Did food tender to supply Tri-Forces produce Rs 100 M loss?

A serious issue has arisen in the tender process for the purchase of dry and fresh food supplies for the Tri-Forces for this year due to the company presenting the lowest priced tender not getting the business 

• The tender for the supply of dry rations has reportedly been awarded to several companies that quoted higher prices
• The tender notice was published in a state newspaper on Friday, 20 June 2025
• The company submitted bids for 105 items under the relevant tender
• Following appeals, it was recommended that the company awarded the tender be removed from the procurement process
• It is alleged that the tender was awarded to other companies based on longstanding personal connections

By Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka

It is reported that a serious issue has arisen in the tender process for the purchase of dry and fresh food supplies for the Tri-Forces for this year. This situation has emerged because the tender wasn’t awarded to the company that submitted the lowest bid at the relevant price call. A letter dated 13.11.2025, signed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Sampath Thuyacontha confirmed that this above mentioned company would receive the tender.

However, the tender for the supply of dry rations has reportedly been awarded to several companies that quoted higher prices. It is further reported that this decision will result in a loss to the government exceeding 100 million rupees. The price call was made to procure food supplies required by the Tri-Forces for the year 2026. The tender notice was published in a state newspaper on Friday, 20 June 2025. The Ministry of Defence issued the tender notice stating that it was for the procurement of fresh and dry food items for the Sri Lanka Army for the year 2026. The procurement process was initiated under Contract Identification Number SCA/S & T/03 Dry Ration/Fresh Ration/2026 (26). Several private institutions submitted applications in response to the tender call. Among them, Beston Enterprises (Private) Limited was awarded the contract under the tender it submitted. This has been stated in the procurement report on the supply of dry and fresh rations and other food items to the Tri-Forces for the year 2026. This is further evident from the report of the Procurement Appeals Board on appeals lodged against the decision of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee.

The company submitted bids for 105 items under the relevant tender. The Procurement Committee decided to award the tender to the company on the basis that it had submitted the lowest prices for 36 items. Accordingly, the tender was awarded to Beston Enterprises Company based on the bids submitted by the company at the following rates: Rs. 499 per kilogram of dried chillies, Rs. 1,230 to Rs. 2,200 per kilogram of turmeric, Rs. 2,205 per kilogram of pepper, Rs. 145 per kilogram of table salt, Rs. 1,190 to Rs. 2,500 for biryani masala powder, Rs. 1,496 to Rs. 1,497 for dried salted queen fish, Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,120 for dried tuna, Rs. 580 to Rs. 700 for papadums, Rs. 310 for noodles, Rs. 550 to Rs. 680 for dried sprats, Rs. 450 for coriander, and Rs. 1,190 for cumin. These supplies were intended for the Panagoda, Kilinochchi, Ratmalana, Hingurakgoda, and Anuradhapura Army Camps.

This decision was communicated to the said company by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, in letter no MOD/FP & MU/01/PROCUREMNT MAMATTERS/2025/VOL II dated 13.11.2025. It was stated that the tender had been awarded to the company that submitted the lowest bid, as recommended by the Bid Evaluation Committee and the Standing High-Level Procurement Committee, in accordance with the relevant procurement guidelines and procedures. Despite this, twelve appeals were submitted to the Chairman of the Procurement Appeals Board against the decision of the Standing High-Level Procurement Committee. According to these appeals, it was recommended that the company awarded the tender be removed from the procurement process. The companies that submitted the appeals cited several reasons in support of this recommendation. 

One of the reasons was that the rejection of the bid submitted by one company and the shortcomings of the company that was awarded the tender were not considered on an equal basis. The company whose tender was cancelled had failed to submit accounting documents prior to the opening of the tender. However, during the evaluation of the bids of the company that won the tender, additional time was granted to that company to submit its accounts. During this extended period, the company was unable to provide bank account details to the relevant institution and subsequently withdrew from the bid evaluation process, according to the procurement.   

According to the report of the Procurement Appeals Board, Chapter 6.7 of the 2024 Procurement Guidelines Manual states that upon receipt of a complaint from a bidder, the procurement entity shall acknowledge receipt of the complaint. Thereafter, the Procurement Committee and the Bid Evaluation Committee are required to give due consideration to the complaint during the evaluation process and ensure that it is adequately and satisfactorily addressed.

However, it is questionable whether those committee decisions were taken into account in this tender process. During the bid evaluation process, the Bid Evaluation Committee and the Standing High-Level Procurement Committee, under the supervision of 20 officials, had reviewed the process. Despite this, it is now alleged that the Presidential Appeals Board removed the company that had been awarded the tender and granted the opportunity to the former contractors. 

Another allegation

As a result, another allegation has emerged that procurement guidelines were violated in this tender. The company in question had submitted the lowest prices in its bid. Consequently, the companies that had previously been awarded the contract appealed to the Presidential Appeals Board, stating that they were unable to supply the goods at those prices. It is further reported that the company that won the tender had submitted its bids in accordance with instructions issued by the National Procurement Commission and the banks that provided financial facilities. Accordingly, it is also noteworthy that the company selected for the 2026 tender had quoted prices lower than those offered by other companies for the same items in 2025.

