NEW DELHI, August 17: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and a group of equipment vendors, who were denied orders for procurement of jelly filled cables (PIJF), are headed for a protracted legal battle. The provocation has come with DoT deciding to go ahead with placing orders with bidders who had quoted higher prices in violation of a Delhi high court order.Five vendors had gone to court seeking justice in the Rs 2,800-crore PIJF cable purchase when it became clear that DoT was violating its own tendor conditions on the pricing of the items.The affected parties, who are bracketed as non-sales tax paying companies (because of their factories are located in backward areas) complained that a cartel of big companies have succeeded in browbeating the DoT into changing the tender conditions in their favour.DoT created the confusion because of the peculiar definition it adopted under pressure from the companies which quoted higher prices. Since it is the basic price plus all the government levies five companies exempt from sales tax passed on the benefit to the DoT and were able to quote lower price. These companies were Sterlite Industries, three units of Gujarat Optical Cables and Paramount Cables.Further another five companies paying only two per cent sales tax also passed on this benefit to DoT. These companies, based in Andhra Pradesh, were Surana Cables, G R Cables, ARM, Bhagyanagar Metals and state-owned Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd.On the plea that the lowest composite price quoted by L-I bidder should be further subdivided into basic plus ST with ST payable at actuals, the L-I bidder was punished by DoT while giving his price to higher bidder.The court had ruled last week, "subject to the final decision in the writ petition it is ordered that the respondents will proceed on the basis of the composite price (L-I) on a uniform basis and pay to the parties on that basis for the supplies made by them".Bypassing the court order, DoT has now issued letters of intent to 22 companies. The six companies which had quoted the lowest price and challenged the DoT approach were denied the LoI. In all, 28 companies had participated in the tender and the technical evaluation committee (TEC) had found them all eligible for award of LoI. It is alleged by the affected companies that a cartel who were so far charging high prices from the DoT have again made the DoT change its own tender norms. The Delhi high court in its interim order had strucked down the price which the DoT had sought to place the cable orders. The DoT has decided to place orders on basic price instead of composite price as was mentioned in the tender. The affected companies contended before the court that the tender conditions clearlty stated that orders would be placed on composite price which was inclusive of all levies and taxes.
