Administration, Supervision and Monitoring of the Collection of Light Dues

Tender description

This is a Planned Procurement Notice to advise interested parties of the General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA's) upcoming requirement for a supplier to administer, supervise and monitor the collection of Light Dues at all ports in the UK. Light Dues collection is a statutory GLA tax collecting function which is co-ordinated by Trinity House (TH) on behalf of the three GLAs of the UK and Ireland. Any vessel arriving in a UK or Irish port is liable to pay Light Dues at the appropriate rate. Trinity House requires a supplier to administer, supervise and monitor the collection of Light Dues at all ports in the UK. Interested parties would need to demonstrate that they have access to a network of people who can collect Light Dues on behalf of Trinity House. Trinity House would expect a strong understanding of the process and need to collect Light Dues. It is expected this contract will be a 3 year term starting 1st July 2025. It is requested the successful supplier indemnifies Trinity House (on behalf of the GLAs) against uncollected Light Dues income. Therefore, should a Light Dues certificate be issued by a collector which subsequently becomes insolvent before the payment is collected, the supplier will compensate Trinity House for the certificate value. Current collection process: In the Republic of Ireland local Customs and Revenues officers collect Light Dues and issue certificates when vessels arrive in port. In the UK a similar network of “collectors” is provided by Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers (ICS) members i.e. shipping agents which are affiliated to ICS. ICS is the professional body representing ship brokers, ship managers and shipping agencies in the UK. ICS Company members are required to pass a professional qualification and adhere to standards set out by the institute. By contracting through the ICS the Light Dues collection function accesses an established network of professionally qualified and independently vetted shipping agency companies with suitable knowledge of Light Dues and sufficient UK coverage to include all commercial ports. Once appointed, collectors are provided with access to the Automatic Light Dues Issuing System (ALDIS) and are required to sign up to the Direct Debit (DD) guarantee scheme. Collectors can then issue Light Dues certificates (on behalf of TH) for vessels arriving into port and the Light Dues are automatically collected seven days later by DD. As part of the current agreement, ICS indemnifies Trinity House (on behalf of the GLAs) against uncollected Light Dues income. Therefore, should a certificate be issued by an ICS collector which subsequently becomes insolvent before the DD is collected, ICS will compensate Trinity House for the certificate value. This assurance is a critical factor in the provision of the service as it ensures that the income from Light Dues is not at risk should a collector go into liquidation. Interested parties that can meet this requirement should email etender@trinityhouse.co.uk to express interest to participate in this opportunity. To view this notice, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=931077112