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TMI Blog2010 (1) TMI 1137X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... owest price and in this case the petitioner’s quotation was lower than respondent No. 4 to whom the work order was issued. Considering the lower quotation of the petitioner, he has a better right in my view to secure the contract in question and under such circumstances the work order granted in favour of respondent No. 4 is declared to be illegal. W.P. allowed. - W.P. (C) No. 5862 of 2009 - - - Dated:- 28-1-2010 - HRISHIKESH ROY , J. HRISHIKESH ROY J. Heard Mr. S. Kataki learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. D.P. Chaliha learned senior counsel representing respondent No. 1. Mr. H. Rahman learned Government Advocate makes the submission on behalf of the State-respondents. This matter pertains to the selec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... no circumstances Government promissory notes, savings bank passbook, demand drafts, cheque or any other mode of payment except as above, shall be considered unless accompanied by earnest money. No tender shall be considered unless accompanied by earnest money in the form of NSC/KVP duly pledged as aforesaid. Clause 7(a) All tender must be accompanied by up to date income-tax/vat registration certificate/sales tax clearance certificate including PAN card. Mr. S Kataki, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, submits that in so far as the clause 6 which requires deposit of earnest money in the form of NSC/KVP to be pledged in favour of the Inspector General of Prisons, Assam, the petitioner in his application (dated October 15, 2009 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is no justification to consider the petitioner s tender to be an invalid one. Attacking the next ground of rejection of his tender, Mr. Kataki contends that the Assam General Sales Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as, the AGST Act ) stood repealed and replaced by the Assam Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as, the VAT Act ), with effect from March 15, 2005 and under such circumstances, the requirement of furnishing a sales tax clearance certificate under clause 7(a) is an impossibility and it is further submitted that none of the tenderers had submitted any sales tax clearance certificate and therefore, rejection of the petitioners on this ground was not at all justified. Mr. Kataki refers to the VAT registration c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . H. Rahman the learned Government Advocate has produced the concerned records for perusal of the court. He fairly submits that none of the tenderers including respondent No. 4 had submitted a sales tax clearance certificate but it is further submitted that validity of the other tenderers have been considered on the basis of the VAT clearance certificate enclosed by them. The arguments advanced by the rival counsels indicate that the dispute in the present case can be resolved by answering as to whether the tender of the petitioner could be considered invalid because of his failure to supply a sales tax clearance certificate and whether under clause 7(a), a tenderer is required to furnish a VAT clearance certificate. Of course, responden ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s examining the purport of a tender clause only. In so far as the other ground, i.e., non-description of the pledged authority in full in the pledged documents, I find that the description in short version has been made by the postal authorities who have later clarified that the documents have been pledged in favour of the Inspector General of Prisons, Assam. In this context we may usefully refer to the decision of the apex court in Global Energy Ltd. v. Adani Exports Ltd. reported in AIR 2005 SC 2653, where the apex court held that the object of deposit of earnest money is to indicate that the party is financially sound and is serious about getting the work in question. This court in the case of Bidhu Bhusan Chowdhury v. Union o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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