Number plate manufacturing: Soaring dollar rate scares away potential contractors in Punjab

Only one bidder remains for tender as two others withdraw

LAHORE: The soaring dollar rate has scared away bidders for number plate manufacturing contracts, possibly forcing Punjab residents to keep their shiny new cars under covers or in the garage a little longer.

All but one of the bidders have bowed out of the contest for a tender to manufacture the number plates for the province. In letters written to the Punjab Excise Department, two of the initial three bidders have stated that they are withdrawing from the auction for the contract, a top department official told The Express Tribune.

The firms cited fears that the already high dollar price could rise even further in the aftermath of the IMF deal, Punjab Excise Department Secretary Barrister Nabeel Awan said.

This development comes just days before the biding process was expected to begin. Sources privy to the matter suggested the withdrawal may have been an attempt by the bidders to pressurise excise authorities into increasing the price of number plates.



The department, up till now, procured number plates for cars and heavy vehicles at Rs1,166 apiece and for motorcycles and three-wheelers at Rs751 apiece from the Inbox company, the sole remaining bidder for the new contract.

Sources said the Excise Department secretary met representatives of the bidding firms to determine the cost of a single number plate, but the latter were reluctant to respond to the query. While the secretary did not press the question further, information obtained by excise officials suggested Inbox makes number plates for Rs400 to Rs600 apiece, before accounting for profit, staff, utility and other expenses.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Additional Director General Excise Chaudhry Masoodul Haq said that under the law, if competing bidders withdraw before the final stage of an auction, then the offer presented by the last company may be accepted; if approved by the government.

“We have sent a reply to the withdrawing companies, rejecting the increase in dollar rate as the basis for pulling away from the auction since the contract is for a three-year period,” Haq said.

Excise Department Secretary Awan, meanwhile, said the situation was being reviewed and authorities would proceed according to the law. The department currently issues over two million number plates a year.

It started issuing computerised plates in 2006, with the first contract awarded to the 3M company till 2011. Upon expiry, the contract was neither extended nor given to another company till 2014, halting the issuance of new plates. The contract was then awarded to the Inbox company, but that too has now lapsed.



Seven companies applied for the new contract after the department put in a request some months back. The Punjab government screened out three of them and sought bids from the rest, namely Inbox, CMC, Megaplus and SI Global. Only three of these presented offers as SI Global decided not to participate.

The price and bid validity of the three companies was set at March 31, 2019 but the auction was postponed under a court stay order. As such, the excise department was forced to increase bid validity till June 8.

Last week, the Lahore High Court passed its verdict in favour of the excise department.

The stay order was withdrawn and the department was allowed to continue with the auction, but CMC and Megaplus informed the Excise Department that they were backing away from the auction.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2019.