Operations in UAE to continue for now, but future bids for unified consular centres may be affected
BLS International, the outsourced agency handling Indian passport and visa services in several countries including the UAE, has been debarred by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) from participating in future tenders of the MEA and Indian missions abroad for two years. The announcement caused BLS shares to tumble in the Indian stock market, reported gulfnews.com.
Debarment follows allegations and court cases, but current operations remain unaffected.
In a disclosure to the National Stock Exchange of India, BLS cited the debarment was issued due to allegations including court cases and complaints of applicants. Despite the restriction, the company clarified that:
“This debarment shall not affect the financial/performance of existing operations of the company,”
“This debarment shall not affect the existing contracts of the MEA and shall continue as per the existing terms.”
BLS operates around 15 passport and visa application centres in the UAE, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and will continue its services until the current contracts expire, reportedly in about a year. The company added it was evaluating the MEA order and will take appropriate legal action.
Future projects in UAE may be impacted
The two-year debarment significantly affects BLS’s eligibility to bid for upcoming projects, including the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi’s unified Consular Application Centre (ICAC) project. This centre is designed to merge passport, visa, attestation, and consular services across the UAE, serving over four million Indian expats.
Earlier this year, the Embassy had issued a tender for 14 ICAC branches, which was annulled in June. BLS had bid for the contract but now cannot participate in future tender rounds during the debarment period unless it succeeds in a legal challenge.
Why the tender was annulled
According to the Embassy, the annulment was executed under clause xiv(k) of Chapter III of the RFP, allowing the mission to accept or reject any proposals or cancel the bidding process at any stage without providing reasons.
BLS’s current operations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will continue normally, but the debarment casts uncertainty over future expansions and unified consular service projects in the UAE.
