Purchasing centre bought consultancy services without procurement

SKL Kommentus bought consultancy services from Affärsconcept AB by direct procurement. When the purchase was observed, SKL Kommentus approached the Swedish Competition Authority to report the potential infringement.

The Swedish Competition Authority’s investigation showed that the contract value amounted to approximately SEK 9.2 million, which exceeds the threshold for possible procurement without announcement. No exemption was applied. This was thus a question of a prohibited direct procurement.

“We take a positive view of a procuring authority that discovers infringements itself contacting the supervisory authority. We therefore consider that such an action – provided that we are not already aware of the case – shall be seen as an extenuating circumstance and lead to a lower fine,” says the Swedish Competition Authority’s Deputy Director General Karin Lunning.

“An open announcement, where several suppliers have the opportunity to submit a tender, increases the chances of the best tender with the most advantageous terms winning.”

The Swedish Competition Authority is now taking the case to the administrative court in Stockholm with the demand that the court orders SKL Kommentus to pay SEK 400,000 in procurement fines.

Read the application (in Swedish), dnr 550/2019