Allahbad Bank POS RFP

8/9/2019 Allahbad Bank POS RFP

1/92

Ref: HO/DIT/E-Del/POS/2014-15/RFP-02 Dated: 07.06.2014 Allahabad Bank e-Del Channels

Request for Proposal to Setup Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business through POS on Monthly Rental Model Page1

ALLAHABAD BANK

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL [RFP]

to

SET UP, MANAGE AND OPERATE MERCHANT ACQUIRING BUSINESS

THROUGH POS ON MONTHLY RENTAL MODEL

e-Delivery Channels, DIT

email : [email protected]

2, Netaji Subhash Road

Kolkata - 700001


2/92



Bid Details in Brief

Sl No Description Details

1 RFP No. and date HO/DIT/eDel/POS/2014-15/RFP-02 dated

07.06.2014

2 Brief Description of the RFP Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant

Acquiring Business through POS

3 Bank’s Address for Communicationand Submission of Tender

Assistant General Manager,e-Delivery Channels,

Deptt of Information Technology,

Head Office, Allahabad Bank,

2, Netaji Subhash Road,

Kolkata – 700 001

Tel – 033-22319235

Email: [email protected]

e-Delivery Channels,

Deptt of Information Technology,

Head Office, Allahabad Bank,

2, Netaji Subhash Road,

Kolkata – 700 001

4 Date of Issue 07.06.2014

5 Last Date of Submission of

Queries for Pre Bid Meeting

17.06.2014

6 Date of Pre Bid Meeting 19.06.2014

7 Last Date of Submission of Bids 07.07.2014

8 Date and time of Opening of Part

A- Conformity to Eligibility Criteria.

07.07.2014

9 Date and time of Opening of Part-

B- Technical Proposal.

Will be intimated at a later date.

10 Date and time opening of

price/Indicative Commercial bid

Will be intimated at a later date.

11 Application Fees (Not Refundable) Rs.10,000 /-

12 Earnest Money Deposit

Refundable

Rs.5,00,000 /-

This document can be downloaded from Bank’s website http://www.allahabadbank.in In that event,

the bidders should pay the Application Fee for tender document by means of DD, drawn on any

scheduled Commercial Bank for the above amount in favour of Allahabad Bank, payable at Kolkata

and submit the same along with the Bid document.


3/92



DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) document or information

provided subsequently to bidders or applicants whether verbally or in documentary form by or

on behalf of Allahabad Bank (or Bank), is provided to the bidder(s) on the terms and conditions

set out in this RFP document and all other terms and conditions subject to which such

information is provided. This RFP document is not an agreement and is not an offer or invitation

by Allahabad Bank to any parties other than the applicants who are qualified to submit the bids(hereinafter individually and collectively referred to as “Bidder” or “Bidders” respectively). The

purpose of this RFP is to provide the Bidders with information to assist the formulation of their

proposals. This RFP does not claim to contain all the information each Bidder require. Each

Bidder may conduct its own independent investigations and analysis and is free to check the

accuracy, reliability and completeness of the information in this RFP. Allahabad Bank makes no

representation or warranty and shall incur no liability under any law, statute, rules or regulations

as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of this RFP. The information contained in the

RFP document is selective and is subject to updating, expansion, revision and amendment. It

does not purport to contain all the information that a Bidder require. Allahabad Bank does not

undertake to provide any Bidder with access to any additional information or to update theinformation in the RFP document or to correct any inaccuracies therein, which may become

apparent.

Allahabad Bank reserves the right of discretion to change, modify, add to or alter any or all of

the provisions of this RFP and/or the bidding process, without assigning any reasons

whatsoever. Such change will be published on the Bank's Website and it will become part and

parcel of RFP.

Allahabad Bank in its absolute discretion, but without being under any obligation to do so,

update, amend or supplement the information in this RFP. Allahabad Bank reserves the right to

reject any or all the expression of interest / proposals received in response to this RFPdocument at any stage without assigning any reason whatsoever. The decision of Allahabad

Bank shall be final, conclusive and binding on all the parties.


4/92



Abbreviations used in this Document:

1 AMC Annual Maintenance Contract

2 BG Bank Guarantee

3 CST Central Sales Tax

4 DD Demand Draft

5 DIT Department of Information Technology

6 EMD Earnest Money Deposit

7 HO Head Office8 LAN Local Area Network

9 LD Liquidated Damage

10 LST Local Service Tax

11 ME Merchant Establishment

12 MDR Merchant Discount rate

13 NEFT National Electronic Funds Transfer

14 NI Act Negotiable Instruments Act

15 OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer

16 OS Operating System

17 POC Proof of Concept

18 POS Point of Sale

19 RFP Request For Proposal [Interalia the term ‘Tender’

20 RTGS Real Time Gross Settlement

21 VAT Value Added Tax

22 EAS Extended Excess Server

23 MIP MasterCard Interface Processor

24 NFS National Financial Switch


5/92



LIST OF CONTENTS

Clause

NoTOPIC Clause

NoTOPIC

A. INTRODUCTION 34 Award of Contracts

1 About Allahabad Bank D. TERMS & STIPULATIONS

2 Definition 35 Effective Date

3 About RFP 36 Project execution

4 Objective 37 Execution of Agreement

5 Eligibility Criteria 38 Uptime

6 Participation Methodology 39 Penalty

7 Requirement Details 40 Pricing & Payment

8 Scope of Work 41 Payment Terms

B. BID PROCESS 42 Security Deposit / PB Guarantee

9 Bid Document and Cost 43 Order cancellation

10 Clarification to RFP & Pre-Bid

queries

44 Software, Drivers and Manuals

11 Pre-Bid Meeting 45 Training

12 Amendment to Bidding 46 Project Timelines

13 Bid System Offer 47 Terms & Conditions

14 Preparation of Bids E.GENERAL CONDITIONS

15 EMD/BG in Lieu of EMD 48 Intellectual Property Rights

16 Documentation 49 Roles & Responsibility during

17 Cost & Currency 50 Indemnity

18 Erasures or Alteration 51 Inspection/ Audit of Records

19 Assumptions

/Presumptions/Modifications

52 Assignment

20 Submission of Bid 53 Publicity

21 Bid opening 54 GuaranteesC. SELECTION OF BIDDER 55 Confidentiality and Non Disclosure

22 Preliminary Scrutiny 56 Amendments to the agreements

23 Clarification of Offers 57 General contract agreement

24 Bidders Presentation/Site Visit/

POC

58 Negligence

25 Evaluation of Bids 59 Responsibility for completeness

26 Short listing of Bidder 60 Responsibilities of the Bank


6/92



27 Correction of error in Indicative

Commercial Bid

61 Responsibilities of the Bidder

28 Determination of L1 Price 62 Force majeure

29 Bid Validity Period 63 Corrupt and Fraudulent Practices

30 Proposal ownership 64 Resolution of disputes

31 Project ownership 65 Modification/Cancellation of RFP

32 Acceptance of offer 66 Jurisdiction of the court

33 Right to alter Scope 67 Exit Clause

F. ANNEXURES( To be submitted with Part A- conformity to eligibility

1 Check List

2 Eligibility Criteria declaration

3 Bid Covering Letter Format

4 Authorization Letter Format

5 Applicant’s Profile

6 Non-Disclosure agreement format

ANNEXURES ( To be submit ted w ith Part B-Technical Proposal)

7 Technical Bid Covering letter Format

8 Track Record For Set up Manage and operate Merchant Acquiring Business

through POS on Monthly Rental Model9 Proposed Team Profile

10 Functionalities for Merchant Acquiring Business through POS on Monthly Rental

Model

11 Compliance Statement

12 Undertaking Letter Format

13 Escalation Matrix

ANNEXURES( To be submitted with Part-C –Indicative Commercial Bid)

14 Indicative Commercial Bid Covering Letter Format

15 Bill of Material/ Indicative Commercial Bid

Other Annexures

16 Copy of the SLA

17 Copy of the draft Contract

18 Example for Reverse Auction Calculation

19 Business Rules and Terms & Conditions of e-Tendering

G. APPENDICES

A Instructions for Part A-Eligibility Conformity

B Instructions for Part B-Technical Proposal

C Instructions for Part C-Indicative Commercial Bid

D Proforma Bank Guarantee for Contract Performance

E Bank Guarantee Format for Earnest Money Deposit


7/92



A. INTRODUCTION

1. About Allahabad Bank

ALLAHABAD BANK, a body Corporate and a Public Sector Bank established in the Year

1865 and nationalized under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of

Undertakings) Act, 1970, having its Head office at 2, Netaji Subhash Road, Kolkata – 700

001 and among others is having office at Allahabad Bank, e-Delivery Channels, Departmentof Information Technology, Head Office, 2 Netaji Subhash Road, Kolkata -700001. The Bank

is having pan India presence of more than 2800 branches and 49 zonal offices situated

across the States. The Bank is a forerunner in implementation of IT related products and

services and continuously making efforts to provide the state of art technological products to

its customers.