Due to these lower prices, the government would have earned a profit of more than Rs. 103 million from the tender to supply food to the Tri-Forces in 2025. However, it is also stated that the government will incur a loss of approximately Rs. 100 million by cancelling the bids of the company that won the tender solely on the basis of the decisions of the Presidential Appeals Board. This is because the tender was subsequently awarded to other companies at higher prices.

It is further alleged that certain companies are making substantial profits through this process. As a result, it is opinioned that the tender was awarded to other companies based on longstanding personal connections. This raises the question of whether some companies are competing for this tender because of the high profits it generates.

The appeals filed state that the tender winning company has been supplying dry food only to the Kollupitiya Police since 2021 and that, based on this level of experience, a new company isn’t eligible to be awarded this tender. However, the company has been in operation since 1985, and some companies that currently supply food to the Tri-Forces also purchase dry food items from this company. The relevant tender was awarded to Beston Enterprises Company on the basis of the lowest bid submitted by it, in accordance with the procurement guidelines, by the Standing High-Level Procurement Committee and the Bid Evaluation Committee. Nevertheless, it is reported that a new issue has arisen after the Presidential Appeals Board cancelled the tender following the appeal process and awarded it to several other companies at higher prices. The Appeals Board had also requested confirmation from the bank maintaining the relevant account regarding the bid security of the company. The company that won the tender has provided this confirmation, subject to the approval of the National Procurement Commission.

If there were any issues relating to this tender, such matters could have been discussed and resolved in accordance with the provisions of the 2024 Procurement Guidelines. In line with these provisions, discussions were held on several occasions. However, the committee report indicates that the company that initially won the tender was subsequently declared an unsuccessful bidder and that the award of the tender was halted. Accordingly, the report states that the tender was awarded to several other companies and that the relevant procurement activities were carried out.

As a result, the tender has now been awarded at prices quoted by companies that had submitted bids higher than the lowest bid. The prices quoted by other companies include Rs. 547 to Rs. 648 per kilogram of dried chillies, Rs. 2,248 per kilogram of pepper, Rs. 465 per kilogram of coriander, Rs. 1,397 per kilogram of cumin, Rs. 2,700 to Rs. 3,600 per kilogram of turmeric, Rs. 162 per kilogram of table salt, Rs. 2,210 to Rs. 4,400 per kilogram of biryani masala powder, Rs. 1,515 to Rs. 1,643 per kilogram of dried queen fish, Rs. 1,195 to Rs. 1,295 per kilogram of dried tuna, Rs. 800 to Rs. 999 per kilogram of papadums, Rs. 330 to Rs. 550 per kilogram of noodles, and Rs. 680 to Rs. 756 per kilogram of dried sprats. It is further reported that the highest priced tender for the supply of food to the Tri-Forces up to 2026 has also received Cabinet approval.

This has been confirmed in letter no CB/SS/PAB/2025 dated 16.12.2025 signed by the Additional Secretary to the Cabinet, J. Jayasundara, with reference to the Procurement Appeals Board report on appeals against the decisions of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee.

According to this tender, prices were invited for the supply of raw food to 91 Army camps, dry rations and other food items to 08 Army camps, raw food to 18 Navy camps, dry rations and other food items to 14 Navy camps, raw food to 24 Air Force camps, and dry rations and other food items to 24 Air Force camps. Beston Enterprises was awarded the contract to supply dry rations and other food items to 08 Army camps. However, although the company won the tender, it has now lost it following the decision of the Presidential Appeals Board.

Under this tender, an estimated amount of Rs. 29,000,000,000 has been allocated for food supplies for the Sri Lanka Army. Similarly, an amount of Rs. 10,300,000,000 has been allocated for food supplies for the Sri Lanka Navy, and Rs. 2,500,000,000 for food supplies for the Sri Lanka Air Force. The total estimated amount is Rs. 41,800,000,000.

If the government has incurred a loss of more than Rs. 100 million through this tender process, it is a matter that requires the serious attention of the authorities. It is also a matter for investigation whether the fact that Beston Enterprises submitted prices for dry food items for 2026 that were lower than the prices offered by some companies in 2025 led to the company losing this tender. If the government has suffered a loss of Rs. 100 million as a result, the question of how such a loss would be compensated remains a serious issue. 

Couldn’t contact Standing High Level Procurement Committee Chairman

Although attempts were made on several occasions to contact S.Aloka Bandara, Chairman of the Standing High Level Procurement Committee there was no response. This newspaper also contacted the Attorney General’s Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Dimal Arandana, several times to inquire into this matter, but he too didn’t respond. When we contacted the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, a spokesperson for the ministry stated that the Secretary was attending an emergency meeting and requested that we call back after half an hour. However, despite repeated attempts thereafter, we were unable to contact him.

In this regard, a spokesperson stated that an opinion could be obtained from the Chief Financial Officer (Procurement and Projects) of the Ministry of Defence, V. K. H. Kolitha. Although several attempts were made to contact him by telephone, they were unsuccessful.

“Tender awarded to Beston Enterprises”- Bid Evaluation Committee Chairman

When the Chairman of the Bid Evaluation Committee, L. D. N. Kumarasiri, was questioned in this regard, he stated that the tender had been awarded to Beston Enterprises in accordance with the procurement guidelines and relevant regulations. He further stated that there was no irregularity in the process and that no additional information would be provided to the media.