Procurement fine for County Council of Västernorrland

The County Council of Västernorrland concluded an agreement for staffing services in cardiology without publishing a contract notice, despite not having a reason for awarding the contract directly. This is an example of an illegal direct award of contract. Employment of personal and purchase of services are governed by different sets of rules. When staffing is purchased as a service, the procurement regulations must be followed.

The contract value is estimated to be SEK 9,984,000 which far exceeds the threshold for direct award of contracts. The county council should therefore have published a contract notice.

“Without opening public procurements to competition through a contract notice, other potential suppliers are unable to bid for the contract,” says the Swedish Competition Authority’s Director-General Dan Sjöblom.  

The Swedish Competition Authority is now turning to the Administrative Court in Härnösand demanding that Västernorrland County Council be ordered to pay a procurement fine of SEK 700,000.

Read the application, dnr 494/2016 (in Swedish)