2. Definitions

2.1. ‘Bank’ means unless excluded by and repugnant context or the meaning thereof, shall

mean ‘Allahabad Bank’, described in more detail in paragraph 1 above and which has

invited bids under this Request for Proposal (RFP) and shall be deemed to include it

successor and assigns.

2.2. ‘RFP’ means Request for Proposal for Selection of vendors to Set up, Manage and

Operate Merchant Acquiring Business through POS on Month Rental Model.

2.3. ‘Bidder’ means a vendor submitting the proposal in response of RFP.

2.4. ‘Contract’ means the agreement signed by successful bidder and the Bank at the

conclusion of bidding process, wherever required.

2.5. ‘Successful Bidder’/ ‘L1 bidder’ means the Bidder who is found to be the lowest bidder,

subject to compliance of all the Terms and Conditions of the RFP, etc.

2.6. ‘Solution’ means Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business throughPOS as per this RFP.

2.7. ‘Proposal’ means that Technical proposal and financial proposal as per the formatsprescribed in the RFP.

3. About RFP

The Bank wishes to Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business through

POS on Monthly Rental Model as stipulated in RFP. In this connection, Bank invites sealed

offers (‘Conformity to Eligibility Criteria’, ‘Technical Proposal’ and ‘Indicative Commercial

Bid’) for Selection of vendors to Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business

through POS as per the Terms & Conditions, Technical Specifications and Scope of Workdescribed elsewhere in this document.

The RFP document is not a recommendation, offer or invitation to enter into a contract

agreement or any other arrangement in respect of the services. The provision of the

services is subject to observance of selection process and appropriate documentation being

agreed between the Bank and successful bidder as identified by the Bank after completion

of the selection process.


8/92



4. Objective

Bank intends to select a vendor who can set up, Manage and Operate Merchant AcquiringBusiness through POS for Minimum 10000 POS terminal over the period of next 3 years.

5. Eligibility Criteria:

Due to the complexity of the business and operation of POS, only bidders who qualify on

each and all of the below mentioned criteria, would be qualified to submit the bid and will be

evaluated as per details provided further in this document. Bidder should provide full detailson each of the below requirements.

Sl.No Eligibility Criteria Documents Required Complied (Y/N)

1. The Bidder/Group Company orconsortium should have been inoperation in India for at least two yearsas on date of RFP.

Certificate ofCommencement ofBusiness/ copy of first order.

2. Shall have a minimum annual Turnoverof Rupees fifty crores during last twofinancial years viz., 2012-13 and 2013-

14.

Copy of audited financialstatements (P/L & Balancesheet) for last two financial

years should be submitted. Iffinancial statements for2013-14 is not audited,audited financial statements( P/L & Balance sheet) ofpreceding two years shouldbe submitted along with theprovisional financialstatements ( P/L & Balancesheet) of 2013-14.

3. Shall have positive net worth in the lasttwo financial years viz. 2012-13 and2013-14

4. No Bidder shall submit more than oneBid for the Project.

Self-certificate indicating thatonly one bid has beensubmitted

5. The Bidder or consortium membershould have experience in PSTNPOS/Mobile POS/GPRS POSdeployment, processing, operations andmanagement, preferably in projects ofBanks/Financial Institutions as per NPCI/VISA / MasterCard Guidelines.

Give experience details.

6. The Bidder should have installed and bemaintaining at least 5000 POSTerminals comprises of PSTN, GPRS &

MPOS of which 500 MPOS with 1 yearvintage any where in India.

Attach copies of orders.

7. The Bidder should have a set-up inIndia for operations /back-officeprocessing of merchant acquiringtransactions.

The operations set up/ backoffice details are to beprovided.


9/92



8. The Bidder should have technologicalcapability to provide the POS solution.end to end services such as POSTransaction Settlement, Reconciliation,addressing chargeback issues,resolution of complaints, facility for online monitoring of POS terminals,representment etc. The bidder is alsorequired to provide POS terminal withupdated functionalities, TerminalManagement, and arrange deployment,training and maintenance, etc. as perrequirements.

Describe the technologicalcapabilities.

9. The bidder should be a PCI-DSScertified company as on date andshould provide the details of suchcertifications as on date of bid

submission

Copy of the certificate to beprovided

10. If the bidder is not a manufacturer, thebidder should have tied up with amanufacturer of POS and tie uparrangement must be at least prior tothe date of submission of bid

Detail the arrangement andattach a letter from thesupplier.

11. Bidder to indicate the tasks that will beoutsourced.

Give complete details.Include the names of thevendors to whom someservices will be outsourced.

12. Whether having service centers andwilling to give an undertaking to set up

service centers in urban, semi-urbanand rural areas also.

List the existing servicecentres. If required, attach

undertaking to set up servicecentres in urban, semi-urbanand rural centres.

13. The Bidder or consortium should nothave been blacklisted by any PSU Bankduring the last 3 years

Self-certification

14.

The bidder should have its own switch,certified for credit & debit card acquiringby VISA/ MasterCard and NPCI andalso the bidder should be a registeredthird party processor/ member service

provider(TPP/MSP) for VISA/MasterCard and NPCI and it should beused by at least one PSU/ CommercialBank in India for POS AcquiringBusiness

Proof in this regard to besubmitted

15.

The bidder should own/ have a validlicense to use the Merchant AcquiringHardware, Merchant ManagementSoftware and POS Software Processingplatform in house and the infrastructureshould be in use by at least one PSU/

Declaration to this effect hasto be submitted by thebidder.

Letter from one public sector/commercial banks has to be


10/92



Commercial; Bank in India for switchingPOS transactions.

submitted.

16.

The bidder should have both primaryand DR centre fully audited andcomplied with VISA/ MasterCard/ NPCIguide lines. If it is not so, process maybe completed with in three months fromthe date of award of tender.

The Bidder has to submit theaudit Certificate. In caseaudit is intended to becompleted with in threemonth from the date ofaward of tender, anundertaking in this regardduly signed by authorizedsignatory should befurnished.

17.

The Bidder should have its own EAS /MIP / NFS connectivity in its premisesto provide the necessary connectivity tothe Bank for routing VISA / Master Card/ NPCI transactions

Bidder has to provide relateddetails like address

6. Consortium Definition

In case the bidder/ group company is not having certain capabilities sought in tender, canstill participate in tender provided the bidder should have prior agreement and arrangement

with those parties having relevant capabilities/ expertise. Such agreement should be with

not more than two parties and should have been entered into before the due date of tender

submission.

Any service issue arising out of such arrangement will be in the domain of successful bidder

and the Bank will not have any responsibility towards the third party activities/ performance.

List of parties proposed to be engaged to be furnished along with the bid.

Group Company of the bidder shall mean any company in which bidder directly holds more

than 51% of the equity share capital.

7. Requirement Details

Bank intends to avail services to Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business

through POS on Monthly Rental Model, as detailed here under;

7.1 Consolidated monthly rent per terminal installed, to be paid to successful bidder, shallcomprise of following;

7.1.1 Rent of POS terminal installed at Merchant location.

7.1.2 Monthly Cost of services provided by bidder as per scope of RFP inclusive of all

other charges except rent of terminal.

7.2 If Merchant Establishment wants to use of its own PCPOS terminals, only monthly rent forother services shall be payable to the service provider.

7.3 Bidders must have their own fully certified switch for routing of transactions, Bidders have

to provide end to end solution to Bank as per “Scope of Work‟,

7.4 All other cost, except Bin Charges to VISA/MasterCard/NPCI and its certification chargesby what so ever name it is called, shall be borne by the bidder.


