• The UOKiK has conducted a search of the premises of companies operating in the road construction and maintenance sector.
• The search was ordered in connection with the preliminary proceedings intended to verify whether the relevant tender proceedings have been conducted in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws.
• Information on the possible collusion between undertakings has been provided by the local government authorities which organised the tender proceedings in question and which may have suffered losses as a result.

The searches were carried out within the framework of preliminary proceedings initiated in May 2017. The Competition Authority intends to verify whether the undertakings participating in the tender proceedings in the field of construction and maintenance of road network in the Świętokrzyskie, Łódzkie and Mazowieckie provinces may have engaged in illegal collusion.

The search was conducted on the premises of two undertakings, with the Competition Authority successfully obtaining the consent of the court before commencing its activities. The representatives of the UOKiK were aided by Police officers in the course of the search. The inspectors have managed to retrieve information from both paper documentation and electronic data carriers.

– We have received information on possible irregularities from local government units, including mostly at the commune and district level, which had been organising the tender proceedings in question. Their suspicions pertain mostly to the possible bid rigging by undertakings participating in public procurement proceedings. Such practices are illegal under the provisions of competition law – says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection may use a variety of measures in order to gather evidence of unlawful practices. One of the most effective among those measures is conducting a search of the undertaking’s premises. It is a tool  used in situations where it is suspected that the given entity is in possession of evidence which may be relevant to the case. A search may only be conducted if the UOKiK obtains the approval of the court; it is usually performed with the assistance of Police officers. The undertaking is under an obligation to grant the inspectors access to its buildings and premises as well as to make available any documents or data carriers. This year alone, the Competition Authority has already used this option six times in order to obtain the necessary evidence.

Additional information for the media:

Press Office of the UOKiK 
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone: 55 60 430
Email: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL