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The vendors and suppliers of surgical equipment have threatened to stop supplies to hospitals run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), citing non-payment of their dues since June 2017.

The vendors and suppliers have complained that their payments, running into crores of rupees, are pending. “They are not releasing dues citing implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). They demanded that we submit our Harmonised System Nomenclature (HSN) codes, which we did. We are being harassed in the name of submitting documents, but there is no sign of clearing the dues. We supply life saving injections. If we stop the supply, it will affect poor patients. We have continued the supplies on humanitarian grounds,” said a vendor, adding that the BMC owed over Rs 6 crores to him.

The vendor said the civic body’s computer system had some technical problem in calculating their bills incorporating the GST. “We have already submitted our break-up, including the GST. We even offered them to deduct the 6 per cent and pay our dues. But they have returned our bills and held back our payments,” he added.

Another vendor who supplies IV fluids to BMC hospitals said: “We have written to the civic administration threatening to stop supplies. But they have threatened to blacklist us if we do that.”

According to the vendors, the BMC commissioner had set a deadline of June 20 to clear all payments up to June. But it was not followed. The payments since June have been held up due to certain technical issues faced by the accounts department in incorporating the GST in the system. “We have held many meetings with the officials but no action has been taken. In September, we were promised that our dues would be cleared within the next 15 days. It has been almost two months, and our payments are still pending,” alleged yet another vendor.

A supplier from the western suburbs who claims he has Rs 2.24-crore dues said: “The BMC is neither taking a decision, nor releasing our payments. Their SAP system has not been working since October 17 and since then, they have not placed a single order with any vendor. This must be leading to many poor patients paying through their nose to buy injections, surgical items on retail market price.” Some vendors have already decided to stop the supply of surgical items.

At KEM hospital, 150-200 surgeries are performed in a day while at other major hospitals, like Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) hospital at Sion and BYL Nair at Mumbai Central, respectively, over 100 surgeries are performed in a day. According to a senior doctor in Sion hospital, the delay in stock procurement has not hampered any major surgery till now.

At KEM hospital, surgical instruments, both disposable and non-disposable, have been kept in reserve to aid in emergency situations. “We have not delayed routine operations. Instruments will last us until the issue is resolved,” said Dean Dr Avinash Supe, adding that the payment procedure has now been initiated for all surgical equipment suppliers.

“The SAP (system application programme) has not been working since October 17. It has hampered all payments and tender procedures,” said a senior health official from the BMC, adding that the entire MCGM website was under overhaul.

Doctors, meanwhile, admitted that the introduction of GST had also affected a few tender procedures where renegotiation with bidders was necessary to bring down the contract cost

of supplies. Supe added: “As soon as issues in the SAP are resolved, the issue of vendors and payment dues would resolve too.”

A BMC officials said: “We will verify the breakups provided by the vendors and generate the bills, excluding 6 per

cent GST.”

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