The main legal point established is the necessity of proof of registration for exemption from payment of EMD and Tender Fee, the importance of timely submission of bid documents, and the impact of delay on the court's decision.

JUDGMENT

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1. The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ of mandamus, directing the respondents to consider its technical bid for Tender No.BBNLIMM/PIA for BharatNet Project/Andaman & Nicobar/2020/004 issued on 18.05.2020, in the light of a Gazette Notification No.CG-DL-E-01 062020-219680 dated 01.06.2020 bearing S.O.1702(E), issued by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and for a writ of mandamus, putting on hold the opening of the financial bid for the aforesaid tender till the petitioner''s bid is considered in the light of the Gazette Notification dated 1.6.2020.

2. Shorn of details, the brief facts leading to the present petition are as follows:-

a) The petitioner, a sole proprietorship firm which is owned by a private limited company under the name of Vindhya Industries Private Limited, is engaged in the business of execution of works contract in various States in the country.

b) The respondent No.2 issued a Notice Inviting Tenders (NIT) vide Tender No.BBNLIMM/PIA for BharatNet Project/Andaman & Nicobar/2020/004 issued on 18.05.2020, for selection Project Implementation Agency (PIA) for Bharat Project in the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar.

c) The petitioner states that the Notice Inviting Tender mentions that bidders (MSEs), who are registered with the appropriate authority, are exempted from payment of EMD and Tender Fee.

d) Initially, the last date and time for submission of the bids was 15:00 hrs, on 15.06.2020. The last date was extended periodically and vide letter dated 22.06.2020, the last date and time for submission of the bids was fixed at 15:00 hrs on 2.07.2020.

e) The petitioner states that the Government of India issued Gazette Notification No.CG-DL-E-01 062020-219680 dated 01.06.2020, which changed the gradation for classification of micro, small and medium enterprises and from 1.6.2020, the petitioner had become a MSE instead of being a MSME. Under the said Notification, for a Micro Enterprise, the investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment does not exceed Rs.1 crore and turnover does not exceed Rs.5 crores; in case of a Small Enterprise, the investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment does not exceed Rs.10 crores and turnover does not exceed Rs.50 crores and in case of a Medium Enterprise, the investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment does not exceed Rs.50 crores and turnover does not exceed Rs.250 crores

f) The petitioner states that it was earlier an MSME, having investment in plant and machinery to the tune of Rs. 5 crores but by virtue of the said Notification dated 1.06.2020, which came into effect from 01.07.2020, it became eligible to participate in the tender process as a MSE and therefore, was exempted from paying EMD and the Tender Fee.

g) The petitioner states that it was facing difficulty in submitting the tender documents online due to the delay in updation of the portal in compliance of the Gazette Notification dated 01.06.2020 (supra), issued by Government of India, but it was able to upload the documents on 2.07.2020, at about 2:30 pm. The petitioner also states that since the Notification is dated 1.06.2020, which came into effect with effect from 1.07.2020, it was not able to obtain the Certificate of registration from the Competent Authority.

h) The petitioner claims that its authorized representatives had gone to the office of the respondent No.2 to submit the offline tender documents in the drop box, but since the tender documents could not be inserted due to the narrow opening, the petitioner''s authorized representatives had handed it over to a person there who claimed to have been deputed for collecting such papers from the intending bidders. The petitioner''s authorized representatives were told that no receipt was required to be given since it was presumed that the documents submitted in offline mode, would be a reproduction of t