11/92



7.5 All the Certification charges of their switch & POS Terminals need to be borne by thebidder.

7.6 Bidder is expected to provide effective Fraud & Risk management services, addressing ofcharge backs if any arises, will be to the account of the Bank, but all other issues likecollection of charge slips, making representment etc shall be managed by the bidder

7.7 All the Banking Services including maintenance of Merchants Settlement account will beprovided by the Bank. The prime responsibility of merchant identification will be of the Allahabad Bank, which will act as Acquiring Bank by acquiring Card Present Transactionsat Merchant Establishments where POS Terminals shall be installed under the scope ofthis RFP. The Bidder / Service provider may provide the reference of the merchant to theBank at no extra cost.

7.8 Service Provider, at the sole discretion of the Bank, may be asked to provide services panIndia, including rural and semi urban areas.

7.9 As per market trends, it is envisaged that requirement of PSTN, GPRS, MPOS terminals

shall be in the ratio of 55, 35 and 10.

7.10 Bidders have to quote rates in indicative commercial bid as per Annexure - 15. ServiceProvider shall be selected through Reverse Auction Process.

8. Scope of Work

The scope of RFP involves deployment of POS EDC Terminals (PSTN, GPRS, and MPOS)

to be installed at Merchant Locations for acceptance of all types of cards, issued in

association with VISA , MasterCard & NPCI by the Bidder and routing the transaction to

Bidder’s Switch and then to the appropriate interchange switch viz., VISA or MasterCard or

NPCI. The bidder has to deploy the POS EDC Machines at his own cost and maintain them

and also offer services including provision, deployment, installation of the POS EDC

terminals, terminal driving, switching, merchant help desk, consumables, marketing/

publicity, helping in enrolment of Merchants, field services, transaction settlement,

reconciliation of POS Transactions and handling chargeback issues.

8.1 The Bank desires to offer the POS EDC Machines delivery channel to Merchant

Establishments enrolled by Bank.

8.2 The POS EDC terminals being deployed and POS Infrastructure must-

8.2.1 Be Fully EMV compliant (as per latest revisions).

8.2.2 Be in the approved terminal list of the EMVCo.

8.2.3 Be Chip-compliant and capable of PIN acceptance for chip cards.

8.2.4 POS Terminals must have the facility of LCD screen to display the amount of

transaction

8.2.5 Have unique double length Terminal Master Key.

8.2.6 Be TLE & UKPT/DUKPT Compliant

8.2.7 Terminals, POS Infrastructure and service provider should be PCI-DSS compliant as

per latest compliance standard released by PCI Council as on the date of RFP.

8.2.8 Any payment application used must be PA-DSS Compliant.

8.2.9 Be fully compliant to MoF/RBI/BCA directives and upgradable to all future directives.


12/92



8.3 Scope of Contract and Deliverables:

8.3.1 The Bank is inviting offers from Bidders, capable and experienced in all aspects

relating to Merchant POS Acquiring business by deploying EMV-II Compliant EDC

Machines, capable of reading Chip Card and PIN @POS enabled, at their own cost

at various Merchant locations across the country and maintains them.

8.3.2 POS Infrastructure of the service provider should be compliant to PCI - DSS / PA-DSS

standards and of reputed companies. The Bidder should disclose the brand, model

and manufacturer’s name of the EDC Machines to be offered to the Bank.

8.3.3 The EDC terminals should be connected to the bidders switch for routing/accounting

of transaction and then to the VISA/MasterCard/ NPCI for POS Transactions.

8.3.4 Merchant should be able to submit the daily Transactions/Bills online to the bidder for

settlement through Batch Settlement Process. The merchant agreement between

the Bank and Merchant will provide for safe keeping of the records including charge

slip by the merchant

8.3.5 The bidder should have the capability to supply and install EDC terminals, Merchant

Management and Training, while the Bank will provide the Lead and necessary

assistance in sourcing the Merchants.

8.3.6 The bidder should have a Merchant Helpdesk for attending to the queries of the

Merchants. Bidder shall also handle the settlement and payment related queries by

the Merchants of the Banks.

8.3.7 Bidders must have direct connectivity to VISA, MasterCard and NPCI network through

Extended Access Server (for VISA), MasterCard Interface Point ( for MasterCard)

8.4 The Bidder shall comply with / provide confirmation on the following:

8.4.1 Should provide network monitoring and ensuring seamless connectivity of POS

machines.

8.4.2 All the EDC terminals should be directly connected to the Bidder’s switch for providing

Switch Services for acquiring transactions. The third party processor switch should

be duly certified by VISA/MasterCard/NPCI and comply with all administrative

formalities and documentation requirements of VISA/MasterCard/NPCI.

8.4.3 The transactions would be routed directly to VISA/MasterCard/NPCI for all acquired

transactions. The charges, if any, for switch certification that need to be done on the

bank’s switch side would be taken care by the bank. The bidder should bear the

charges at its own switch side and also the communication cost from bank’s data

centre to bidders data centre.

8.4.4 The Bank has already obtained VISA and MasterCard membership for acquiring and

will be bearing all association (VISA & MasterCard) related charges. However Bank


13/92



shall be obtaining membership/ BIN from NPCI for acquiring RuPay Card at its own

cost

8.4.5 Financial liability, if any, arising on account of charge back shall be borne by Bank, all

other activities required to be done in case of charge backs shall be taken care of by

the bidder. Bidder shall be responsible for conducting activities like charge back

management, re presentment, retrieval, file uploads and download.

8.4.6 Bidder must ensure that card present transactions are strictly in line with guide lines of

RBI/ MOF/ IBA/ NPCI/ MasterCard/ VISA

8.4.7 The EDC terminals deployed by the bidder should be capable of providing value-

added services through the terminals e.g. Mobile Recharge, Bill Payment, E-

ticketing, Cash @POS etc, as and when required by the Bank.

8.4.8 If at a later date, the EDC machines / terminals are available with separate PIN pad to

facilitate PIN entry by the Cardholder; such additions shall be made in all the

terminals deployed by the bidder.

8.4.9 For any significant changes like Aadhar based authentication on POS Machines as an

additional factor of authentication or any other major up gradation is required to be

made in POS infrastructure to comply with MoF/ RBI directives in future, If required

monthly rentals will be revised with mutual consent with the vendor .

8.4.10 Estimates for the POS Terminals have been made on the basis of market trends,

(ie., 55% PSTN, 35% GPRS & 10% Mobile POS). If requirement of particular

category of terminal exceeds beyond 5% of the estimated proportion, rental for that

category of terminals will be revised with mutual consent with the vendor.

8.5 The deliverables shall also include the following:

8.5.1 Providing end-to-end maintenance for the EDC terminals including network

connectivity and end to end services related to Merchant Acquiring Business.

8.5.2 Generating the exception reports and taking appropriate action with the approval of

the Bank.

8.5.3 Generating and sending standard reports and other reports / MIS as defined by the

Bank. Sending Daily Transaction Statements to Merchant Establishments (e-

Statements).

8.5.4 Timely escalation to the Bank on exceptions

8.5.5 Provide EDC switching services.8.5.6 Merchant Set Up and Training

8.5.7 Handling Charge back issues.

8.5.8 Replenishment of consumables at merchant establishments.

8.5.9 Bidder should also provide switching of transactions acquired using PC POS and any

such type of medium of card acquisition.

8.5.10 The bidder should provide all reports including merchant payment advice reports

and also reconcile all transactions for these POS machines


14/92



8.6 Activities to be taken by Bank:

8.6.1 Framing merchant acquiring policy, pricing and standard operational procedures

8.6.2 Merchant Authorization Processing.

8.6.3 Merchant Activity Monitoring through MIS provided by the Bidder

8.6.4 Suspect Activity Response and Merchant Termination through MIS provided by the

Bidder.

B. BID PROCESS

9 Bid Document & Cost:

9.1 This document can be downloaded from Bank’s website http://www.allahabadbank.in. In

that event, the bidders should pay the Application Fee of Rs. 10,000.00 for tender

document by means of DD drawn on any scheduled Commercial Bank for the above

amount in favour of Allahabad Bank, payable at Kolkata and submit the same along with

“Part- A-Conformity to the Eligibility Criteria”. Submission of the cost of the bid document in

other than with “Part-A-Conformity with the Eligibility Criteria” is liable to be rejected on

grounds of non-payment of the cost of the bid document.

