Sometimes tender procedures are not as smooth as we would like. The influence of the human factor on the outcome of events never loses relevance. And hardly anyone will be satisfied if his or her rights are violated.

In order for customers and participants to have the opportunity to complain about certain actions of each other, Ukraine provides for the possibility of appealing bidding.

Bidding is a competitive selection of bidders to determine the best bid. Another name is a reduction: as opposed to the classic auction, the winner is the one who offers the lowest price in combination with the most favorable conditions.

The law of Ukraine "On public procurement" states that the appeal of the auction takes place in electronic form and is sent to a special body. This body will be discussed in our article.

Antimonopoly Committee comes on the scene

If there is a need to complain about a violation in the trading process, the Antimonopoly Committee is ready to listen to any party. Its activity is regulated by the Law of Ukraine "On the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine". According to it, the Antimonopoly Committee is a government agency, the goal of which is to ensure the protection of competition and fair trading. It is under the control of the president of Ukraine and is accountable to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Accordingly, it is obliged to submit an annual report on the results of its activities to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The main tasks of the Antimonopoly Committee are:

monitoring compliance with antitrust laws;
preventing, fixing and stopping violations;
controlling economic concentration;
promoting healthy competition.

Let's review your complaint

So you are ready to witness the violation. What particular unit of the AMCU will consider it? It is the permanent administrative board.

This board consists of three people authorized by the AMCU, who are elected by the prime minister from candidates nominated by the AMCU chairman. Their term of service is 7 years. The president of Ukraine has the authority to release them from their positions. These people cannot be associated with the customer or participant in order to avoid biased evaluation.

The compilation of complaints

The complaint is submitted electronically through the ProZorro system. The participant has the right to appeal against the action or inaction of the customer related to the conduct of the trade procedure. The complaint must indicate:

information about the customer who committed the unlawful act;
details on the complainant;
information about the cause of the complaint and evidence of violation;
data on the consequences of the violation;
data on requirements and desired interventions.

The complaint must be accompanied by documents that can serve as evidence of a violation. In addition, you must pay the complaint – here, many participants fall into a trap.

Have you paid the complaint?

The SmartTender platform adds another fact to the gold reserve of the "Do you know?" column – you have to pay the complaint. These are the following amounts:

UAH 5 thousand for appealing tenders for goods and services;
UAH 10 thousand for appealing tenders for works.

One of the most common mistakes of complainants is precisely the lack of payment. Therefore, before placing the complaint in the system, make sure that it has a financial justification.

After placing the complaint in the system, it is entered into the register, where its registration card is generated. It contains all information about the complaint, its number and the number of the appealed tender.

Consider deadlines

Indignant participants often miss the deadlines for filing the complaint. And they are spelled out very clearly:

Appealing against tender documents, decisions, actions or inaction of the customer before the deadline for submission of tender proposals is possible no later than 4 days before the deadline for this submission.
Appealing against the action or inaction of the customer after evaluating the offers is possible within 10 days from the moment the intention to conclude the contract is announced, but not later than the day of the conclusion.
Appealing against the action or inaction of the customer after the qualifying stage is possible within 5 days from the date of publication of the protocol on the consideration of tender proposals.

If the customer has changed certain points of the tender documentation after the deadline for submission of tender proposals, unchanged points are not subject to appeal.

Failure to meet deadlines results in the refusal to accept the complaint.

At the time of the conclusion of the contract the territory of the authority of the AMCU ends. Further, only radical measures are accepted – the court is ready to open the doors for you.

We will describe the nuances of the complaints procedure in the next article. Arm yourself with the above information and do not be afraid to seek justice.