Trosa Municipality criticised for having purchased meal delivery without prior public procurement

Trosa Municipality first procured school transport, and then expanded the agreement to include meal delivery services to various municipal operations. According to the Swedish Competition Authority, meal delivery services were not included in the contract for school transport. Expanding the subject of the contract thus constitutes a significant change to the agreement, and means that purchasing meal delivery services was an illegal direct award of contract.

The meal delivery services purchased exceeded the limits of permitted direct award of contract, and is therefore a breach of the procurement regulations.

“If notice is given of public procurements, competitors can also submit bids,” says Director-General of the Swedish Competition Authority Dan Sjöblom. “This increases the chances of the best bid at the best price winning.”

In this case, due to the one-year period of limitation, the Swedish Competition Authority cannot petition the Administrative Court to order the municipality to pay financial penalties/procurement fines.

Read the decision, dnr 257/2016 (in Swedish)