Mr. W. Szumiel, Dept. of Informatics, ul. Swietokryska 12, p.2408, 00-916 Warszawa,PO;Tel:48-22-69-44-898, Fax:48-22-82-66-554

B -- POLAND-MINISTRY OF FINANCE TAX ADMINISTRATION COMPUTERIZATION (POLTAX) FEASIBILITY STUDY POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 The Polish Ministry of Finance (Grantee) invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study for computerization and networking of its tax administration offices. The Grantee is responsible for the collection of tax revenues throughout Poland. As the primary source for collecting tax revenues in order to support government operations, the Grantee has prioritized the Polish Tax System Agency project or "POLTAX" in an effort to improve its mission. As such, the project has the highest priority for funding from the Grantee's annual budget allocation. In 1990, the Grantee began restructuring and modernizing the POLTAX. POLTAX is a long-term program of Polish tax administration computerization. The system assists the collection and distribution of certain types of taxes. The most important taxes for collection are the following: erson Income Tax (PIT) -- 25,000,000 taxpayers; orporation Income Tax (CIT) -- 90,000 corporations; and ax on Goods and Services (VAT) -- 1,200,000 taxpayers. The project has followed a phased piecemeal implementation schedule with new procurements being released each year. The continuing program includes the acquisition and implementation of a broad range of hardware including personal computers, local area network components, and peripherals. In addition, general software productivity and financial management tools are required. The Grantee has spent an estimated USD $10 million annually for the purchase of hardware and software related to the POLTAX program. Since 1995, the Grantee has purchased over USD $40 million of IT equipment. The Grantee plans to increase this level of expenditure to support the continued expansion and evolution of the POLTAX system with an estimated USD $80 million over the next five years. The purpose of the feasibility study would be threefold: (1) Compare the central and regional alternatives in order to recommend the most appropriate plan of attack for implementation of the POLTAX project. (2) Design the technical specifications for a network based on the recommended approach. These designs should allow for the immediate release of tender documents or should allow for direct procurement negotiations upon final approval by the Grantee; (3) Quantify the costs and benefits associated with the development of a centralized data processing center in order to ensure that funding continues to flow to the project. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $191,900 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 4:00 p.m., August 31, 1999 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals. Posted 07/16/99 (I-SN355393). (0197)

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