KATHMANDU, Jan 7: Companies participating in the passport printing tender process have questioned controversial provisions set by the Department of Passports (DoP), accusing it of limiting competition, undermining fairness, and awarding additional payments to the same company during variation.
CITIS and Security, along with other companies but excluding IDEMIA, made the accusation in their letters to the DoP, formally challenging the process.
The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) directed the DoP on December 17 to remove a provision favoring only the existing company, IDEMIA, in the nearly Rs 12 billion tender. Amid disputes over the tender process, the DoP extended the passport printing application deadline by one month. Applicants can now submit their bids until February 11, instead of the previously set deadline of January 12.
Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal of the DoP stated that companies regularly raise questions during the tender process as part of the standard procedure, and the department actively resolves these concerns. He said that his department addressed issues raised by companies during the pre-bidding phase to ensure clarity and reassurance.
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"Participating companies raise questions aligned with their interests during the passport printing tender process, and we resolve them as much as possible. Speculating about past events at this stage will not bring solutions. We address their concerns through an established process," Director General Aryal said.
On November 29, ‘Republica’ reported that IDEMIA allegedly caused a software system breach, citing a hacker attack and virus infiltration, which left the general public unable to obtain passports for a week. The software issues at the DoP in November caused significant inconvenience to the public. IDEMIA, which manages and operates the software system, faced accusations of intentionally creating these issues to secure the tender by ensuring only they could meet the provisions.
Government computer officials objected, claiming that the software problems were deliberately induced until the provisions favoring IDEMIA were removed. In response, the PPMO directed the DoP on December 17 to amend the controversial provisions in the tender.
The DoP has already responded. On December 23 and December 22, the two companies raised questions by writing letters to the DoP. In response, the PPMO issued another letter instructing the DoP to address the concerns. Earlier, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had also written to the PPMO, requesting information about the issues in the passport printing tender. The PPMO forwarded the complaints received by the CIAA on various dates.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed concern over the public's inability to obtain passports and the inconvenience caused for a week. As the time for issuing the tender notice for the e-passport printing, worth approximately Rs 12 billion, approached, IDEMIA, the company managing the DoP’s software, reportedly caused a technical issue. The Nepal Government has yet to investigate the matter. The DoP resolved the software problem the day after issuing the tender notice. Sources claim that the software was only restored once the DoP finalized the tender notice, which favored them.
IDEMIA, which has dominated Nepal's passport printing and software management for the past decade and a half, reportedly made various efforts to secure the new tender. The company, which had previously increased its profits through variations rather than the tender process, reportedly created issues in the system to influence the tender outcome in its favor. On November 28, the DoP issued two tenders, one of which allowed a company that met the criteria for both tenders under point 9 to apply for both. Companies wishing to participate in the tender raised concerns about this provision, including issues related to joint ventures.
This provision will include only IDEMIA, the company currently managing the software system. The DoP had never included such a clause in a large tender before. When the DoP noticed that IDEMIA was issuing separate notices for software management and hardware and software, government computer engineers objected, accusing IDEMIA of creating technical problems. After someone filed a complaint with the CIAA, the anti-graft body raised concerns through the PPMO. Director General Aryal claims he has already clarified the tender process and provisions mentioned in the tender to both the Prime Minister's office and the PPMO.
The PPMO instructed the DoP to respond to all letters within three days after receiving complaints about the passport printing tender on Sunday. The office also sent additional letters to address the complaints filed with both the PPMO and the CIAA.
Engineer Subhash Kumar Khadka stated that the letters from the PPMO and the CIAA had been sent, directing a response within three days. Complaints arose regarding the preparation of tender documents for two contract packages on Sunday, which seemed to favor the company currently handling the printing. IDEMIA manages the Nepal-based agent, Siddhartha Pandey, who was introduced to the IT company contract by Bikal Paudel.
Bikal Paudel, convicted in illegal property acquisition and charged with corruption in the National Payment Gateway, has actively participated in securing the passport printing contract for IDEMIA since 2009. The National Information Technology Center assigned him to the passport contract evaluation committee. The CIAA, under the pressure from its then head, Lokman Singh Karki, advanced the contract process.
