KATHMANDU, Jan 28: An American company has filed a complaint with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), raising serious questions about a tender issued by the Department of Passports’(DoP) for printing e-passports . The complaint raised an objection to the issue of calling separate tender bids for packages 1 and 2 while allowing the same company to participate in the bidding process for both the contracts.
According to the complaint filed by Rabin Chaudhary, the Nepal representative of US-based company, HID Global Limited, they raised an objection to the provision that allows a single company to secure both the contracts if it meets the criteria .
The complaint alleges that the Government of Nepal has purchased the same goods three times and, despite these goods still being usable, has attempted to prevent other companies from bidding on the tender. The company has raised objections to this aspect mentioned in the initial contract.
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It is mentioned in the complaint that IDEMIA, which is currently handling the government’s equipment, infrastructure, and systems, is allegedly exploiting the provisions to take undue benefits. The US company suspects foul play accusing the DoP of awarding the contract to IDEMIA even though the existing goods are in good condition.
The company raised concerns that IDEMIA might offer low prices for infrastructure, systems, and equipment, intending to repair them. “IDEMIA has currently supplied the infrastructure, systems, and equipment, and a provision has been made to provide them again. Let an investigation into this matter,” the complaint states.
Other companies which participated in the tender have also raised questions about the controversial provision. The United Arab Emirates-based E7 Security and Slovenia-based CETIS, wrote to the department on December 22 and December 23 respectively, and raised questions about the fairness in awarding the contract.
After the publication of a notice stipulating that only IDEMIA, the previous contractor, would be eligible for the tender worth approximately Rs 12 billion, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) issued a directive on December 17, instructing the department to remove this provision. Following a dispute over the tender process, the Department of Passports extended the application deadline for passport printing by one month. The new deadline for applications is now February 11, instead of the original January 12.
