Tenders Board no longer obliged to accept lowest offer

Abandoning the long-established policy, Government yesterday brought legislation to remove the obligation on the Central Tenders Board to accept the lowest offer in evaluating tenders.

Under the same legislation, the limits of Permanent Secretaries to appoint consultants would be increased from $5,000 to $200,000. This was part of the package of measures in the Finance Bill, which was piloted by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Conrad Enill in the House of Representatives yesterday. The Minister stated that while the CTB was at present duty-bound to accept the lowest offer made, “except for good reason,” the best value did not always mean the lowest price offered. He added that the best value had to include non-price factors such as the experience of the supplier, the quality of goods or services, the reliability of the service, timeliness of the supply of the goods or service and social responsibility in production.

The Bill would also amend the Customs Act by prohibiting the importation of all types of armoured vehicles except with the written permission of the Minister of National Security. At present the Minister of National Security would be aware of importations of armoured vehicles to be used by the military. However, he is unaware of any importation of such vehicles if brought in by a civilan or para-military group, Enill noted. Stating that the one-year limitation for prosecution in cases of tax fraud was unrealistic, Enill stated that the Bill would also amend the Income Tax Act to provide for a limitation period of three years from the commission of the offence or 12 months from the date on which evidence sufficent to justify proceedings come to the knowledge of the Board of Inland Revenue.

Under the Bill, Government also increased the tax credit from a maximum of $450,000.00 to $1 million for companies which contribute financially towards the promotion of sporting events, local entertainment or educational production. The Bill was also amended to allow petroleum companies, which previously were excluded, to benefit from these incentives. The Bill would also simplify the requirements for the importation of “left-hand drive” vehicles by returning nationals by changing its character from an item prohibited under the Customs Act, to an item requiring a licence to be issued by the Minister of Trade. “This licensing requirement focuses on the Minister who will now issue a licence pursuant to the Trade Ordinance, which generally provides for the importation of goods into Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

On the issue of the Green Fund, the Minister of Finance would now be responsible for the disbursement of monies from the fund while the day-to-day management of programmes financed by the fund would be the responsibility of the Environment Minister. The Fund would operate in a manner similar to other funds such as the Road Improvement Fund and the Unemployment Fund, he said.