Bid validity extension and GST registration cancellation can justify tender disqualification where eligibility requires valid registration.

Bid validity under the tender terms could be extended by the proposer beyond the original 180-day period, so the challenge that the proposal had lapsed failed. Cancellation of the bidder's GST registration by the competent taxing authority rendered the bidder ineligible where the tender required a valid registration, and the disqualification on that basis was upheld. The writ petition therefore failed on merits and was not entertained.

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Issues: (i) whether the validity of the bid proposal could be extended beyond the original period of 180 days; and (ii) whether cancellation of the bidder's GST registration rendered it ineligible under the tender.

Issue (i): whether the validity of the bid proposal could be extended beyond the original period of 180 days.

Analysis: The tender condition provided that a proposal would remain valid for 180 days after the date of bid opening, and the Court accepted that the validity of a proposal could be extended by the proposer.

Conclusion: The challenge on the ground that the proposal had lapsed did not succeed.

Issue (ii): whether cancellation of the bidder's GST registration rendered it ineligible under the tender.

Analysis: The Court treated the phrase used in the disqualification communication as referring to cancellation of the petitioner's registration by the taxing authority and noted that the registration had been cancelled prior to 20 September 2024.

Conclusion: The disqualification based on cancellation of GST registration was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed on merits and was not entertained.

Ratio Decidendi: In a tender process, bid validity may be extended by the proposer, and cancellation of the bidder's tax registration by the competent authority can justify disqualification where the tender eligibility depends on a valid registration.

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