VAT Team acquires Integrated Tax Administration software

Posted on 29-Oct-2013 12:17:37
Authored by: Gena Gibbs
Source: Bahamas Information Services
Date: October 29, 2013

Nassau, The Bahamas —  Considering 10 companies that responded to the Ministry of Finance’s Expression of Interest (EOI), the VAT implementation team has chosen Data Torque software as an Integrated Tax Administration Information System (ITAIS). 

Data Torque meets the criteria required of the Inter-American Developmental Bank (IDB) in technical competence and costs, and appears to be the best solution to record tax compliance information.    

On June 11, the EOI received the tenders and created a short list for potential vendor supply, installation, integration, training, technical support and implementation support of an Integrated Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Software Solution and Hardware Platform for an Integrated Tax Administration and Information System (ITAIS) to be used by the CRA for the administration of the various taxes under its purview.

Companies were evaluated on the basis of five requirements as follows:

  • Ownership of a ITAIS that meets the requirements of the contract
  • Efficient experience on meeting Government deadlines and budget restraints.
  • Proven capacity to install, implement, operate, and support COTS software solutions.
  • Availability of qualified professionals to tailor and implement the context of COTS in The Bahamas.
  • Experience in developing and delivering web-based solutions

The proposals received were evaluated using the Kepner-Tregoe Matrix, a formal weighted objective decision-making model, designed to compare vendor software based on the priority of required functions and how well the vendors’ solution meets the user’s expectations.  The overall analysis result shows the Percentage-Best-Fit of the software to the users’ needs in RFP Compliance, Functional Requirements, Non-Functional Requirements, and Reference Sites, etc.

The RFP evaluating team comprised members of the Ministry of Finance, the Central Revenue Agency, the Value Added Tax Implementation Team, Department of Information Technology (DIT), and the Auditor General’s Department.