The President of UOKiK instigated two proceedings aimed at verifying if bid-rigging practices have been applied among entrepreneurs bidding in tenders organized by the Military Property Agency in Warsaw. The Office has also been conducting an inquiry to verify if an illegal agreement has been concluded by Rafineria Nafty Jedlicze and its 13 business partners

28 decisions on illegal agreements of entrepreneurs were issued by the President of UOKiK in 2013. Another 24 anti-monopoly proceedings have been pending, including two pertaining to tenders for the supplies of uniforms and accessories organized by the Military Property Agency and Military Unit no. 4226 in Warsaw.

Tenders for the supply of uniforms

As part of the first proceeding UOKiK has been examining business dealings with Vena Pro and Trawena seated in Trawniki, San Marko and Spółdzielnia Niewidomych San Marko from Poznań. “Based on the Office’s findings, in the course of five bids in 2010-2012 the so-called security bids could have been submitted resulting in a situation whereby entrepreneurs agree that they would submit two different bids and if it turns out that they are the most preferred ones – the tender winner would resign from contract conclusion or intentionally fail to submit required documents. In one of the tenders the difference between the bids amounted to more than PLN 7m (ca. 1,75m EUR)”, says Małgorzata Krasnodębska-Tomkiel, Acting President of UOKiK. The evidence showing potential concerted, illegal arrangements could be, among other things, a refusal to sign the contract without important reasons, failure to complete formalities which should not be difficult to complete for professional market players as well as a suspicion that bids have been completed by the same party or tender documents have been jointly reviewed by bidders.

Another proceeding has been instituted against Agrotur from Pabianice, Marko seated in Borkowice and Texpol in Dłutów and pertains to five successive tenders for the supply of uniforms and accessories organized by the Military Property Agency and Military Unit no. 4226 w Warsaw in 2011-2012. Just like in the first case, if the bids submitted by the entrepreneurs were the two most preferred ones, the winner resigned from the proceedings and withdrew from contract conclusion, failed to provide explanations at the contracting authority’s request or failed to provide required documents from Social Insurance Institution, Agricultural Social Insurance Fund, National Court Register or tax offices. Additionally the bids of all bidders were completed in similar handwriting and submitted by the same party. The Office is going to check if those activities resulted from illegal concerted arrangements.

Purchases of waste oil

UOKiK has also been conducting proceedings against Rafineria Nafty Jedlicze (Jedlicze Petroleum Refinery) and its 13 business partners. The company is involved in, among other things, waste oil recovery and reclamation. Based on the information held by UOKiK, the company could impose obligations on its partners purchasing oils to refrain from competition. The above practice could, in particular, pertain to fixing purchasing prices and market allocation. The refinery could also monitor and co-ordinate compliance with the ban. Moreover the entrepreneurs could approach RNJ to discipline the non-conforming entities as well as provide information about the compliance by their competitors.

The participation in a competition-restricting agreement is penalized up to 10% of revenue earned in a year preceding the issue of the related decision.

Sanctions for the participation in the competition-restricting agreement can be avoided on condition of collaboration with UOKiK thanks to a leniency program. An entrepreneur that provides evidence of the existence of a cartel, is not its initiator and has ceased to apply illegal practices may be granted even immunity from the fine.

In the case of tenders, the contracting authority and contractors suspecting the collusion can notify the Office of the above using a special form available on the Office’s website. It contains a straightforward and legible description of the situations that under the anti-monopoly law can be deemed preconditions of the illegal agreement.

The detection of bid-rigging practices can be facilitated thanks to the Office’s partnership with institutions responsible for proper public procurement system’s operations: the Public Procurement Office, the National Chamber of Appeal, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development, the Supreme Audit Office, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Internal Security Agency, the prosecution service and the police. As part of such co-operation information is shared and the Office staff conduct training for representatives of other authorities during which attention is paid to conduct that may evidence the application of illegal practices.

Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. 22 827 28 92, 55 60 314, 55 60 430
Fax 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]