CAG finds e-Procurement system allowed offline bidding and collusive tenders in Haryana

This audit examined the implementation and functioning of the e-Procurement Project and the License Management, Liquor Production, and Distribution System in the Excise Department of the Government of Haryana. The audit covered the period 2022-23, along with earlier unreported instances and subsequent periods where necessary.

Government of Haryana (Finance Department and Excise Department)

• Non-execution of agreement with National Informatics Centre (NIC) for the e-Procurement project.
• Deficiencies in the functioning of the Project Monitoring Unit and non-monitoring of portal implementation.
• Inadequate implementation of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and inefficient portal utilization due to inadequate training.
• Instances of collusive bidding and cartelization, including multiple bids from the same IP address, mobile number, email, GSTIN, or PAN.
• Irregularities in tendering such as inadequate time for bid submission, splitting of work, and non-linking of re-invited tenders with original ones.
• Security lapses including absence of password policies, non-segregation of duties, and unauthorized actions related to user roles.
• Financial irregularities including non-reconciliation of pool accounts, irregular GST remittance, and loss due to erroneous refunds.
• In the Excise Department, non-automation of liquor production, dispatch, and export processes, and missing functionality for calculating penalties and interest.
• Short computation of additional excise duty and issuance of passes for quantities exceeding approved permits.
• Absence of validation checks in the liquor system, leading to issuance of passes during lockdowns and for cancelled permits.

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document