The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of Nepal has issued a fresh global tender for excise tax stamps for tobacco, spirits, wine, beer and cider, reports The Kathmandu Post. A tender notice was issued on 14 October and all participants have until 29 November to submit their bids.

Writing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new public sector tax stamp programme, or even to update an existing programme, can be a daunting prospect. Where does one start? What has to go into this RFP? How comprehensive does it need to be, and how does one avoid any hint of corruption in the process?

In the July issue of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ (TSTN), we referred to a news article in The Kathmandu Post, claiming that Perum Peruri, which had been selected in March to supply tobacco and alcohol tax stamps to Nepal’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD), had failed to show up for the signing of the contract for the stamps, and that the IRD had subsequently initiated legal action against the company.

The Indonesian company Perum Peruri, which was selected in March to supply tobacco and alcohol tax stamps to Nepal’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD), has failed to show up for the signing of the contract for the stamps, reports The Kathmandu Post. This situation is made all the more strange considering Perum Peruri’s longstanding relationship with the department.

The Pakistan tender award for a tax stamp, electronic monitoring and track and trace system for tobacco products (announced in last month’s Tax Stamp & Traceability News™), has been challenged in the Islamabad and Karachi high courts, with a number of bidders filing formal complaints with regard to the allegedly spurious manner in which their bids were evaluated.

At the recent Tax Stamp Forum™ in Budapest one question that kept coming up was: what is the status of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) tender for a tax stamp or secure marking solution for tobacco products? (The current SARS tender has already been extended twice, with the closing date for submissions now set for 31 October 2019.)