GeM bid rejection for missing UDIN on chartered accountant certificate upheld as non-arbitrary.

Strict compliance with GeM bid conditions was required for participation, and a turnover certificate issued by a chartered accountant had to carry a Unique Document Identification Number under ICAI guidelines effective from 1 February 2019. Because the petitioner's certificate lacked the mandatory UDIN, the authority was justified in rejecting the technical bid. The rejection was not arbitrary, particularly since other bids with the same defect were treated similarly and the procurement process was designed to operate on objective, transparent criteria with minimal human intervention.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner's technical bid under the GeM bidding process was validly rejected for want of a Unique Document Identification Number on the chartered accountant's turnover certificate.

Analysis: The bid conditions required strict compliance with the documents prescribed for participation in the GeM process. The turnover certificate was required to be issued by a chartered accountant, and the statutory guidelines issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India made generation of UDIN mandatory for certificates from 1 February 2019. Since the certificate furnished by the petitioner did not comply with that requirement, the authority was justified in declining to consider the technical bid. The record also showed that the same treatment was applied to other bids suffering from the same defect, and the online procurement process was intended to operate on objective and transparent criteria with minimal human intervention.

Conclusion: The rejection of the petitioner's technical bid was not arbitrary and was upheld.

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