Reporting irregularities in relation to the tender process

Rules for submitting appeals/complaints in a public procurement procedure

An appeal can be lodged if:

• a contracting entity has taken an action non-compliant with the Public Procurement Law in a procurement procedure, conclusion of a framework agreement, a dynamic purchasing system, a contractor qualification system or a contest;
• a contracting entity has failed to take an action required by the Public Procurement Law in a procurement procedure, conclusion of a framework agreement, a dynamic purchasing system, a contractor qualification system or a contest;
• a contracting entity has failed to conduct the procurement procedure or organise a contest pursuant to the Law, even though it was obligatory.

An appeal is lodged with the President of the National Appeals Chamber. An appeal may be filed in writing, or in electronic form, or signed with an electronic signature. The appeal submitted in electronic form must be signed with a trusted electronic signature.

The appeal procedure is carried out in Polish, and consequently all documents must be submitted in Polish. If a document has been drawn up in a foreign language, the translation into Polish must be submitted.

Who can lodge an appeal

An appeal my be lodged by:

• the contractor who had or has an interest in obtaining the contract and suffered or may suffer damage as a result of the infringement of the Public Procurement Law;
• the contest participant who had or has an interest in winning the prize and suffered or may suffer damage as a result of the infringement of the Public Procurement Law;
• organisations entered as organisations authorised to lodge legal remedies in the list kept by the President of the Public Procurement Office, published on the website of the Public Procurement Office;
• Advocate for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

What are the time limits and restrictions on lodging appeals

If the time limit for lodging an appeal falls on a Saturday or a public holiday, then the time limit expires on the day after the non-business day(s).

The time limit for lodging an appeal against an action taken by the contracting entity:

No.	Subject of appeal	The time limit for lodging an appeal if the contract value equals or exceeds the EU thresholds	The time limit for lodging an appeal if the contract value is below the EU thresholds
1.	Contracting entity’s action, if the information was provided using means of electronic communication	10 days	5 days
2.	Contracting entity’s action, if the information was provided in a manner different than using means of electronic communication	15 days	10 days
3.	Content of the notice initiating the contract award procedure, or contest procedure, or the content of the procurement documents	10 days	5 days
4.	An appeal against actions others than listed in points 1 to 3 must be lodged within the following time limits:	10 days after the day when an entity lodging an appeal learned, or – acting with due diligence – could have learned about the circumstances justifying the appeal	5 days after the day when an entity lodging an appeal learned, or – acting with due diligence – could have learned about the circumstances justifying the appeal

 

The time limits for lodging an appeal against a contracting entity’s failure to comply with a legal duty to act:

No.	Subject of appeal	The time limit for lodging an appeal if the contract value equals or exceeds the EU thresholds	The time limit for lodging an appeal if the contract value is below the EU thresholds
1.	Failure to publish the notice on the intention to conclude a contract, or failure to send to a contractor a notice on selecting the most advantageous tender, or failure to invite a contractor to submit a tender within the dynamic purchasing system or the framework agreement	within 30 days after the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of the contract award notice, and – in the case of a negotiated procedure or single source procurement – after the publication of the notice of the outcome of the procedure or the contract award notice with the justification of the award of the contract in a negotiated procedure or single source procurement	within 15 days after the publication in the Public Procurement Bulletin of the notice of the outcome of the procedure, and in the case of a negotiated procedure or single source procurement – after the publication of the notice of the outcome of the procedure or the contract award notice with the justification of the award of the contract in a negotiated procedure or single source procurement
2.	Failure to publish the contract award notice or the notice of the outcome of the procedure	6 months after the date of conclusion of the contract	1 month after the date of conclusion of the contract
3.	Failure to publish the contract award notice or the notice of the outcome of the procedure with the justification of the award of the contract in a negotiated procedure or single source procurement	6 months after the date of conclusion of the contract	1 month after the date of conclusion of the contract

 

Where and how irregularities in the tender procedure can be reported

Irregularities in public procurement procedures should be first reported to the authority competent for public procurement, i.e. the President of the Public Procurement Office. There are no restrictions on who can report such irregularities. Information on potential irregularities may be submitted in any form: either in the traditional form (on paper), or in electronic form. The most commonly reported irregularities include requests to carry out an ex-post control of a public procurement procedure. Nonetheless, the Office also examines reports on irregularities during ex-ante controls, carried out before the contract is signed, as well as other reports with information on potential infringements during the procurement procedure. The only requirement for information on irregularities is the provision of detailed data on the procedure where the reported irregularities occurred and on the infringements which may affect the outcome of that procedure. Importantly, under the Public Procurement Law, the President of the Public Procurement Office oversees compliance with public procurement rules, in particular carries out controls of the public procurement process to the extent specified in the Law. It follows that the President of the Public Procurement Office reviews the public procurement process only for its lawfulness, i.e. checks if a procedure has been carried out in compliance with the Public Procurement Law. The Office does not review other aspects of the contract, including in particular, whether the contracting entity was economical, whether the purchases were appropriate, or the entity’s reliability.

Other bodies and institutions where irregularities in public procurement may be reported include supervisors of entities awarding public contracts. For municipalities supervisory authorities are the Prime Minister and province governors, and for financial matters also Regional Audit Chambers. Additionally, considering the competences of other bodies, information on irregularities maybe also reported to:

1. Supreme Audit Office,
2. Regional Revenue Administration Offices,
3. Managing authorities for EU-funded projects,
4. Office for Competition and Consumer Protection in the area of collusive bidding,
5. Central Anti-Corruption Bureau in the case of corruption related to public procurement,
6. Internal Security Agency within the remit of its competences,
7. Committees issuing opinions on breaching fiscal discipline.

 

Public Procurement Office

uzp@uzp.gov.pl