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How to report bid rigging?

What is bid rigging?

Bid rigging occurs when undertakings participating in a tender procedure or these undertakings and the tendering authority conspire to fix the terms of submitted bids, especially the scope of the work to be performed or the price.
 

Bid rigging may take the form of:

  • courtesy bidding – a potential competitor submits a bid that is deliberately less attractive than that designated to win,
  • bid suppression – an undertaking interested in a tender procedure may deliberately refrain
  • from bidding or withdraw its bid before the procedure is concluded,
  • submission and withdrawal of bids – conspiring bidders fix the content of bids, with appropriately differentiated prices. If, after the bids have been opened, it turns out that the cartel members’ bids are the two best bids, the winning bid is ‘withdrawn’ due to incomplete documentation or failure to correct mistakes in bid documents, resulting in the bidder being excluded. If the cartel members’ bids are the three best bids, the two most advantageous bids are withdrawn.

Who may report suspected bid rigging?

  • undertakings participating in a public procurement procedure,
  • the institution that organises the procedure.

How to report bid rigging?

  • Contact the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection - for detailed information, see the tab Report infringement.
  • Provide basic information about the tender procedure and the undertakings involved.
  • Provide more detailed information and evidence of the collusion: the content and form of bids submitted by the companies suspected of involvement in bid rigging.
  • Include annexes which could prove that bid rigging has occurred, e.g. a notice of invitation to tender, tender specifications, bids and a notice of selection of the most advantageous bid.

When to report bid rigging anonymously?

  • When you work at a company that has been involved in bid rigging.
  • When you are concerned that the employer will retaliate against you.
  • When you wish to remain anonymous for other reasons.

Use a platform for whistle-blowers, where you can anonymously report bid rigging:

  • Go to https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/.
  • Fill in the form.
  • Include information about internal arrangements that is not publicly available, e.g. notes, minutes of meetings and correspondence, such as emails, traditional letters, text messages or SMS messages.

When to report bid rigging?

  • Immediately, as soon as you learn about the irregularities.
  • The limitation period for bid rigging is 5 years. The President of the UOKiK will not be able to initiate antitrust proceedings 5 years after the end of the year in which the practices ceased.

Legal basis:

  • Article 6(1)(7) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 16 February 2007 (Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) 2021, item 275)
  • Article 86 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act
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