“LATVIJAS TILTI” Joint-stock company informs that on the 6th of January 2016 The Supreme Court of Lithuania (hereinafter – the Court) set aside the decisions of the Vilnius Regional Court and the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, upholding the complaint submitted by the road and bridge construction companies Latvijas Tilti and Kauno Keliai, about the procurement “Installation of Traffic Safety and Environmental Measures in TEN-T Roads in 2014-2020. Stage I. Agreement No 3.” (hereinafter – the Procurement), and stated that the Procurement requirements have been unfair and competition-restricting. The Procurement Agreement was awarded to UAB “Fegda”.
The Court confirmed that the terms of reference in the procurement of the construction works of two viaducts on the Vilnius-Kaunas road, amounting to EUR 12,5 million, artificially limited competition, and the signed agreement is unlawful. The Court ruling is final and unappealable.
As the construction works have already started and the agreement will not be terminated, the Court imposed a fine amounting to EUR 125,257 on the Lithuanian Road Administration that had conducted the tender for failure to ensure the competitive equality of suppliers. It is the biggest fine ever imposed by a court for public procurement violations. The Administration will have to pay this fine to the state.
The Supreme Court determined that the Road Administration had included excessive and disproportionate requirements in the terms of reference of the announced tender, which were not necessary to perform the works. As the Court stated, such excessive qualification requirements artificially limited the opportunities for companies to participate in the tender and was unlawful.
Lawyer of the JSC “LATVIJAS TILTI”
Jevgeņija Ļevdanska
+371 67251372
jevgenija.levdanska@latvijas-tilti.lv