Case Digest (G.R. No. 101678)
Facts:
- Bureau Veritas, represented by Theodor H. Hunermann, filed a petition against multiple respondents, including the Office of the President and the Secretary of Finance.
- The petition, submitted on February 3, 1992, challenged the Agreement for Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) with Societe Generale de Surveillance S.A. (SGS) and Memorandum Order No. 391.
- The CISS was established on February 13, 1986, to mandate pre-shipment inspections of imports to prevent undervaluation and misdeclaration.
- Initially covering three Asian countries, the CISS was later expanded to include more.
- In August 1990, prior to SGS's contract expiration, an invitation for pre-qualification and bidding for inspection services was published.
- Bureau Veritas and SGS were among four bidders; bids were opened on November 6, 1990.
- Discrepancies in tax rates were noted during the evaluation, with Bureau Veritas initially not specifying a tax rate but later attempting to revise its fees.
- On August 16, 1991, SGS was awarded the contract, prompting Bureau Veritas to challenge the award, alleging grave abuse of discretion.
Issue:
- (Unlock)
Ruling:
- The Supreme Court dismissed Bureau Veritas's petition, finding no grave abuse of discretion in awarding the CISS contract to SGS.
- The Court upheld the decision to change the evaluation of bids from "inclusive" to "ex...(Unlock)
Ratio:
- The Court determined that the change in evaluation criteria by the CISS Subcommittee was necessary for fair bid comparison due to varying tax assumptions.
- All bidders, including Bureau Veritas, had agreed to the net basis evaluation, making Bureau...continue reading
Case Digest (G.R. No. 101678)
Facts:
The case involves the Bureau Veritas, represented by Theodor H. Hunermann, as the petitioner against several respondents, including the Office of the President, Secretary of Finance, Secretary of Trade and Industry, Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines, Commissioner of Customs, and Societe Generale de Surveillance S.A. (SGS). The petition was filed on February 3, 1992, to challenge the Agreement for Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) executed on August 23, 1991, between the Republic of the Philippines and SGS, as well as Memorandum Order No. 391, dated September 2, 1991, which approved the agreement. The background of the case dates back to February 13, 1986, when the Philippine government entered into an agreement with SGS for the CISS, which mandated pre-shipment inspections of imports to prevent undervaluation and misdeclaration. Initially, the CISS covered only three Asian countries but was later expanded to include several others.
In August 1990, before the expiration of SGS's contract, the CISS Subcommittee published an invitation for pre-qualification and bidding for pre-shipment inspection services. Four bidders, including Bureau Veritas and SGS, participated in the bidding process. The bids were opened on November 6, 1990, and the evaluation process revealed discrepancies in the tax rates quoted by the bidders. Bureau Veritas initially did not specify a tax rate in its bid but later sought to revise its fees to reflect a net basis after the bidding process had concluded. This revision was met with protests from other bidders, including SGS, wh...