9.2 The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the bid

and the Bank will not be responsible for the costs, regardless the conduct or outcome of the

bidding process. The Bank is not liable for any cost incurred by the bidder in replying to this

RFP. It is also clarified that no binding relationship will exist between any of the

respondents and the Bank until the execution of the contract.

10 Clarification to RFP and Pre-Bid Queries:

10.1 The bidder should carefully examine and understand the specifications, terms and

conditions of the RFP and may seek clarifications, if required. The bidders in all such

cases shall seek clarification in writing in the same serial order of that of the RFP by

mentioning the relevant page number and clause number of the RFP.10.2 All communications regarding points requiring clarifications and any doubts shall be given

in writing to the Assistant General Manager, e-Delivery Channels, Department of

Information Technology, Head Office, Allahabad Bank, 2 Netaji Subhash Road, Kolkata –

700 001.by the intending bidders before 03.00 PM on 14.06.2014.

10.3 No oral or individual consultation shall be entertained.

11 Pre-Bid meeting:

11.1 A pre-bid meeting of the intending bidders will be held as scheduled below to clarify any

point/doubt raised by them in respect of this RFP.

Date Day Time Venue

19.06.2014 Thursday 3.00PM Head Office, Allahabad Bank,

e-Delivery Channels

Department of Information Technology


Kolkata – 700 001

No separate communication will be sent for this meeting. If the meeting date is declared

as a holiday under NI Act by the Government subsequent to issuance of RFP, the next


15/92



working day will be deemed to be the pre-bid meeting day. Authorized representatives of

interested bidders shall be present during the scheduled time. In this connection, Bank

will allow a maximum of 2 representatives who is having Authorization letter as per

ANNEXURE-4 of this RFP from each Bidder to participate in the pre-bid meeting.

11.2 Bank has the discretion to consider any other queries raised by the bidder’s

representative during the pre-bid meeting.

11.3 Bank will have liberty to invite its technical consultant or any outside agency, wherevernecessary, to be present in the pre-bid meeting to reply to the technical queries of the

Bidders in the meeting.

11.4 The Bank will consolidate all the written queries and any further queries during the pre-bid

meeting and the replies for the queries shall be made available in the Bank’s website and

no individual correspondence shall be made. The clarification of the Bank in response to

the queries raised by the bidder/s, and any other clarification/amendments/corrigendum

furnished thereof will become part and parcel of the RFP and it will be binding on the

bidders. It may, however, be noted that non-receipt of reply to the queries raised by any

of the bidders shall not be accepted as a valid reason for non-submission of the bid. In

addition, non-reply to any query may not be deemed as a confirmation to the effect thatthe version of the bidder as reflected in the query has been accepted by the Bank.

12 Amendment to Bidding Document:

12.1 At any time prior to deadline for submission of Bids, the Bank, for any reason, whether, at

its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by prospective bidder, may

modify the bidding document, by amendment.

12.2 Notification of amendments will be made available on the Bank’s website

(www.allahabadbank.in) and will be binding on all bidders and no separate

communication will be issued in this regard.

12.3 In order to allow prospective bidders reasonable time in which to take the amendment into

account in preparing their bids, the Bank, at its discretion, may extend the deadline for a

reasonable period as decided by the Bank for the submission of Bids.

13 Bid System Offer

Bid shall have the following 3 (three) parts:

13.1 Part-A - Eligibility Conformity: Indicating their compliance to Eligibility Criteria. The format

for submission of Conformity to Eligibility Criteria is as per APPENDIX-A.

13.2 Part-B - Technical Proposal- indicating the response to the Technical and Functional

requirement specification of ‘Selection of vendor to Set up, Manage and OperateMerchant Acquiring Business through POS on Monthly Rental Model’. The format for

submission of Technical Proposal is as per APPENDIX-B.

13.2 Part-C – Indicative Commercial Bid- furnishing all relevant information as required as

per ANNEXURE-15. The format for submission of Indicative Commercial bid is as per

APPENDIX-C.

14 Preparation of Bids:

14.1 The Bid shall be typed or written in English language with font size of 12 in indelible ink


16/92



and shall be signed by the Bidder or a person or persons duly authorized to bind the

Bidder to the Contract. The person or persons signing the Bids shall initial all pages of the

Bids, except for un-amended printed literature.

14.1.1 The three parts as stated above, should be placed in three separate envelope

super scribed with ‘Conformity to Eligibility Criteria’, ‘Technical Proposal’ and

‘Indicative Commercial Bid’ and properly closed and sealed. Thereafter, all the

envelopes shall be placed inside another envelope and properly closed and

sealed. The final envelope should be super scribed as “Offer Selection of vendorto Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business through POS on

Monthly Rental Model in response to HO/DIT/eDel/POS/2014-15/RFP-02

dated 07.06.2014 (includes separately sealed ‘Conformity to Eligibility Criteria’,

‘Technical Proposal’ and ‘Indicative Commercial Bid’) on the top of the

envelope.

14.1.2 All the pages of Bid including Brochures should be made in an organized,

structured, and neat manner. Brochures/leaflets etc. should not be submitted in

loose form. All the pages of the submitted bids should be paginated with Name,

Seal and Signature of the Authorized Signatory. Bids with erasing / overwriting /

cutting without authentication will be liable for rejection. Authorization letter forsigning the Bid documents duly signed by Company’s Authorized signatory

should be submitted.

14.1.3 All the envelopes shall bear the name and complete postal address of the bidder

as well as the addressee, namely the Assistant General Manager, Allahabad

Bank, e-Delivery Channels, Department of Information Technology, Head

Office, Allahabad Bank, 2 Netaji Subhash Road, Kolkata – 700 001

14.2 Part A-Conformity to Eligibility Criteria:

14.2.1 Before submitting the bid, the bidders should ensure that they conform to the

eligibility criteria as stated in clause-5 of RFP. Only after satisfying themselves

of the eligibility, the Offer should be submitted.14.2.2 The Conformity to Eligibility Criteria as per ANNEXURE-2 among others must

contain Demand Draft towards the cost of the Bid document as stated in the

paragraph 9.1 above and EMD/ Bank Guarantee in lieu of EMD as per

APPENDIX-E of Instructions of this document. The Conformity to Eligibility

Criteria should be complete in all respects and contain all information sought for,

as per APPENDIX-A.

14.2.3 After ensuring the above, it shall be placed inside a separate Envelope and

sealed and super scribed on the top of the cover as “PROPOSAL-PART-A for

Selection of vendor to Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring

Business through POS on Monthly Rental Model’”.

14.3 Part B-Technical Proposal:

14.3.1 Technical Proposal should be submitted following the instruction contained in

APPENDIX-B. Relevant technical details and documentation should be provided

along with Technical Proposal.

14.3.2 The offer may not be evaluated and may be rejected by the Bank without any

further reference in case of non-adherence to the format or partial submission of

technical information as per the format given in the offer.

14.3.3 If the offer of the Bidder is different from the requirement/ scope furnished in the


17/92



RFP, the bidder has to substantiate the same in detail, the reason for such

deviations. The Bank shall not allow / permit changes in the technical

specifications once it is submitted.

14.3.4 The Technical Proposal is to be sealed in a separate Envelope super scribed on

the top of the cover as “PROPOSAL PART-B for Selection of vendor to Set up,

Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring Business through POS on Monthly

Rental Model’”.

14.3.5 The Technical Proposal should be complete in all respects and contain all

information sought for, as per APPENDIX-B. Masked Indicative Commercial Bid

must be attached in Technical Offer and should not contain any price

information. The Part B-Technical Proposal should be complete and should

cover all products and services.

14.4 Part C-Indicative Commercial Bid:

14.4.1 The Indicative Commercial Bid is to be sealed in a separate sealed envelope

super scribed on the top of the cover as “Indicative Commercial Bid PART-C for

Selection of vendor to Set up, Manage and Operate Merchant Acquiring

Business through POS on Monthly Rental Model’”.14.4.2 Indicative Commercial Bid shall be submitted as per Indicative Commercial Bid

and other terms and conditions of RFP on prices. The Indicative Commercial Bid

should give all relevant price information as per ANNEXURE-15. Any deviations

from the Indicative Commercial bid / non submission of prices as per the format

shall make the bid liable for rejection.

