ISLAMABAD: A total of four companies have approached the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) Grievances Redressal Committee (GRC) for their complaints after grant of highest score to the M/s AJCL (Pvt) Limited for providing IT-based solutions for electronic monitoring (track and trace system) for tobacco products, sugar, fertilizer, and cement.

Sources told Business Recorder that the aggrieved bidders had the time period of 15 days to approach the Grievances Redressal Committee after the announcement of results by the licensing committee.

Out of total eight bidding companies, the four which approached the committee are: M/s Reliance IT Solutions, M/s NIFT, M/s SICPA, and M/s Steuermarken Solution.

The FBR has heard the viewpoint of two companies so far.

In accordance with rule 48(1) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, the FBR had constituted the Grievances Redressal Committee comprising senior officers of the FBR (HQ), Islamabad.

The committee shall have full powers to redress the complaints of bidders pertaining to procurements/contracts being executed in the FBR (HQ) before the same take effect. The recently issued evaluation report of the FBR revealed that the M/s AJCL (Pvt) Limited is a consortium of Authantix Inc USA and Mitas Corporation from South Africa, which scored highest technical marks in the bidding process of Track and Trace system for electronic monitoring of sugar, cement, cigarettes, and fertilizers.

In order to prevent leakage of federal tax revenue and under-reporting of production and sales of tobacco, cement, sugar and fertilizer products, and to ensure proper payment of duties/taxes on the manufacture and sale of these goods, the FBR is mandated to licence the development, implementation, operation and maintenance of a track and trace system.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021