(1) Offerors shall submit proposals at the place and on or before the date and time set in the Request for Proposal. Proposals received after the date and time designated for the proposal opening are considered late and shall not be considered.

(2) All proposals and any modifications to the proposals previously filed, received prior to the date and time fixed for opening the proposals, shall be kept secure and unopened. If a proposal is submitted and the Request for Proposals number is not clearly marked to indicate the date and time of the proposal opening the State Procurement Director or agency procurement official may make a reasonable attempt to determine which solicitation the sealed submission corresponds to.

(3) Retrieval of a proposal for purposes of modification or withdrawal shall be permitted prior to date and time of opening upon positive identification of a bona fide representative of the offeror who submitted the proposal.