14.4.3 Under no circumstances the Indicative Commercial Bid should be kept in Part-A

(i.e. Conformity to Eligibility Criteria) or Part B (i.e. Technical Proposal) Covers.

The placement of Indicative Commercial Bid in Part A (i.e. Conformity to

Eligibility Criteria) or Part B (i.e. Technical Proposal) covers will make bid liable

for rejection.

14.4.4 The Indicative Commercial Bid must be attached in Technical Proposal as well

as Indicative Commercial Bid. The format will be identical for both Technical

Proposal and Indicative Commercial Bid, except that the Technical Proposal

should not contain any price information (with Prices masked). Technical

Proposal without masked Indicative Commercial Bids will be liable for rejection.

Any change in the Indicative Commercial Bid format may render the bid liable

for rejection.

14.4.5 Bidder must take care in filling percentage share information in the indicative

Commercial Offer, to ensure that there are no typographical or arithmetic errors.

All fields must be filled up correctly.

14.4.6 Any change in the Bill of Material format may render the bid liable for rejection.

The Indicative Commercial Bids that are incomplete or conditional are liable to

be rejected.

14.4.7 The Bidder should indicate the individual taxes, and its applicable rate along

with the estimated tax amounts to be paid by the Bank.

14.4.8 If any of the deliverable product mainly, Hardware, software, Service/Support

etc. has both VAT and Service Tax, the bidder has to indicate the Goods


18/92



component with percentage of VAT and Service Component with service Tax

involved. The Goods Component + Service Component should be limited to

100% of the Cost Price. For example, if Goods Component is 60% then, the

Service Component cannot be more than 40%.

15 Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)/Bank Guarantee In Lieu Of EMD:

15.1 The bidder shall furnish Non interest earning Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of Rs.

5,00,000/- (Rupees five lacs Only) by way of Demand Draft drawn on any scheduled bank

in favour of Allahabad Bank, payable at Kolkata and the same should be kept along withthe Part-A - Conformity to Eligibility Criteria.

15.2 In Case the EMD is submitted in the form of Bank Guarantee the same should be valid for

the minimum period of 6 months with a claim period of 3 months. The format for

submission of EMD in the form of Bank Guarantee is as per APPENDIX-E.

15.3 Submission of EMD in other than Part A - Conformity to Eligibility Criteria Envelope, is

liable to be rejected on grounds of non submission of EMD.

15.4 The EMD of the Bidders not qualified under Technical Proposal will be returned within 15

days after opening the Indicative commercial bid of the technically qualified bidders. The

EMD of other bidders will be returned upon the selected bidder accepting the order and

furnishing the performance guarantee.

15.5 The EMD may be forfeited/Bank Guarantee may be invoked:

15.5.1 If the bidder withdraws or amends the bid during the period of bid validity

specified in this document.

15.5.2 If the selected bidder fails to accept the purchase order within 7 days or fails to

sign the contract or fails to furnish performance guarantee in accordance with

the terms of the RFP.

16 Documentation:

Technical information in the form of Brochures/Manuals/CD etc. must be submitted in

support of the Technical Offer made.

17 Costs & Currency:

The Offer must be made in Indian Rupees only as per Indicative Commercial Bid

(ANNEXURE-15).

18 Erasures or Alterations:

The Offers containing erasures or alterations or not be considered. There should be no

hand-written material, corrections, alterations or overwriting in the offer. Technical details

must be completely filled in. Correct technical information of the product being offered must

be filled in. Filling up of the information using terms such as “OK”, “accepted”, “noted”, “as

given in brochure/manual” is not acceptable. The Bank may treat such Offers as not

adhering to the tender guidelines and as unacceptable.

19 Assumptions/Presumptions/Modifications:

The Bank would like to expressly state that any assumption, modifications, terms,

conditions, deviation etc., which the bidder includes in any part of the Bidder’s response to

this RFP, will not be taken into account either for the purpose of evaluation or at a later

stage, unless such assumptions, modifications, terms, conditions deviations etc., have


19/92



been accepted by the Bank and communicated to the bidder in writing. The bidder at a later

date cannot make any plea of having specified any assumption, modifications, terms,

conditions, deviation etc in the bidder’s response to this RFP. No offer can be modified or

withdrawn by the bidder after submission of Bid/s.

20 Submission of Bids:

20.1 The Name and address of the Bidder, RFP No. and Due Date of the RFP are to bespecifically mentioned on the Top of the envelope containing Bid.

20.2 The bid/s properly super scribed in the manner prescribed in earlier clauses of this RFP

should be deposited in the Tender Box at the Place, Venue, Date and Time mentioned

below:

Last Date of

submission of Bid

Day Time Venue

07.07.2014 Monday Upto 3.00 PM e-Delivery Channels

Deptt of Information Technology

Allahabad Bank

Head Office2, Neta ji Subhash Road

Kolkata – 700 001

20.3 If the last day of submission of bids is declared as a holiday under NI Act by the

Government subsequent to issuance of RFP, the next working day will be deemed to be

the last day for submission of the RFP. The Bid/s which is/are deposited after the said

date and time shall not be considered.

20.4 Bids sent through post/courier will not be accepted/ evaluated. No offer will be accepted

directly.20.5 If envelopes containing bid documents, including the outer envelope is not sealed and

marked in the prescribed manner, the Bank will assume no responsibility for the bid’s

misplacement or premature opening.

20.6 The following officials will facilitate in bid related queries and make arrangements for

deposit of bid documents.

First Official Alternate Official Aditya Mehra,

Marketing Officer,

e-Delivery Channels,Deptt of Information

Technology Head Office

Allahabad Bank

2, Neta ji Subhash Road

Kolkata – 700 001

Atul Bharati,

Chief Manager,,

e-Delivery Channels,Deptt of Information

Technology Head Office

Allahabad Bank

2, Neta ji Subhash Road

Kolkata – 700 001

20.7 In case bid documents are too bulky to be placed inside the tender box, arrangements will

be made by the above mentioned officials to receive the tender. However, bidder should


20/92



reach the venue before the date and time stipulated above.

20.8 All pages of Bid Documents must be signed by duly authorized person through board

resolution. A copy of Board resolution must be submitted along with the bid.

21 Bid Opening:

21.1 The Part A- Conformity to Eligibility Criteria shall be opened in the presence of the

Bidder’s representative/s who may choose to attend the bid opening as per following

schedule.

Date Day Time Venue

07.07.2014 Monday 03.30 pm Deptt of Information Technology

Head Office

Allahabad Bank


Kolkata – 700 001

Bidder’s representative may be present in the place and venue well in time along with an

authorization letter in hand for each bid opening under this RFP, as per the format

(ANNEXURE-4) enclosed.

Note: Authorization letter should be carried in person and shall not be placed inside any of the

bid covers.

21.2 Attendance of all the representatives of the bidders who are present at bid opening will be

taken in a register against Name, Name of the Company and with full signature.

21.3 The Bidders may note that no further notice will be given in this regard. Further, in case

the bank does not function on the aforesaid date due to unforeseen circumstances or

declared as a holiday then the bid will be accepted up to 3.00 PM on the next working day

and bids will be opened at 3:30 PM at the same venue on the same day.

21.4 The following details will be announced at the time of bid opening.21.4.1 Bidders name

21.4.2 Presence or absence of cost of the bidding document and Bid security(In case

of Technical bid opening)

21.4.3 Such other details as the Bank at its discretion may consider appropriate.

21.5 If any of the bidders or all bidders who submitted the tender are not present during the

specified date, time and venue of opening it will be deemed that such bidder is not

interested to participate in the opening of the Bid/s and the bank at its discretion will

proceed further with opening of the Part A - Conformity to Eligibility Criteria in their

absence.

21.6 The Part A- Conformity to Eligibility Criteria submitted by the bidder will be evaluated

based on the eligibility criteria stipulated. The Part B-Technical Proposal of only those

bidders who qualified in Part A- Conformity to Eligibility Criteria will be opened with due

communication by the bank.

21.7 The Indicative Commercial Bid of only those bidders who qualify in Part B-Technical

Proposal will be reckoned for opening.

C. SELECTION OF BIDDER

22 Preliminary Scrutiny:


21/92



The Bank will scrutinize the Bid/s received to determine whether they are complete in all

respects as per the requirement of RFP, whether the documents have been properly

signed, whether items are offered as per RFP requirements and whether technical

documentation as required to evaluate the offer has been submitted.

