• UOKiK passed a decision stating that two entrepreneurs colluded to choose the winner of a bidding process.
• They affected the outcome of bids for road repairs in an illegal manner.

The decision of UOKiK concerns two companies, namely Star Budowa from Chybice (the Province of Świętokrzyskie) and Aglet from Warsaw. In nearly 10 bids, they submitted and withdrew offers. If their proposals were the two most advantageous, then the winner would refrain from signing the contract. The company claimed that it underestimated the value of the project, the contract value was incorrectly calculated or that it did not familiarize itself with the construction site. Collusion participants acted this way in bids organized by the District Governor’s Office in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, the districts of Końskie, Kazanów, Brody, Wilczyce, Board of Local Roads in Końskie and the district of Szydłowiec.

Our proceedings confirmed the information we obtained while conducting a search in both companies. Withdrawing bids was deliberate and entrepreneurs wanted the contracting authority to choose a more expensive bid. Price differences between their bids ranged from PLN 10,000 to nearly 100,000, says Michał Holeksa, Vice President of UOKiK.

The Office imposed fines on both entrepreneurs in the amount of PLN 356,708 (Star Budowa) and PLN 51,287 (Aglet) for concluding a competition restricting agreement. The decision is not final and may be appealed against to the court.

If you know anything about a secret agreement in your former or current company, please notify UOKiK. The Office runs a programme aimed at obtaining information from anonymous persons aware of practices restricting competition. Go to https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and use the simple form. The system we use guarantees that your identity will not be disclosed.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL