According to sources, the CCP has been empowered under Section 29 of the Competition Act, 2010 to, "reviewing policy frameworks for fostering competition and making suitable recommendations to amend this Act and any other laws that affect competition in Pakistan to the Federal Government and Provincial Governments."
Sources said CCP's policy notes and opinions are recommendatory in nature and as such CCP's recommendations are not binding upon the government. However, they do help in identifying competition issues and guide the government bodies in correcting the policies in line with provision of the Competition Act.
The CCP do follow up with the concerned government organisations to which it issues the policy notes so that to remove any confusion with regard to its recommendations. Sources said general speaking, the government gives importance to the CCP's recommendations and where needed, amends polices and take pro-competitive measures to address competition issues, sources added.
According to the FBR, the bidding process was carried out fairly and transparently and adequate opportunity was provided to all prospective bidders. The FBR has followed the Public Procurement Rules, 2004 both in letter and spirit. According to PPRA Rules, a single bid may be considered if it meets the evaluation criteria expressed in tender notice.
Bid submission date was extended nine times after issue of RFP in May 2017, providing adequate time (fifteen months) to the bidders to submit bids. In response to the RfP (as amended by the Addendum), a single bid was received on the due date of 17 August 2018, the FBR said.
The FBR said that the technical evaluation committee may be formed to evaluate the technical aspects and evaluation criteria as per RfP , the FBR presentation added.
In its policy note, the CCP's concern with respect to profile of bidders pertains to high turnover requirement, high capacity/volume requirements and evaluation criteria that awards maximum points based on (a) projects implemented in number of countries and (b) volume of stamp production and capacity. The Commission is of the opinion that annual turnover requirement of $100,000,000 restricts competition since only a few companies would meet the criteria. The provision for forming a joint venture ('JV') does not mitigate the concerns since the lead partner in the JV needs to have turnover of $100,000,000 with the insertion of the words "in the case of a consortium, at least the prime contractor". This requirement of 10 billion excludes majority of firms from the tender because (a) globally only one firm meets the criteria based on the volume of business it has and (b) the requirement is in excess of the expected total demand.
It is also recommended that a fresh tender be floated when FBR decides to introduce the track and trace system for other products.
It is, therefore, recommended that the evaluation criteria in Clause 9.2A. 9.2B and 9.2C may also be revised accordingly or redesigned to include marks/points for other elements of the system such as the Data Management System and IT system or equivalent. Furthermore the terms of JV may be clarified so that one or more firms can jointly meet the criteria, CCP policy note said.
The CCP had recommended that FBR may suitably amend the following clauses in the subject RFP: a. Profile of bidders- Clause 4: revision in turnover and capacity requirements for bidders. Clause 9 2A. 9 2B and 9 2C evaluation criteria may also be revised or redesigned to include marks for other elements of the track and trace system. In addition, the terms of JV may also be clarified to enable two or more parties to jointly meet the criteria laid down. Portable devices with preloaded verification system- Clause 7.4.1.6 and 7.4.1.6.3 may include the words 'or equivalent' or include option of smartphones. c. Requirement of investment- Paragraph 11 of Clause 4 may be amended to state investment requirements in kind and if FBR deems it appropriate, provide suitable incentives for any greenfield investment. Timelines- Clause 7.8 timelines may be extended in light of reasonable concerns raised by potential bidders with FBR, CCP policy note recommendations added.