The construction of a sports center should have been announced according to the Swedish Public Procurement Act

In December 2019, Askersund Municipality entered into a contract with a procured supplier for the construction and renovation of school buildings. When the municipality subsequently decided on a new school organization, there arose a need to also build a new sports center. The municipality then entered into a contract with the same supplier that had previously been engaged for the construction and renovation of school buildings. The contract, estimated to be worth SEK 43 million, was not announced in accordance with the procurement regulations.

The municipality believes that the contract did not need to be announced because it falls under the rules of the Swedish Public Procurement Act, regarding changes to contracts due to supplementary orders and unforeseen circumstances. The Swedish Competition Authority believes that the rules regarding changes cannot be applied to the contract in question and that it constitutes an illegal direct award of contract.

"The rules regarding changes to contracts in procurement legislation should be applied restrictively. The fact that a change of supplier can, to some extent, result in additional work and additional costs must be part of the planning of a procuring organization and can only, in exceptional cases, justify a lack of announcement," says Rikard Jermsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

The Swedish Competition Authority is now turning to the Administrative Court in Karlstad demanding that Askersund Municipality should be ordered to pay a procurement fine of SEK 3.2 million.