AP High Court Upholds ₹10 Crore Turnover Threshold For Empanelment Of Textbook Publishers

Reaffirming the right of the Government to prescribe or modify the tender conditions “at will”, Justice Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad observed,

“…this Court is of the view that reference to such Tender conditions has no relevance inasmuch as every individual Authority has always right to either prescribe or to modify the Tender conditions “at will”. One idiomatic expression states that “Monkeys cannot decide the affairs of the forest‟ likewise, a bidder can never dictate the employer or the Government Authority with regard to the fixation of tender conditions or the parameters.”

The Court thus held,

“…that the increase of the threshold with regard to the turnover from five crores per annum to ten crores per annum is neither unreasonable nor arbitrary. This Court is also of the opinion that giving latitude to the bidders to show the minimum turnover of ten crores for two years period during the last five financial years is also not arbitrary. The facts in the present case would also indicate that out of the 13 bidders, 8 bidders have reached the threshold of turnover of ten crores. Therefore, it cannot be said that fixation of the 10 crores threshold is arbitrary in nature nor is it discriminative in any manner because out of the 13 bidders, 8 bidders were qualified in the technical bid.”

Facts:

The Court was dealing with a writ petition filed by Vikram Books Links Pvt. Ltd., challenging the enhancement of minimum turnover threshold from five crore to ten crore without holding a pre-bid meeting, and alleging that such an action violated the Andhra Pradesh Financial Code and General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017, Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution, and contravened principles of natural justice, transparency and fair competition in public procurement.

The tender conditions laid down by the State during the yesteryears, i.e., upto 2025, had fixed a minimum turnover of five crores during the last three financial years, however, Clause 9 of Section II of the Tender Notification dated 18.02.2025, amended by a Corrigendum dated 20.02.2025, doubled the minimum turnover to make it ten crores for the last three financial years, i.e., from 2022-2025.

The petitioner argued that this condition was not only arbitrary but was also tailor-made to exclude certain bidders and subsequently to accommodate the interests of particular bidders, especially one M/s. Vyjayanti Printers. The petitioners further argued that they were a small scale industry and should be considered for empanelment for the purpose of encouraging micro and small scale industries. While the respondent justified the increase in turnover threshold by arguing that the suppliers had defaulted in payment of Royalty in the earlier Tender Notifications, the petitioner submitted that the justification was factually incorrect as several publishers were empanelled during the academic years from 2023-2025, but not a single supplier had defaulted the payment of Royalty.

The respondents contended that the State had the right to fix the minimum thresholds depending on previous experiences and to ensure seamless supply of textbooks. They further clarified that tender conditions were not tailor-made to benefit particular firms and to discriminate against others. Lastly, it was argued that the threshold was raised for avoiding default in payment of royalty in the future.

It was also argued by the Government Pleader for Education that 13 bidders participated in the Tender, of whom 8 qualified technically, while two were disqualified for not meeting the ten crore turnover requirement, and the remaining three failed on other grounds. It was further argued that all bidders, including the petitioners, held valid National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) certificates under Micro or Small Industries. It was further submitted that the Corrigendum by which the enhancement was introduced was neither arbitrary nor discriminatory, as 12 out of 13 bidders met the eligibility criteria even without its application. Lastly, he argued that the petitioners lacked the required ten crore turnover in two of the last five financial years, having met the threshold only for 2023–2024.

Court’s Findings:

The Court upheld the right of the authority of the Government to prescribe or modify tender conditions at will, and observed that a bidder can never dictate tender conditions or parameters to the concerned Authority.

Before the Tender Notification dated 18.02.2025, the petitioner had informed the Government of a significant drop in paper prices and requested a 15% reduction in per-page rates to ensure more affordable textbooks for students. The petitioner had requested to consider the development of reduced cost of the paper before issuing the Tender Notification. However, on this point, the Court held

“Even with regard to the offer made by the Writ Petitioners through their Letter dated 05.02.2025 (Ex.P.2), by which the Writ Petitioners had acted like a whistle-blower to the Government informing the Government that the price of the paper has significantly reduced from Rs.150/- per Kg to Rs.80/- per Kg with a request to the Government to factor- in this reduction in price in the Tender document which is likely to be issued in the near future, the said intimation may not enure to the benefit of the Writ Petitioners. It can always be reasonably assumed that the Government and its Authorities are also keeping themselves abreast of the changes in the market price with regard to the cost of paper from time to time. Therefore, no benefit can be attached to the Writ Petitioners in informing the Government with regard to the reduction of price of paper.”

Holding that the petition was devoid of merit, the Court dismissed it.

Case Details:

Case Number: WRIT PETITION NO: 5435 OF 2025

Case Title: VIKRAM BOOK LINKS PRIVATE LIMITED v. THE STATE OF AP

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