procuring entity, but does not include any such asset exempted from the application of this Act by section 3(8); "responsive bid" means a bid that meets the requirements of the procuring entity; "service" means a procurement requirement that is performed through a consultancy or non-consultancy service; "threshold" means a financial limit above or below which certain procurement proceedings may be applied under this Act; "writing" includes printing, photography, electronic communication and any other method of representing words, figures and information in visible form that is reproducible in tangible form by the device that generated the visible words, figures or information. (2) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a material deviation between bidding documents or the terms and conditions of a procurement contract, on the one hand, and the performance of the procurement contract, on the other hand, if- (a) the deviation affects in a substantial way the scope, quality or performance of the construction works, goods or services provided under the contract; or (b) the deviation limits in any substantial way the rights or obligations of the parties under the contract; or (c) rectification of the deviation would unfairly affect the competitive position of other bidders who presented substantially responsive bids. 48