News

Skils achieved a major success in representing the Dopravní společnost Ústeckého kraje in two proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court concerning the award of public contracts for the purchase of buses with an aggregate value of over CZK 1 billion

Skils succeeded in representing the Dopravní společnost Ústeckého kraje (DSÚK) in proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court regarding cassation complaints filed by the Office for the Protection of Competition (the Office). DSÚK awarded two public contracts for the purchase of buses with an aggregate value of more than CZK 1 billion under the negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice on the basis of a statutory exemption after no participant applied for the original open procedure. The Office argued that the DSÚK was not entitled to use the negotiated procedure without publication, as the absence of potential contractors in the original procurement procedures was allegedly due to an unlawful and discriminatory minimum fuel tank capacity requirement.

After years of litigation, the Supreme Administrative Court agreed with the argumentation of DSÚK in both proceedings and concluded that the fuel tank volume requirements did not constitute an unjustified restriction of competition nor lead to the absence of contractors in the original open procedure. The DSÚK was therefore entitled to use the negotiated procedure without publication in the repeated procurement procedure.