Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998

No: 43 Dated: Dec, 21 1998

TAMIL NADU TRANSPARENCY IN TENDERS ACT, 1998

(Tamil Nadu Act No. 43 of 1998)

    An Act to provide for transparency in the public procurement and to regulate the procedure in inviting and accepting tenders and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    Whereas to maximise economy and efficiency in Government procurement;

    And Whereas to foster and encourage effective participation by tenderers in the process of tenders;

    And Whereas to promote healthy competition among tenderers;

    And Whereas to provide for fair and equitable treatment of all tenderers;

    And Whereas it is expedient to eliminate irregularities, interference and corrupt practices in the matters relating to tender processes by providing transparency in such matters;

    And Whereas to promote the integrity of the process of tenders and to promote fairness and public confidence in the processing of tenders by ensuring transparency in the procedure relating to procurement;

    Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Forty-ninth year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Tamil Nadu.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification, appoint.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) 'Construction' means all works associated with the construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair or renovation of a building, structure or any other related works;

(aa) 'Domestic Small Scale Industrial Unit' means an industrial unit in which the investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery, whether held in ownership or on lease or by hire purchase, does not exceed rupees one hundred lakhs, and which manufactures the goods within the State and registered with the Director of Industries and Commerce.

(b) 'Goods' means raw materials, products, equipment and other objects of every kind and description and includes electricity;

(c) 'Government' means the State Government;

(cc) 'Lowest Tender' means the tender which, on evaluation, is found to be the most beneficial to the procuring entity in financially quantifiable terms.

(d) 'Procurement' means acquisition by any means by purchase of goods or services and also of construction;

(e) 'Procuring Entity' means the entity specified in the Schedule to this Act;

(f) 'Tender' means the formal offer made in pursuance of an invitation by the procuring entity

(g) 'Tender Bulletin' means the bulletin published for each district or State, containing details of invitation and acceptance of tender;

(h) 'Tender Bulletin Officer' means any officer appointed by the Government to publish the district or State Tender Bulletin;

(i) 'Tender Document' means a set of papers containing schedule of works, rates, requirement of goods or services, technical specifications, procedure and criteria as may be prescribed for evaluation and comparison of tenders and such other particulars as may be prescribed;

3. Prohibition or Procurement except by tender. - (1) No procurement shall be made by the procuring entity except by tender.

(2) The provisions of sections 9 and 10 shall not apply to any procurement made by a procuring entity, in the normal course, if it is for carrying on business of selling and buying goods:

Provided that in case of procurement by the procuring entities on behalf of and for sale to Government or Government organisations for any Government programme, such procurement shall be only by tender.

4. Regulation of Tenders. - No tender shall be invited or accepted by any authority after the commencement of this Act, except in accordance with the procedure specified in this Act and the rules made there under.

5. Appoint of Bulletin Officer. - The Government may, by notification appoint,-

(a) an officer of the Government not below the rank of a Deputy Secretary to Government as State Tender Bulletin Officer;

(b) an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Collector as District Tender Bulletin Officer for every district;

6. Functions of Bulletin Officers. - (1) On receipt of intimation relating to details of notice of invitation of Tender, from the Tender Inviting Authority, information relating to acceptance of tender together with a comparative analysis and reasons for acceptance of tenders from the Tender Accepting Authority, the State or as the case may be, the District Tender Bulletin Officer shall, publish the same in the State or District Tender Bulletin, as the case may be within such time as may be prescribed:

Provided that, if the procurement covers more than one district, the invitation and the acceptance of tenders shall be published in the State Tender Bulletin and also in the District Tender Bulletin of such districts.

(2) The Tender Bulletin shall be made available for sale in the office of the Tender Bulletin Officer and at such other places as may be specified by him.