Recover excess payment for imported ITI panels: Govt

Time of India

2 days ago

Mumbai: The state govt issued an order on Monday to recover Rs 2.13 crore paid for Made in China interactive panels, a year after TOI reported on how norms favoring indigenous products were violated to procure devices for smart classrooms in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
An inquiry has also been initiated against 13 officers in the procurement section of the Department of Vocational Education and Training (DVET). The vendor, who acknowledged to the inquiry committee that it supplied Made in China panels, is now replacing them at no extra cost.
The govt's order says Rs 2.13 crore was paid over and above the right price. That excess amount will have to be recovered from the vendor in 15 days.
In two of the four purchase orders, price per panel ballooned by 151% with a warranty period of 5 years. In the remaining two, the markup soared to a staggering 227%, with a warranty period of merely one year.
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TOI had reported on Dec 18, 2023 about the procurement of interactive panels at an inflated cost as part of a plan to install smart classrooms in ITIs. The majority of the Chinese-made panels were procured through funds received under Strive, a skills strengthening project of the World Bank and Govt of India.
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The tender was floated on the govt e-marketplace portal after disabling the "Make in India" purchase preference, contrary to what procurement agencies are encouraged to choose.
The manufacturer was subsequently blacklisted on the portal and no state govt could purchase any of these panels.
The govt inquiry, while acknowledging the allegations, found that all the bidders submitted their bids from the same IP address, thus inferring that there was no real competition: "it is clear that all the tenderers who are suppliers of BenQ submitted their tenders from the same IP address in both the tenders."
Other observations include that "the period of warranty published in the tender was reduced in the supply and re-warranty orders and financial benefits were given to the suppliers". Moreover, "the tenderers were given illegal exemption in Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) and they were given financial benefit".
"The country of origin was deliberately ignored. Therefore, it was possible for the supplier to provide the Chinese-made interactive panels."
Additionally, the report said, "BenQ manufacturer was biased towards other manufacturers by conducting a tender process which was favourable and materials were procured at exorbitant prices reducing competition." Also, "an assembled OPS was purchased from another manufacturer, Digital Audio Video Solutions, Nagpur, pretending to be an OPS manufactured by BenQ. OPS or Open Pluggable Specification is a slot in interactive panels that allows for quick access to various applications and features.
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The connivance between DVET and the manufacturers was clear as the inquiry report said, "The specifications prepared by the technical specifications committee were exchanged at the directorate level in both tenders published and thereby assisted BenQ suppliers in qualifying." The report concluded: "As per the detailed investigation as above, it is pointed out that there was a serious irregularity in the procurement process carried out through both the tender processes.
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