Prior to detailed evaluation, the Bank will determine the responsiveness of each Bid to the

bidding document. Responsiveness means that the bid conforms to all terms and

conditions of the Eligibility Criteria and bidding document is submitted without any materialdeviations.

23 Clarification Of Offers:

23.1 During the process of scrutiny, evaluation and comparison of offers, the Bank may, at its

discretion, seek clarifications from all the bidders/any of the bidders on the offer made by

them. The bidder has to respond to the bank and submit the relevant proof /supporting

documents required against clarifications, if applicable. The request for such clarifications

and the Bidders response will necessarily be in writing and it should be submitted within

the time frame stipulated by the Bank.

23.2 The Bank may, at its discretion, waive any minor non-conformity or any minor irregularity

in the offer. This waiver shall be binding on all the bidders and the Bank reserves the right

for such waivers.

24 Bidders Presentation /Site Visits / Service Demonstration/POC

24.1 The Bidders who are qualified in eligibility evaluation, have to give

presentation/interactions before panel of representatives of Bank on the methodology/

approach, time frame for various activities, strengths of the Bidders in carrying out the

tasks as per the scope of the RFP detailed under para 8 of the RFP. The technical

competence and capability of the Bidder should be clearly reflected in the presentation. If

any short listed Bidder fails to make such presentation, the Bidder will be eliminated from

the evaluation process.24.2 At the sole discretion and determination of the Bank, the Bank may add any other

relevant criteria for evaluating the proposals received in response to this RFP.

24.3 Setting of evaluation criteria for service demonstrations shall be entirely at the discretion

of the Bank. The decision of Bank in this regard shall be final and in this regard, no

correspondence shall be entertained.

25 Evaluation of Bid:

25.1 The Bank will evaluate the bid submitted by the bidders under this RFP. The Part-A

Conformity to Eligibility Criteria submitted by the bidder will be evaluated based on

Clause-5 of RFP.

25.2 The Part B-Technical Proposal of only those bidders who qualified in Part A- Conformity

to Eligibility Criteria, will be opened with due communication by the Bank and shall be

evaluated on the basis of Annexure-10 and Annexure-10(A) of the RFP. Bidders who

succeed to score at least 75% marks shall qualify in Technical Evaluation.

25.3 The Indicative Commercial Bid of only those bidders who qualified in Part B- Technical

Proposal will be reckoned for opening indicative commercial bid. Format for submission

of Indicative Commercial Bid is placed at Annexure-15

25.4 The Bank may, at its discretion, waive any minor non-conformity or any minor irregularity


22/92



in the offer. Bank’s decision with regard to ‘minor non-conformity’ is final and the waiver

shall be binding on all the bidders. Bank reserves the right for such waivers.

25.5 Minor Non-Conformity/ Minor Irregularity implies that they do not affect this RFP

materially.

25.6 The Bank will evaluate the bid submitted by the bidders under this RFP. The Technical

Proposal submitted by the bidder will be evaluated based on technical specification and

the documents stipulated in Technical Proposal. The Indicative Commercial Bid of only

those bidders who qualify in Technical Proposal will be reckoned for evaluation purpose.

25.7 The Bid will be evaluated by a Committee of officers of the Bank. If warranted, the Bank

may engage the services of external consultants for evaluation of the bid. It is Bank's

discretion to decide at the relevant point of time.

25.8 Selection of vendor shall be decided through Reverse Auction Process. In Reverse

Auction all eligible bidders, who qualify in Technical Evaluation, will participate in e-

tendering. Ceiling price and date of e-tendering shall be intimated to bidders before

holding Reverse Auction. Through Reverse Auction the vendor who quotes Minimum,

shall be the successful bidder.25.9 Reverse Auction shall be completed through e-Tendering. Business Rules and Terms

and Conditions of e-Tendering are placed at Annexure-19

25.10 On completion of evaluation process of indicative commercial bids and based on any

other clarification submitted by the Vendor in response to the Bank’s query as also

market trends, the ceiling on monthly rental for Reverse Auction shall be decided. While

fixing ceiling on monthly rent, terminal mix shall be taken as 55% PSTN, 35% GPRS and

10% MPOS.

25.11 Contract will be awarded to the L1 Vendor, i.e. the Vendor, who has quoted the lowest

monthly rent in Reverse Auction.

25.12 The successful bidder is required to provide price breakup with in 48 hours of conclusionof Reverse auction on the format (Annexure – 15).

26 Short-Listing Of Bidders:

The Bank will prepare a list of technically qualified bidders on the basis of evaluation

of‘Part-B-Technical bid’ and the names of shortlisted bidders would be announced on the

Bank’s website (www.Allahabadbank.com)/Notice Board.

27 Correction Of Error In Indicative Commercial Bid

Bank reserves the right to correct any arithmetical errors furnished in the IndicativeCommercial Bid. If any such errors are noticed, it will be rectified on the following basis:

27.1 Bank may waive off any minor infirmity or non-conformity or irregularity in a bid, which

does not constitute a material deviation.

27.2 If there is discrepancy between the unit price and total price (which is obtained by

multiplying the unit price by the quantity), the unit price shall prevail and the total price

shall be corrected accordingly.

27.3 If there is discrepancy between percentage and amount, the amount calculated on

percentage basis will prevail.

27.4 If there is discrepancy in the total arrived at Bill of Material (addition, subtraction,


23/92



multiplication, division and carryover of amount from one page to another), correct total

will be arrived by the Bank and the same will prevail over the total furnished in the Bill of

Material

27.5 If there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the rate/ amount in words shall

prevail, unless the amount expressed in words is related to an arithmetical error in which

case, the amount in figures will prevail, subject to the above two provisions.

27.6 If the bidder does not accept the correction of errors, the bid will be rejected

28 Determination of L1 Price:

28.1 L1 bidder shall be decided on the basis of reverse auction. Ceiling price for the reverse

auction shall be decided on the basis of indicative prices quoted by bidders and its

market rates. Vendors who qualify in technical evaluation shall be eligible for

participating in reverse auction. On completion of reverse auction process successful

Vendor shall be awarded contract.

28.2 Following methodology shall be adopted to arrive at ceiling price for reverse auction

28.2.1 There shall be two constituents of Monthly Rent per POS Terminal deployed, i.e;

Monthly Rent for POS Terminal (different for different terminals) and Monthly rent

per TID for other services. Percentage of each constituent shall be worked upon

on the basis of indicative commercial bids and market rates, which shall be

communicated to successful bidders prior to reverse auction.

28.2.2 Ceiling price for Monthly rent per POS terminal shall be determined by;

28.2.2.1 Fixing monthly rent per MPOS, GPRS, & PSTN Terminal individually

on the basis of indicative commercial bids and market rates.

28.2.2.2 Total monthly rent shall be determined, assuming 10 MPOS, 35

GPRS and 55 PSTN terminals per 100 terminals, i.e; 10 multiplied by

rent for MPOS plus 35 multiplied by rent for GPRS plus 55 multiplied

by PSTN.

28.2.2.3 Total monthly rent as explained in clause 28.2.2.3 shall be divided by

100 to arrive at weighted monthly rent per terminal.

28.2.3 Ceiling price for monthly rent per TID for other services shall also be fixed on the

basis of indicative commercial bids and market rates. Other services include

expenses such as transaction cost, certification charges, installation and

maintenance of POS terminals, reconciliation addressing of charge back,

replenishment of consumables etc.

28.2.4 Ceiling Price for the purpose of reverse auction shall be the sum total of above

two constituents as explained in clause no. 28.2.2.3. and clause no. 28.2.328.2.5 Successful bidder in reverse auction shall be submitting the breakup of monthly

rent in bill of material in line with above guide lines.

28.2.6 Suppose 70% of total monthly rent is set for rent of POS Terminals and 30% for

rent for other services and successful bidder quotes a rate of Rs. 600/- only.

Breakup of Rs. 600/- shall be as under;

28.2.6.1 Weighted Monthly rent for terminal mix per terminal shall be Rs. 420/-

( 70% of Rs.600/-)

28.2.6.2 Monthly Rent for MPOS/ GPRS and PSTN shall further be worked out


24/92



on the basis of weighted monthly rent as discussed in 28.2.6.2 and

rates quoted by the bidder in indicative commercial bid.

