APHIS Supplemental Agreement

Concepts

• aphis
• belfast
• computer services
• department of agriculture
• aphis contract
• supplemental agreement
• rural affairs
• department of agriculture, environment and rural affairs
• environment
• modification

Location

Belfast

Description

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is placing this transparency notice to alert economic operators of its plan to modify. The APHIS contract in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This modification will extend the current contract for a period of 4 years. This transparency notice does not place any obligation on the authority to enter into this modification.

Total Quantity or Scope

APHIS supplemental agreement.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 72500000 - Computer-related services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price and quality.

Legal Justification

In 2014 the contract known as APHIS Supplemental agreement was awarded to AMT Sybex. The total value of the contract was GBP 6.84 million over a period of 6 years. The contract is due to expire in June 2021. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) requires a further extension of its original contract for an additional 4 years. This extension is seen as a modification under the provisions outlined in Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Regulation 72 provides that contracts may be modified without a new procurement procedure in any of a number of cases, including: (1) (b) for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor that have become necessary and were not included in the original procurement, where a change of contractor: (i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, services or installations procured under the initial procurement; and (ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority; (iii) provided that any increase in price does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original contract. In this case, DAERA will seek to rely on the modification provisions of 72(1)(b) as a transfer to a new contractor would be impossible due to IPR reasons. APHIS requires sufficient cover for maintenance and support to allow it to continue to provide essential services to the Agri Food sector in Northern Ireland. The APHIS system is extremely complex and its data is considered business critical to the agri-food sector and mission critical to the delivery of the business of Veterinary Service Animal Health Group within DAERA. The introduction of a new supplier would undoubtedly cause technical difficulties and issues with a potential liability in terms of maintenance and data integrity. This modification does not require an increase in contract value.

Other Information

The date shown in this Voluntary Transparency Notice section V.2.1) is defaulted at the date the authority issued the notice to the journal.