Karlstad’s conference purchases criticised

Karlstad municipality has procured and signed framework agreements with several different suppliers of conferencing services. A kind of allocation ratio gives the municipality the freedom to choose from among the accepted suppliers. This can lead to actions that are arbitrary in nature. The different suppliers are not able to predict how the call-off will occur. This compromises their ability to calculate their tenders or to plan an appropriate allocation of resources. In the view of the Swedish Competition Authority, this constitutes a breach of the procurement regulations.

The allocation ratio for the framework agreement designed by Karlstad municipality does not guarantee that the awarding process will be conducted objectively. The stated conditions should ensure that, when making the call-off, the choice of supplier should be able to be anticipated and should be made on an objective basis, confirms the Swedish Competition Authority in a supervisory decision.

“The principles of equal treatment and transparency must apply. When an awarding authority chooses a supplier, the process must be clear and transparent. It is not permissible to have a free choice of supplier when a framework agreement is in place”, says the Director-General of the Swedish Competition Authority, Dan Sjöblom.

Karlstad municipality has accepted the criticism and will conduct a new procurement of conferencing services where it will be clear how the call-off is to be made.

“It is very pleasing that our supervision leads to more organisations following the rules”, says Dan Sjöblom.

Read the decision, dnr 526/2016 (in Swedish)