CA Certificate Alone Not Sufficient for Private Institutional Sales Bid: HC

Bothra Shipping Services Private Limited has filed the present writ petition in the Delhi High Court, challenging an order dated May 30, 2025, passed by the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) rejecting the petitioner’s bid application bearing No. NSIC/PMV/2023-24/TAILOR/01(R4) dated January 10, 2025.

NSIC accepts bid applications for supplying sewing machine tool kits under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme. Selected bidders are required to supply about 8 lakh tool kits across India. To qualify, bidders had to prove experience of selling at least 2.4 lakh sewing machines in any one of the last five financial years, as per Clause 4.4 of the Request for Proposal (RFP).

The petitioner was also one among these bidders, who submitted a bid along with a Chartered Accountant (CA) certificate and all other supporting documents (including GST invoices, purchase orders, and bank statements) as evidence of its private and institutional sales. However, the NSIC rejected the petitioner’s bid on the ground that the petitioner did not upload Letters of Acceptance (LoAs) or Work Completion Certificates (WCCs) along with the bid, which is mandatory under Annexure V of the RFP. On May 30, 2025, NSIC issued a detailed rejection order, which is challenged in the present case.

On this rejection, the petitioner argued that under Clause 4.4(ii) of the RFP, only a CA certificate for private or institutional sales is required, and submission of LoAs or WCCs is not obligatory. On this claim of the petitioner, NSIC and the Union of India argued that Annexure V, especially Note 2, clearly notes that bidders who claim eligibility based on Private/institutional sales are required to upload copies of LoAs/WCCs along with the bid, and since the petitioner failed at the same, he is technically not eligible for the PM Vishwakarma Scheme.

When the court examined the arguments of both sides, it noted the CA certificate had to strictly follow Annexure V. Note 2 of Annexure V is not optional; it is mandatory. Since the petitioner did not comply with the said requirement, the Court held that NSIC’s decision was valid as per the rules. In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the writ petition, and the rejection of the petitioner’s bid was upheld.