Whoever, being an officer or employee of the procuring entity acting in connection with any procurement process, accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person, for himself or for any other person, any gratification other than legal remuneration or any valuable thing without consideration or for a consideration which· he knows to be inadequate, in connection
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• • THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, APRIL 11, 2017 1055 with such public procurement, as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act or for showing or forbearing to show, in the exercise of his official functions, favour or disfavour to any person or for rendering or attempting to render any service or disservice to any person, shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall be not less than six months but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.
Interference with procurement process.-
(1) Whoever)-
(a) interferes with or influences any procurement process with the
(b)
(c) intention of securing any wrongful gain or undue advantage for any prospective bidder or bidder; or interferes with the procurement process with the intention of causing any unfair disadvantage for any prospective bidder or bidder; or engages in any action or lobbying, directly or indirectly, with the objective of unduly restricting fair competition; or
(d) intentionally influences any procuring entity or any officer or employee thereof or willfully or fraudulently makes any assertion or representation that would restrict or constrain fair competition in any procurement process; or
(e) engages a former officer or employee of a procuring entity as an employee, director, consultant, adviser or otherwise, within a period of one year after such former officer or employee was associated with a procurement in which the employer had an interest; or
(f) engages in any form of bid-rigging, collusive bidding or anticompetitive behavior in the procurement process; or
(g) intentionally breaches confidentiality referred to in section 49 for any undue gain, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to fifty lakh rupees or ten per cent of the assessed value of procurement, whichever is less.
(2) A bidder who, -
(a) withdraws from the procurement process after opening of financial bids; or
(b) withdraws from the procurement process after being declared the successful bidder; or
(c) fails to enter into procurement contract after being declared the successful bidder; or 1056 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, APRIL 11, 2017
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(d) fails to provide performance security or any other document or security required in terms of the bidding documents after being declared the successful bidder, without valid grounds, shall, in addition to the recourse available in the bidding documents or the contract, be punished with fine which may extend to fifty lakh rupees or ten per cent of the assessed value of procurement, whichever is less.
Vexatious appeals or complaints.- Whoever intentionally files any vexatious, frivolous or malicious appeal or complaint under this Act, with the intention of delaying or defeating any procurement or causing loss to any procuring entity or any other bidder, shall be punished with fine which may extend to twenty lakh rupees or five per cent of the value of procurement, whichever is less.