Government has to pay Bearing Point one million for canceled IT-project

PHILIPSBURG -The government has to pay 1 million guilders ($558.659) in damages to Bearing Point Management Consultancy (BPMC), the Court in First Instance ruled on July 7. The amount is an advance payment on damages of more than 10 million guilders ($5,586,592) the company has claimed because the government of Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs canceled the transformation of the tax inspectorate in November 2019, shortly after taking office. Bearing Point had won the tender for the IT part of this 15-million guilders project.

After the government canceled the plans, Bearing Point went to court, demanding that the country continue with the execution of the project. The court denied that demand but pointed out that Bearing Point could claim damages for loss of revenue.

Since that ruling, there have been several attempts to settle the dispute, but the government considered BPMC’s claim of 10.2 million guilders ($5,698,324) too high. In a letter dated April 5, 2023, the government contested the claim and invited BPMC to submit a new proposal.

BPMC furthermore objected to the new tender the government published for the tax inspectorate transformation project on May 17, 2023, because its contents violate tendering legislation and because the terms of reference are incomplete, unclear, or incorrect. BPMC claimed 10.2 million in damages if the government does not grant the company the assignment.

“BPMC had a strong case with its claim for damages,” the ruling states. “It is plausible that the damages BPMC suffered at the hands of the country are much more than 1 million guilders, also because the country has not objected to the amount of the claim.”

The court ordered the country to pay 1 million to BPMC within two weeks of the ruling (so before July 21).