The Pre-Bid Meeting for the captioned tender was held on July 19, 2022 at 03:00 PM at RBI, Kanpur. The meeting was attended by representatives from fifteen Chartered Accounted (CA) Firms. The list of officials from RBI, Kanpur and representatives from CA firms who participated in the meeting is enclosed in the Annexure to this document.
2. The meeting was started with a brief introduction of the e-tender, scope of Concurrent Audit, terms and conditions of the tender by the Manager, ABCC. Thereafter, following queries were raised by the prospective bidders/interested firms, which were clarified by the Bank:
| Sr. No. | Query | Clarification by the Bank |
| 1. | Is registration on MSTC mandatory? Who will deal with problems faced in MSTC Portal? | Yes, registration on MSTC is mandatory. CA firms were advised to register themselves on the MSTC portal to be able to take part in the E-tendering process. Further, they were advised to contact MSTC personnel for any technical issues regarding registration, bidding etc., on the MSTC portal. Details are available in tender document.
Further, the firms were advised to refer the “vendor guide” available on MSTC website. |
| 2. | If there is any blockage in the system due to technical error or overcrowding, and we are unable to put through our bids by the appointed date and time, will you cancel our bids? | The last date for submission of tender is August 02, 2022 till 05:00 PM. Tenders received after the said date and time will not be accepted by the Bank. |
| 3. | What is the transaction Fee on MSTC Portal? | As charged by MSTC. |
| 4. | Amount of EMD to be deposited and last date for the depositing? | Amount of EMD is ₹26,400/-. Last date of submission of EMD is August 02, 2022 by 05:00 PM. Participants were advised to refer the tender document for details. |
| 5. | Are MSME firms exempted from depositing EMD? | No exemption for payment of EMD is admissible even for firms/ companies registered as MSMEs for this contract. |
| 6. | As per the tender documents the firms having registered office in Kanpur are eligible to apply for the tender. Whether the firms having branch office in Kanpur are also eligible? | The firms having registered office in Kanpur are eligible to apply for the tender. Here, registered office means the Head Office only. |
| 7. | Is it required to upload supporting documents viz., prior experience, letters for assignments of Concurrent Audits, Statutory Audits, details of partners etc., along with the bids? | Yes, it is required to upload supporting documents while submitting the technical bid. |
| 8. | What is the maximum number of files that may be uploaded on MSTC site during submission of Technical Bid. | As per the vendor guide available on MSTC website, there is no limit on the number of files the user can upload on the portal, however, the size of individual files should be less than 5MB. |
| 9. | How do you define semi-skilled and skilled staff? | The same is defined in terms and conditions of the Tender.
• Skilled staff- qualified in Group II of Integrated Professional Competency Course (IPCC)
• Semi-skilled staff - qualified in Group I - IPCC |
| 10. | What is the role of the appointed CA in GST/TDS/TCS filing? | As specified in corrigendum uploaded on RBI website and MSTC portal on July 19, 2022, Concurrent Auditors should assist bank’s staff in determination of all statutory taxes. The firm will prepare and file GST/ Income tax returns of the Bank (and also any other related returns which may come in force subsequently) at the designated intervals. |
| 11. | Does the Concurrent Auditor bear liability of filing GST/ Tax returns of Office? | The onus for ensuring the correctness and the timely filing of various GST / Tax returns will lie with the appointed CA firm. |
| 12. | The representative of a few firms raised concerns about the low remuneration for the concurrent audit. | The firms were advised that the remuneration indicated in the tender document is minimum monthly remuneration for the Concurrent Audit. The firms may quote remuneration as per their discretion. |
| 13. | Does the Concurrent Audit involve any outstation travel? | The Concurrent Auditors will conduct the audit of various departments of RBI Kanpur at Kanpur only. |
| 14. | Whether reporting of statements after appointment of CA should be done manually or online? | The monthly reporting is to be done in online mode on the Bank’s internal portal. A hard copy of the report is also required to be submitted to the Bank. |
| 15. | Will RBI provide the training for the software packages to be dealt with? | Practical working knowledge of the software packages will be passed on to the new audit firm by the Bank/ present Concurrent Auditors. |
| 16. | Please clarify the time of work and minimum number of staff required to be present at the office. Further, is there any penalty on non-adherence to attendance? | The selected firm/company will deploy a Concurrent Audit Team which should be headed by qualified Chartered Accountant having knowledge of computer operations and assisted by 4 skilled and 1 semi-skilled personnel (1CA+4skilled+1semi-skilled=6).
Concurrent Audit team is required to be present at the Kanpur Office during the Office working hours.
Absence of any one or more of the deployed staff without suitable & similar equivalent substitute staff will attract appropriate action, including monetary penalty indicated in Tender Document. |
| 17. | What are the criteria for assessing past performance of CA firms in RBI during technical evaluation? | Past performance of CA firms in RBI will be assessed on the basis of internal feedback on the performance of auditor given by auditee offices. |