What is it aMCU Complaint

An AMCU complaint is an appeal by a supplier of public procurement to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine due to a violation of the terms of the procurement legislation by the organizer or other participants.

In What Cases Is It Possible to File a Complaint With the AMCU?

The supplier has the right to appeal the terms of the tender documentation, cases of actions, or inactions of the customer in whose procurement they participate. A few examples:

• • if the terms of the tender documentation allow only legal entities to participate in the electronic tender, but not entrepreneurs;
  • if the customer has chosen the winner of the procurement whose offer does not meet the conditions (for example, it lacks the document or the necessary signature required by the conditions);
  • if the customer disqualified the supplier due to biased conditions;
  • if the customer canceled the purchase, although they did not have the right to do so.

The legislation does not limit the cases in which the supplier has the right to file a complaint with the AMCU, but if the violation is insufficient or not justified, the complaint will not be satisfied.

In commercial purchases, the possibility of appeal to the AMCU does not apply. Instead, the participant can apply to the court.

How Much Does It Cost to Submit a Complaint to the AMCU?

The cost of filing a complaint with the Antimonopoly Committee is calculated individually for each purchase. The interest rate is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. As of 2022, the following tariffs have been approved:

• • 0.3% of the starting price of the subject of online auctions – in the event of an appeal against the terms of the tender documentation or the actions or inaction of the customer before the end of the acceptance stage is offered. The amount cannot be less than UAH 2,000 or more than UAH 85,000.
  • 0.6% of the starting price of the subject of online trading — in the event of an appeal against the customer's decisions (for example, disqualification of a participant or selection of a winner). The amount cannot be less than UAH 3,000 and more than UAH 170,000.

This amount is paid in full by the participant when submitting their complaint. But these funds can be returned in full in the following cases:

• • if the commission decided to satisfy or partially satisfy the complaint;
  • if the commission did not consider or terminated consideration of the complaint since the customer independently eliminated the violations indicated in it.

What Should the AMCU Complaint Contain?

In the text of the complaint, the participant must specify the following data:

• • the name of the customer who violated the procurement rules;
  • name and location of the complainant;
  • an objective description of what is being complained about;
  • substantiation of the fact of violation regarding the norms of the legislation;
  • the claims of the complainant and their justification.

For more details about the conditions for successfully filing a complaint, read the article from the lawyers of our electronic trading platform SmartTender.