The Polish government is reportedly considering filing an official complaint with the European Commission over alleged irregularities in Sri Lanka’s e-passport tender process. Sri Lanka Latest News
The controversy arises from the e-passport procurement process initiated by the Sri Lankan Department of Immigration and Emigration on 27 April 2025.
Eight international companies submitted bids; however, seven of them—including Polish Security Printing Works (PWPW), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Polish government—were allegedly rejected without sufficient justification.
The tender was ultimately awarded to Thales DIS Finland. Polish representatives have stated that although their company met the required technical qualifications, their financial proposal was not opened even after a re-evaluation process.
PWPW, along with several other participating companies, challenged the tender process. Following this, the appeals board ordered a re-evaluation. While it was acknowledged that PWPW had exceeded the minimum qualifying score, concerns emerged regarding the process. Their price bid was reportedly not opened, whereas the price proposal of the winning bidder, Thales DIS Finland, was opened at the initial stage.
This has raised questions about whether a fair and transparent re-evaluation was conducted.
On 13 March 2026, PWPW formally wrote to Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath, expressing serious concerns about the tender process and requesting a fresh evaluation by an independent Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).
The Polish Embassy in New Delhi has also supported this request. However, no official response from the Sri Lankan government has been reported so far.
Notably, the same company was previously involved in a separate contract to supply machine-readable passports, selected under former Public Security Minister Tiran Alles in September 2024. That deal was also challenged in court on allegations of bypassing government procurement procedures.
The ongoing issue has drawn attention to concerns over transparency and trust in Sri Lanka’s public procurement system, according to analysts, and could potentially have implications at the international level.
If a formal complaint is submitted to the European Commission, it may place strain on diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Poland.
