COREIP TECHNOLOGY PRIVATE LIMITED v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. This is a petition filed by the Petitioner-CoreIP Technology Pvt. Ltd. challenging the impugned order dated 9th February, 2023 bearing No. 16- 09/2018-IP-Part(1) passed by Under Secretary, Department of Telecommunications by which the Petitioner has been debarred by the Respondent No. 1-Department of Telecommunications (hereinafter, ‘DoT’) from participating in any procurement of DoT or its attached offices or subordinate offices etc. The operative portion of the said order reads as under:

3. The issue in the present case is in respect of determination of `local content’ requirements qua Petitioner’s products which are being offered for sale on the Government Electronic Marketplace portal (hereinafter, ‘GeM portal’).

4. According to the Petitioner, the Petitioner has clearly given and specified the percentage of local content of its products which are electronic products. In some cases, the local content is 50% and in other cases the local content is 20%. According to the Petitioner this is in line with the local content standard prescribed by the Respondent No. 3-Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017 (‘Procurement Order’). The submission on behalf of the Petitioner is that the debarment has taken place on the ground that there is a misrepresentation by the Petitioner in respect of the products displayed on the GeM portal.

5. Mr. Rao, ld. Sr. counsel submits that there is no false declaration. The extent of local content has been truthfully declared on the GeM portal against each of the products. Ld. Sr. counsel submits that on the GeM portal the Petitioner was already suspended for two months for allegedly supplying products that were not in line with the Procurement Order.

6. Mr. Mahapatra, ld. Counsel on behalf of the Respondent No. 1-DoT submits that that the DoT is the nodal Ministry which prescribes the local content for electronic products such as those being offered by the Petitioner. The DoT has issued local content requirements for electronic products vide notification dated 29th August 2018 titled, ‘Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017-Notification of Telecom Products, Services or Works’ (hereinafter, ‘Telecom Order’).

7. In the present case, the local content for one category of products as per the Telecom Order has to be minimum 65% and the second category of products it has to be at least 40%, which the Respondent No. 1-DoT finds that the Petitioner’s products do not comply with. The ld. Counsel for the Respondent submits that, in view of the fact that DoT is the nodal Ministry, the standards prescribed by DoT as per the Telecom Order would prevail over the local content requirements of other Ministries such as the Procurement Order issued by the Respondent No. 3- DPIIT insofar as the electronic products are concerned.

8. Mr. Mahapatra, ld. Counsel submits that a complaint was received against the Petitioner’s products on the ground that the Petitioner had falsely declared Chinese products as products with local content on the GeM portal.

9. The issue to be considered relates to the applicable local content requirements - which would be the local content requirements that would be applicable, whether those issued by the DPIIT or DoT?