• The President of UOKiK imposed fines for collusive bidding on two companies from Kraków.
• Proceedings are underway against three entrepreneurs from the Lublin Province who may have also illegally influenced the tender process.
• There is a fine of up to 10% of turnover for participating in an illegal agreement to determine how to participate in a tender.

Bid rigging is one of the very serious violations of antitrust law, distorting the essence of competition. They involve arrangements between entrepreneurs aimed at eliminating, limiting, or distorting competition, consequently leading to price increases inadequate to market conditions.

The President of UOKiK deemed it a practice restricting competition to enter into agreements when participating in tenders, and imposed a fine of more than PLN 300,000.00 on the colluding companies:

• ADAM-TOURS – fine of PLN 250,944.00,
• ROAL– fine of PLN 51,558.00.

The companies operated in the Małopolska and Podkarpackie provinces. From July 2020 to June 2021, they took part in four tenders, consisting of 17 parts, for transporting children to care and educational institutions and for substitute transportation services. These companies used the mechanism of so-called pitching and withdrawal of bids in a deliberate, coordinated, and repeated manner. They agreed on the content of their proposals, with prices varying accordingly. If, after the final establishment of the order of bids, the prices proposed by the participants in the collusion occupied the first two places, the most favourable one was withdrawn, leading to the selection of a more expensive service. The beneficiary of such resignation in each case was the colluding participant.

For example, the companies took part in a tender to transport children with disabilities from the Zabierzów municipality to care and educational institutions. After the bids had been opened, the contracting authority called on ROAL, whose bid was the most favourable, to supplement the documentation. Failure to supplement it resulted in its rejection and the selection of another one, i.e. the one submitted by ADAM-TOURS, more expensive by about 17 percent.

- By participating in the same tenders, entrepreneurs deliberately and knowingly manipulated the results by withdrawing or not supplementing a cheaper bid. The agreement had negative consequences for the organisers of the tenders, who chose more expensive bids several times - says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

The decision is not final and may be appealed against to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

This is not the only investigation into collusion in tenders for transporting school children. UOKiK is currently inspecting the practices of entities competing in tenders to transport students to schools in the Lublin Province. Three companies received allegations: Usługi Transportowe Skiba Marcin, TACHO-SYSTEM and Spółdzielnia Socjalna Samorządowy Zakład Transportowy from Siedliska. In this case, the President of the Office also suspects that the entrepreneurs agreed on the terms of their bids and then withdrew the cheaper offer, which led to the need to choose a higher price.

- Bid rigging, i.e. the making of unauthorised agreements by participants in public tenders, negatively affects price levels and service quality. Agreements of this type reduce the expected benefits of tenders, expose contracting institutions and local communities to losses, hence the importance of countering them - says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

If the allegations are confirmed, the companies face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover for competition restricting practices.

Do you wish to inform UOKiK about competition restricting practices? Visit konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form. The pan-European system we rely on ensure full anonymity, also towards the Office itself.

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