28.2.6.3 Monthly rent per TID for other Services shall be Rs. 180/-( 30% of

Rs.600/-)

28.2.7 Detailed example is placed as Annexure - 18.

28.3 However, the Bank does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any Bid and reserves the

right to reject any or all bids at any point of time prior to the order without assigning any

reasons whatsoever.

28.4 The bank reserves the right to re-tender without assigning any reasons whatsoever. The

bank shall not incur any liability to the affected bidder(s) on account of such rejection.

Bank shall not be obliged to inform the affected bidder(s) of the grounds for the Bank's

rejection.

28.5 The Bank reserves the right to modify any terms, conditions and specifications of the

RFP and Bank reserves the right to obtain revised price bids from the bidders with

regard to change in RFP clauses. The Bank reserves the right to accept any bid in whole

or in part. The bank reserves the right to release part order or more than one order.

29 Bid Validity Period:

The Offer submitted and the prices quoted therein shall be valid for 180 days from the date

of opening of Indicative Commercial Bid. Bid valid for any shorter period shall be rejected by

the Bank

30 Proposal Ownership:

The proposal and all supporting documentation submitted by the bidder shall become the

property of the Bank.

As the Bidder’s proposal is central to the evaluation and selection process, it is important

that, the bidder carefully prepares the proposal as per the prescribed format only. Under no

circumstance, the format can be changed, altered or modified. Bidders must provide

categorical and factual replies to specific questions. Bidders may provide additional

technical literature relating to their proposal but in a separate Annexure. Correct and current

technical details must be completely filled in. The Appendices/Annexure to this RFP shall

form integral part of the RFP.

31 Project Ownership:

31.1 If the bidder is engaging any third party in executing the project, details there of shall be

furnished. The bidder shall detail the responsibilities of such third parties involved and

also submit a letter of undertaking from the parties mentioning their consent and

assurance for satisfactory performance of the project. The bidder must specify any and

all relationships with third parties in respect of the ownership, which are relevant to thisRFP.

31.2 Ownership letter by the bidder to be submitted (Under taking letter by the bidder taking

the ownership of the project execution in case third party also involved in project

execution either fully or partially. The bidder shall also submit the ownership certificate

issued by the third party clearly mentioning the extent of ownership)

32 Acceptance of Offer:

32.1 The Bank reserves its right to reject any or all the offers without assigning any reason

thereof whatsoever.


25/92



32.2 The Bank will not be obliged to meet and have discussions with any bidder and/ or to

entertain any representations in this regard.

32.3 The bids received and accepted will be evaluated by the Bank to ascertain the best and

lowest bid in the interest of the Bank. However, the Bank does not bind itself to accept

the lowest or any Bid and reserves the right to reject any or all bids at any point of time

prior to the order without assigning any reasons whatsoever. The bank reserves the right

to re-tender the RFP with or without modification.

32.4 The bidder including those, whose tender is not accepted shall not be entitled to claim

any costs, charges, damages and expenses of and incidental to or incurred by him

through or in connection with his submission of tenders, even though the Bank may elect

to modify/withdraw the tender.

33 Right to Alter Scope:

In the event of changes in the regulatory guidelines, bank reserves the right to change/ alter

the Scope of Work.

34 Award of Contract:

34.1 The bidder who qualifies in Reverse Auction will be referred to as the selected bidder and

Bank will notify the name of the selected bidder by display in the Notice Board of the Bank

and also by e-mail to the successful bidder

34.2 The contract shall be awarded and the order shall be placed with selected L1 Bidder.

Bank releases the order either in Full or in part or place more than one order towards the

contract based on project plan.

34.3 Selected bidder shall submit detailed break up of commercials with in 48 hours of his

selection as L1 bidder.

34.4 The selected bidder shall submit the acceptance of the order within seven days from the

date of receipt of the order. No conditional or qualified acceptance shall be permitted. Theeffective date for start of provisional contract with the selected Bidder shall be the date of

acceptance of the order by the bidder.

34.5 Bank reserves its right to consider at its sole discretion the late acceptance of the order

by selected bidder.

D. TERMS AND STIPULATIONS.

35 Effective Date:

The effective date shall be date of acceptance of the order by the selected bidder. However,

the bidder shall submit the acceptance of the order within seven days from the date of

receipt of order. The Bank reserves the right to consider the late acceptance of the order, if

any, at its discretion.

36 Project Execution:

The Bank and the selected bidder shall nominate a Project Manager each immediately on

acceptance of the order, who shall be the single point of contact for the project at Kolkata.

However, for escalation purpose, details of other persons shall also be given.


26/92



37 Execution of Agreement:

Within 21 days from the date of acceptance of the Order, the selected bidder shall sign a

stamped “Contract” with the Bank at the time, place and in the format prescribed by the

Bank. Failure to execute the Contract Agreement makes the EMD liable for forfeiture at the

discretion of the Bank and also rejection of the selected Bidder.

The Contract Agreement shall include all terms, conditions and specifications of RFP andalso the Commercials and Price, as agreed finally after Bid evaluation and Reverse Auction.

The Contract shall be executed in English language in one original, the Bank receiving the

duly signed Original and the selected Bidder receiving the photocopy. The contract shall be

valid till all contractual obligations are fulfilled. Copy of the draft agreement is placed at

Annexure-17

38. Uptime:

Bidder is required to maintain uptime for POS Infrastructure as per Annexure-16.

39. Penalty:

39.1 Details of the penalty are available in Service Level Agreement (SLA) which shall be

executed between Bank and successful bidder as per Annexure-16

40. Pricing & Payments:

40.1 The Price offered to the Bank must be in Indian Rupees and inclusive of

Duties/Insurance/Freight/charges of road permit but Exclusive of all taxes CST/LST/

VAT/Octroi/Entry Tax, etc. The Vendor has to quote the applicable taxes separately.

40.2 No escalation in price quoted is permitted for any reason whatsoever. Prices quoted must

be firm till the completion of the contract.

40.3 From the date of placing the order till the delivery of the product/solution/certification, if any

changes are brought in the duties such as excise/customs etc., by the Government

resulting in reduction of the cost of the systems, the benefit arising out of such reduction

shall be passed on to the Bank.

40.4 Applicable Taxes will be paid at actual to the maximum of taxes indicated in the Indicative

Commercial Bid. If there is any delay in delivery of the solution ordered on account of the

Bidder, then any increase in tax rate has to be borne by the bidder. However if any

decrease in the tax rates, then the taxes at actual will be paid.

41. Payment Terms:

41.1 Payment terms shall be on monthly basis, based on invoices provided by the bidders tothe Bank for the EDCs deployed by the Bidder at Merchant location. Date of

operationalization of POS Terminals at Merchant location shall be considered for

calculation of rent. Invoices submitted by the bidder must accompany terminal wise

downtime report..

41.2 The Bidder must accept the payment terms proposed by the Bank. Any deviation from the

proposed payment terms would not be accepted. The Bank shall have the right to withhold

any payment due to the Bidder, in case of delays or defaults on the part of the Bidder.

Such withholding of payment shall not amount to a default on the part of the Bank.

41.3 The payments will be released/accepted only through NEFT / RGTS and the Selected


27/92



Bidder has to provide necessary Bank Details like Account No., Bank’s Name with Branch,

IFSC Code etc.

41.4 The payment will be released after deducting applicable TDS.

42 Security Deposit / Performance Bank Guarantee:

42.1 The successful bidder should submit a Security Deposit / Performance Guarantee for

Rs.10.00 lacs (Rupees ten lacs only) within 15 days from the date of acceptance of the

Order.

42.2 If the Security Deposit /Performance Guarantee is not submitted within the time stipulated

above, penalty at Rs.5000/- for each completed calendar week of delay or part thereof will

be deducted from the payment or from any other payments for the delay in submission of

Security Deposit/ Bank Guarantee. The total penalty under this clause shall be restricted to

maximum of Rs.50000/.

42.3 Security Deposit/ Performance Bank Guarantee obtained from any of the Scheduled

Banks (Other than Allahabad Bank) submitted should be valid for a period of 36 months,

from the date of acceptance of order and shall be retained till the completion of contract

period. The guarantee should also contain a claim period of three months from the last

date of validity. However it should be as per the bank’s format.(APPENDIX-D)

42.4 The selected bidder shall be responsible for extending the validity date and claim period of

the Bank guarantees as and when it is due, on account of non completion of the project.

