Three traders based in the Podkarpackie province have concluded a bid rigging agreement. As a result, they were able to influence the outcome of six public tenders pertaining to the supply of bread.

The proceedings in the present case were originally instigated in June 2016. The Competition Authority has learned that three traders operating, inter alia, in the bread baking business, have concluded a prohibited agreement, the traders in question being: Stanisława Dziewit from Chorzelów, Firma Produkcyjno-Handlowo-Usługowa Tomex (Tomex Manufacturing, Trade and Service Company) from Malinie and Firma Produkcyjno-Usługowa Natex (Natex Manufacturing and Service Company) from Złotniki. The traders in question participated in tender proceedings for the supply of bread which were organised by public institutions.

 – The bid rigging process involved the submission and subsequent withdrawal of bids. The prices offered by the undertakings in question in the course of tender proceedings were appropriately differentiated; if the prices which they offered were the lowest in the given tender proceedings, the winning undertaking would refrain from concluding the contract in order to allow the more expensive bid of the undertaking with which it remained in collusion to be selected instead. As a result, the bid which would ultimately be selected would not be the one that, according to the outcome of the original proceedings, was the most favourable one. As a consequence, this collusion led to higher prices of public contracts which, in turn, brought about an increase in public spending – says Mr Marek Niechciał, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The prohibited arrangements have occurred in the course of six calls for tenders organised by detention facilities, healthcare centres and educational entities. Once the outcome of the call for tenders was announced, the winning undertaking would fail to provide the missing information or the necessary explanations pertaining to the offer or would refuse to sign the contract, with the causes of such refusal being stated rather loosely and laconically as health issues, absence due to travel or lack of equipment. In the view of the Competition Authority, however, these explanations were by no means credible. For example, one of the traders in question cited health issues as the reason for refusal to sign the contract, only to place a bid in another tender procedure a few days later; it should be noted that the trader in question also subsequently withdrew the submitted bid from that second tender procedure in order to allow another participant of the bid rigging arrangement to win instead.

Evidence of concerted practices included identical errors in the submitted documentation or the fact that the offers were sent from a single post office at the same time. In addition, economic, organisational and family ties between the traders might also have proved conducive to the practices in question. Financial penalties have been imposed upon the participants of the scheme, the total amount thereof being in excess of PLN 35 thousand. The decision is not final and may be appealed against to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

It is not the first decision pertaining to bid rigging to be adopted with respect to the participants of the arrangement in question. Back in 2013, the Competition Authority has found that Stanisława Dziewit was among a group of traders who applied unlawful practices, with the decision in this regard being final and legally binding;, in 2015, similar findings were made with respect to Firma Produkcyjno-Usługowa Natex (this decision, however, is not yet final).

Additional information for the media:

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