NIT schedule; Annexure I; Annexure VI clause 15(c); MSTC catalogues, 14 Oct 2026; Port addendum of 5 Oct 2026 for plots 141, 145 and 146
Are 19 and 20 November the final deadlines?
They are the NITs’ dates, but check for changes before paying. When we checked on 14 October, MSTC had created all 17 e-tender events but had not activated them. Their catalogues printed a 10 November, 5:00 PM IST close, and plot 164’s printed 15 October. Four NITs, for plots 165, 167, 168, 170, leave the structure amounts to a pre-bid addendum. In the Port’s August land round, that addendum also reset the payment and bid dates. The NITs’ Schedule of Rent clause adds a risk: the current schedule runs to 25 October 2026. If a new one with higher rates is notified before the highest bidder is found, the Port may cancel the tender or raise the reserve rent by corrigendum. If it comes after, annual rent is raised to it once the first lease year ends.
Annexure II(A) clause 3; Annexure V clauses 14, 15, 18 and 22; Annexure VI clauses 11, 15(d)–(e), 15(m) and 26
How can a bidder lose money?
In order: the ₹590 tender fee is never refunded. A late fee or EMD can get the offer rejected outright. The EMD is forfeited for withdrawing during the 180-day validity, refusing the allotment, missing the payments due within 30 days, or giving false documents. Refusing the allotment also bans the bidder from Port tenders for two years. After allotment, rent is recalculated on the area measured at handover. No objection on area is heard once possession is signed. The lease can be terminated if use does not start within 24 months. Clause 15(m) says structures on the plot vest in the Port without compensation when the lease is ended for any reason. The Port may also accept or reject any tender without giving reasons.
Annexure I notes; Annexure II(B); Annexure III; Annexure IV items (x) and (xv)
What must be paid to bid, and how?
Two online payments per plot, made separately: the ₹590 tender fee, which includes 18% GST, and the plot’s cash EMD. Both go only through the HDFC payment gateway linked from MSTC, by net banking, card or NEFT/RTGS. A demand draft or bank guarantee is not accepted for the cash EMD. There is no EMD relaxation for MSMEs. 8 plots also list an additional structure EMD, paid by bank guarantee or demand draft; four more get theirs in the pre-bid addendum. A bank guarantee must stay valid for six months from the last bid date, including any extension. The original bank guarantee or draft must reach the tender box at 6 Fairlie Place, Kolkata, or the bid is disqualified.
NIT page 3; Annexure II(A) clause 1; Annexure IV; Annexure V clauses 9 and 22; Appendix II
Who can bid, and what is checked?
Individuals, proprietors, partnerships, companies, HUFs and joint ventures of up to three members can bid; a joint venture’s lead member must hold at least 26%. A foreign company must bid with an Indian lead holding at least 51%. Net worth, certified by the statutory auditor for 2024-25, must exceed the plot’s annual reserve rent. A bidder at or below it must confirm before the e-auction that it will furnish a bank guarantee for five years’ rent, valid for five years. Without that confirmation it is disqualified but keeps its EMD; not honouring it after an allotment letter can cancel the allotment and forfeit the EMD. First-refusal bidders and existing tenants with a clean payment history need no guarantee. A bidder with admitted Port dues must pay the whole lease upfront if successful. Bidding needs MSTC registration and a Class II digital signature.
Annexure VI clauses 1, 3, 14, 15 and 15(c)
What does the lease cost after allotment?
On annual rent: the first year’s rent with taxes and a security deposit of two years’ rent plus an 18% administrative deposit, within 30 days of the offer letter. Rent then rises 5% a year and is compared with the Port’s schedule of rent every five years; the higher applies. If a new schedule of rent is notified after the highest bidder is found, annual rent is brought up to it when the first lease year ends; an upfront payment stays as bid. Paying upfront instead costs 22.49 × the accepted annual rent, plus a token rent of ₹1 per sq m in the first year, rising 5% a year. GST at 18%, municipal tax, the listed structure value, stamp duty of 6% or 7% and a ₹3,400 lease-deed charge plus GST are extra. If asked before the due date, the Port may allow payment up to 90 days from the offer letter, at 7% interest.
Annexure I notes; Annexure V clauses 7 and 8; Annexure VI clause 6; Appendix IX
What can each plot be used for?
Annexure I gives each plot a category: 9 are commercial and 8 non-commercial. Appendix IX lists the purposes allowed in it, shown in each plot’s record. A bidder may add purposes from the other category in the bid. Commercial use of a non-commercial plot costs 35% more than the accepted bid; non-commercial use of a commercial plot does not lower the rent. Plot 180 lists commercial purposes only. Residential, religious and political use is excluded on every plot. Subletting is not allowed except for a mall, food park, plaza or commercial office complex paid upfront.
Annexure II(A) clauses 2 and 5; Annexure VII
How do the bids and the e-auction work?
On MSTC, each bidder submits a techno-commercial bid and a price bid: one lump-sum premium over the reserve rent. The Port opens price bids of qualified bidders before the e-auction, and the highest becomes its starting price. MSTC emails qualified bidders the auction schedule at least three days ahead. A bid in the last eight minutes extends the close by eight minutes, repeatedly, with no overall limit. A bidder who skips the auction is held to the price bid. Ties go to a further auction, which is mandatory for the tied bidders.
Sketches, NIT page 66; Annexure V clauses 10 and 23; Annexure VI clauses 8(b) and 25
What do the site plans warn about?
Each NIT’s sketch is drawn for the tender only, does not show underground utilities, and gives approximate areas that are fixed at handover. Plots 164, 167, 175 and 179 show encroachment; at Chetla Station Yard it covers about 571 of 1,268 sq m. The Port says it will clear encroachment inside a plot before handover. Otherwise it may hand over the clear part first, and the rest only as it can be cleared. It will clear any encroachment at the plot’s marked entry. Riverfront plots need the Port’s permission to build, bank protection and an 11 m clear corridor from the high-water mark. The Port charges fees for these. Inspect the plot: the NITs treat every bidder as having done so.
NIT pages 1–4; Annexure II(A); Annexure V clause 11
Where are the documents, questions and bids handled?
Read each plot’s NIT on the Port’s website; MSTC is for registration, payment links and bids. Send questions and site-inspection requests to estate.tender@smportkolkata.shipping.gov.in by 26 October; the Port answers by addendum, not individually. The pre-bid meeting is on Zoom on 27 October at 12:30 PM IST; the link is in the NIT. Hard copies that could not be uploaded go to the tender box at the Jetty office of the Estate Division, 6 Fairlie Place, Kolkata 700001, by the bid deadline.