42.5 The security deposit / bank guarantee will be returned to the bidder on completion of the

project.

42.6 The Bank shall invoke the Bank guarantee before the expiry of validity, if work is not

completed and the guarantee is not extended, or if the selected bidder fails to complete his

obligations under the contract. The Bank shall notify the selected bidder in writing before

invoking the Bank guarantee.

43 Order Cancellation:43.1 The Bank reserves its right to cancel the entire / unexecuted part of the Purchase Order at

any time by assigning appropriate reasons and recover expenditure incurred by the Bank

in addition to recovery of Liquidated damages as per the terms of the contract, in the event

of one or more of the following conditions:

43.1.1 Delay in delivery of solution beyond the specified period.

43.1.2 Serious discrepancies noted in the solution delivered.

43.1.3 Breaches in the terms and conditions of the Order.

43.1.4 Non satisfactory performance of bidder during the contract period.

43.2 In addition to the cancellation of purchase order, the Bank reserves its right to invoke theBank Guarantee or foreclose the Security Deposit given by the bidder towards non-

performance/non-compliance of the terms and conditions of the contract, to appropriate

towards damages.

43.3 Bank shall serve the notice of termination to the bidder at least 30 days prior, of its

intention to terminate services during the contract period.

44 Software, Drivers and Manuals:

44.1 The bidder shall supply along with each item, all the related documents, manuals,

catalogues, if any, without any additional cost. The media and documents shall be in


28/92



English.

44.2 All related documents, manuals, catalogues and information furnished by the bidder shall

become the property of the Bank.

45 Training

The Selected bidder shall provide the training to the bank’s personnel as described below:

45.1 The Bidder shall provide extensive training, on its product, to users including branch

officials, Card Centre officials/staff. The training will have to be provided at Bank'spremises or external sites acceptable to Bank, at bidder's cost.

45.2 The Bidder shall provide a detailed operations and maintenance manual for use of the

staff including training the Bank's personnel.

45.2.1 Bidder should submit detailed course content and provisional agenda along with

the Bid.

45.2.2 The course duration will be of 1 day

46 Project Timelines

The timelines of implementation of the project shall be submitted along with the tender

submission in the following format.

Stage Activity Weeks

Required for

the activity

Project

duration

(weeks)

Time period for

completion

1 Completion of post

reverse auction

formalities

2 2 2 weeks of issuing the

letter of intent to

successful Bidder

2 Completion of

Certification

Process/UAT

4 6 6 weeks of issuing

the letter of intent to

successful bidder

The solution should be ready for deployment of first lot of POS Terminals (EDC Machines) with

the start of 7th week from the date of issuing the letter of intent. Afterwards, deployment of

terminals will be an ongoing process.

47 Terms & Conditions:

47.1 Adherence to Terms and Conditions

The Bidders who wish to submit responses to this RFP should note that they should

abide (in true intent and spirit) by all the terms and conditions contained in the RFP. If

the responses contain any extraneous conditions put in by respondents, such

responses may be disqualified and may not be considered for the selection process.

47.2 Period of Contract


29/92



The period of contract is initially for 3 years and can be extended based on the

satisfactory performance of the bidder at the sole discretion of the Bank.

However, there shall be an yearly review of the performance of the vendor by the

Bank.

47.3 Professionalism

The bidder should provide professional, objective and impartial advice at all times and

hold the Bank’s interest paramount and should observe the highest standard of ethics,

values, and code of conduct, honesty and integrity while executing the assignment.

47.4 Adherence To Standards

The bidder should adhere to approved standards in the process and delivered goods.

The Bank reserves the right to ascertain information from the other Banks and

institutions to which the Bidders have rendered their services for execution of similar

projects.

47.5 Expenses

It may be noted that Bank will not pay any amount/expenses / charges/ fees / travelingexpenses / boarding expenses / lodging expenses / conveyance expenses / out of

pocket expenses other than the “Agreed Price”.

47.6 Single Point Of Contact

The selected Bidder has to provide details of single point of contact viz. name,

designation, address, e-mail address, telephone/mobile no., fax no. etc.

47.7 Authorized Signatory

The selected Bidder shall indicate the authorized signatories who can discuss and

correspond with the Bank, with regard to the obligations under the contract. The

selected Bidder shall submit at the time of signing the contract, a certified copy of the

resolution of their Board, authenticated by Company Secretary/Director, authorizing an

official or officials of the company or a Power of Attorney copy to discuss, sign

agreements/contracts with the Bank. The Bidder shall furnish proof of signature

identification for above purposes as required by the Bank.

47.8 Non Payment Of Agreed Price

If any of the items/activities as mentioned in the price bid and as mentioned in

ANNEXURE-15 are not taken up by the Bank during the course of this assignment, the

Bank will not pay the contracted agreed price quoted/agreed by the selected QSA in

the Price Bid against such activity/item.

47.9 No Employer-Employee Relationship

The Bidder or any of its holding/subsidiary/joint-venture/ affiliate / group/ client

companies or any of their employees / officers / staff / personnel

representatives/agents shall not, under any circumstances, be deemed to have any

employer-employee relationship with the Bank or any of its employees/officers/

staff/representatives/ personnel/agents.

47.10 Vicarious Liability:

The Bidder shall be the principal employer of the employees, agents, contractors,


30/92



subcontractors etc., engaged by the Bidder and shall be vicariously liable for all the

acts, deeds, matters or things, of such persons whether the same is within the scope of

power or outside the scope of power, vested under the contract. No right of any

employment in the Bank shall accrue or arise, by virtue of engagement of employees,

agents, contractors, subcontractors etc., by the bidder, for any assignment under the

contract. All remuneration, claims, wages dues etc., of such employees, agents,

contractors, subcontractors etc., of the bidder shall be paid by the bidder alone and the

Bank shall not have any direct or indirect liability or obligation, to pay any charges,

claims or wages of any of the Bidder’s employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors

etc. The bidder shall agree to hold the Bank, its successors, assigns and

administrators fully indemnified, and harmless against loss or liability, claims, actions or

proceedings, if any, whatsoever nature that may arise or caused to the Bank through

the action of Bidder’s employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors etc.

47.11 Cancellation Of Contract And Compensation:

47.11.1 The Bank reserves the right to cancel the contract of the selected Bidder and

recover expenditure incurred by the Bank in any of the following

circumstances. The Bank would provide 30 days notice to rectify any breach/unsatisfactory progress.

47.11.2 The selected Bidder commits a breach of any of the terms and conditions of

the bid/contract.

47.11.3 The Bidder becomes insolvent or goes into liquidation voluntarily or

otherwise.

47.11.4 An attachment is levied or continues to be levied for a period of 7 days upon

effects of the bid.

47.11.5 The progress regarding execution of the contract, made by the selected

Bidder is found to be unsatisfactory.

47.11.6 If the selected Bidder fails to complete the due performance of the contract in

accordance with the agreed terms and conditions.

47.11.7 After the award of the contract, if the selected Bidder does not perform

satisfactorily or delays execution of the contract, the Bank reserves the right

to get the balance contract executed by another party of its choice by giving

one month’s notice for the same. In this event, the selected Bidder is bound

to make good the additional expenditure, which the Bank may have to incur to

carry out for the execution of the balance of the contract. This clause is also

applicable, if for any reason, the contract is cancelled.

47.11.8 The Bank reserves the right to recover any dues payable by the selected

Bidder from any amount outstanding to the credit of the selected Bidder,

including the pending bills and/or invoking Bank Guarantee/Security Deposit,

if any, under this contract.

E. GENERAL CONDITIONS:

48 Intellectual Property Rights:

48.1 Bidder warrants that the inputs provided shall not infringe upon any third party

intellectual property rights, including copyrights, patents and other intellectual

property rights of any nature whatsoever. Bidder warrants that the deliverables shall


31/92



not infringe upon any third party intellectual property rights, including copyrights,

patents and other intellectual property rights of any nature whatsoever.

48.2 In the event that the Deliverables become the subject of claim of violation or

infringement of a third party’s intellectual property rights, bidder shall at its choice

and expense: [a] procure for Bank the right to continue to use such deliverables; [b]

replace or modify such deliverables to make them non-infringing, provid