Irregularities have been revealed in the procurement of Oracle software by the National Information Technology Board (NITB), a subsidiary of the Ministry of IT and Telecom.
According to the audit report 2021-22, the National Information Technology Board (NITB) has violated the rules and regulations in the procurement of Oracle software. The NITB made payment to the seller party without testing and installation of the software, and the payment before the supply and installation of the software was irregular and unauthorized.
According to the report, the management of NITB procured Oracle Software for Rs. 138,547,500 during the financial year 2021-22. The audit observed that the supply order was issued on June 07, 2021, and management paid Rs. 138.548 million on June 08, 2021, just one day after the supply order was completed. This showed that payment was made without installation and testing of software.
According to the audit, as per rules, the seller is bound to complete the installation of software at sites no later than four weeks before the delivery date. After the completion of installation and configuration of the software at the sites, the seller shall notify the purchaser in writing that the software is ready for testing and after this notification, the seller is bound to conduct the test run of the software in front of the purchaser’s representatives.
According to the report, not all of these steps were completed in purchasing the oracle software. The audit declared the payment before the supply and installation of software was irregular and unauthorized. The audit report has also recommended the determination of those responsible by making an inquiry.
NITB was asked about their response on this audit para, but didn’t get any reply till the filing of this report.
