At the end of last May, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) awarded the Data Lab company G. 2,906 million (US$ 422 thousand) for the purchase of notebooks. The tender is called; “Acquisition of Personal Computers (PC)” with the ID 413671.
Four signatures were submitted for the tender; Comtel Sociedad Anónima, Master Soft Paraguay SRL, Infosystems and Data Lab. The latter was the firm finally awarded.
In total, the firm will provide 249 DELL brand desktop computers for G. 11,670,000 each.
STRIKING ASPECTS
Of the four signatures that were presented; Data Lab’s offer was the highest (see supporting documents). The difference between the lowest offer (Master Soft Paraguay SRL) of G. 2,199 million and that of Data Lab of G. 2,906 million gives a difference of G. 707 million.
REASONS FOR REJECTION
The company Master Soft Paraguay SRL was dismissed because it received a reprimand in a call from the INE years ago. This is the so-called “Acquisition of high-end PC, laptop/notebook”. It also won Data Lab, it was in November 2020 for G. 1,350 million.
On that occasion, Master Soft Paraguay SRL was reprimanded by the provisions of article 72, subsection “C” of Law 2051/03 on Public Procurement; “suppliers or contractors who provide false information or who act with intent or bad faith in any contracting procedure, in the execution of the contract or during its term, or in the presentation or discharge of a conciliation procedure or a nonconformity ”.
The documents present in the DNCP allege that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will be the financier of the current tender. And since this entity requires that suppliers meet the highest ethical requirements, it has forced the INE to rule out this firm from the call.
Infosystems was ruled out for not presenting the authorization letter from the official manufacturer or distributor of the listed products.
Comtel Sociedad Anónima, for its part, was ruled out for not having a SATA III hard disk drive of 7,200 rpm of at least 1TB, factory capacity with RAID capacity.
INE VERSION
Iván Ojeda, head of the National Institute of Statistics (INE), said that the offers are evaluated according to the contracting laws and the bank’s policies.
“The other companies did not comply with the documentary requirements. Because the economic aspect is one of the criteria. But the background of the other companies is also taken into account, ”he explained.
Ojeda reported that the company Master Soft Paraguay was reprimanded some time ago for submitting false documentation. In addition, he also has a history of delivering equipment that did not work.
“That company was denounced for adulterating documentation. It was sanctioned by Hiring. At some point he was awarded and delivered equipment that did not last four months. The purchase now is for equipment that we hope will last four years. In addition, the IDB requires that companies with fraudulent records not be awarded”, he commented.
