Nearly a year after the tax authority invited a global tender for excise duty stickers that landed in a legal dispute, the Inland Revenue Department has once again invited a global tender for the stickers.

The department issued a tender notice on October 14, asking all the eligible bidders of security printers for the printing, supply and delivery of excise stamps. Interested bidders have been told to submit bids by noon on November 29.

“The bids shall be opened in the presence of bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at 4pm on November 29,” the notice reads.

The tax authority has been reeling under a shortage of excise stickers for imported liquor and cigarettes after Perusahaan Umum Percetakan Uang Republik Indonesia (Perum Peruri), the Indonesian company selected to supply the stickers in March, didn’t show up to sign a contract with the department.

As a stop-gap measure, the department authorised the Janak Education Material Centre to print nearly 100 million pieces of stickers for cigarettes and chewing tobacco products.

As per the law, such stickers must be applied to sell liquor and tobacco products in the market. But, the tax authority said it is now running out of 4 or 5 types of stickers for tobacco and liquor products. According to the department, it has already run out of stickers for imported liquors and some types of cigarettes. It will soon run out of stickers for other cigarettes and tobacco products.

The tax authority failed to complete the bidding process after the Supreme Court in November last year issued a stay order against the procurement plan after complaints were registered arguing that domestic players were not allowed to compete. But, the court lifted the interim order on February 24 this year, paving the way for the tax authority to move ahead with the procurement plan.

But the relief for the tax authority was short-lived as the Indonesian company didn’t show up to sign a contract with the department.

Perum Peruri’s failure to sign the contract has complicated the case further as the government didn’t award the contract to the second-ranked bidder, a Lithuanian company, citing some issues with the company. The Lithuanian company moved to the Supreme Court section 27(6) of the Public Procurement Act, which says contracts should be awarded to the second-ranked bidder if the first-ranked bidder refuses to sign the contract.

“Although the case is still pending in the court, it didn’t stop us from moving forward to call a fresh tender,” said Mukti Pandey, deputy director general at the department. “So, we moved ahead to call a fresh international tender for excise stickers.”