Region Västernorrland had no technical reasons for making an exception

It was in September 2022 that Region Västernorrland entered into the contract for the supply of laser printers without first announcing the procurement pursuant to the Swedish Public Procurement Act. This took place after the region had conducted a needs and market analysis that, according to the region, revealed that, for technical reasons, the market lacked competition. According to the market analysis, only one supplier was in a position to supply printers meeting the region’s requirement specifications. The value of the contract was approximately SEK 2.5 million.

In the opinion of the Swedish Competition Authority, the market analysis does not support the claim that only one supplier was in a position to supply printers meeting the region’s requirement specifications. An exemption to the requirement to announce the procurement pursuant to the Swedish Public Procurement Act based on technical reasons was therefore not possible.

“The exemption to the requirement to announce procurements based on technical reasons must be interpreted restrictively. As a general rule, giving notice is required in order to ensure competition by allowing more suppliers to submit tenders,” says Rikard Jermsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

The Swedish Competition Authority is therefore petitioning the Administrative Court in Härnösand to impose a procurement fine of SEK 210,000 on Region Västernorrland for an illegal direct award of contract. According to the Swedish Competition Authority, the fact that the region has previously made an illegal direct award of contract is an aggravating circumstance.

Marie Strömberg Lindvall, Press Officer, +46 76 542 15 92, marie.stromberglindvall@kkv.se
Maria Andersson Müller, Legal Counsel, +46 8 700 15 65, maria.anderssonmuller@kkv.se