In Odesa, 4 companies complained about the tender for fire protection services for schools

A tender for the maintenance of fire protection systems in educational institutions in Odesa's Prymorskyi district was not held due to complaints from participants. Four companies appealed to the Antimonopoly Committee, claiming discriminatory requirements in the tender documentation.

This is evidenced by data from the Prozorro electronic procurement system.

In January, the Center for Financing and Economic Activity of Educational Institutions of the Prymorskyi District of Odesa announced a tender for maintenance and monitoring of fire protection systems in educational institutions.

The expected value of the procurement was UAH 12.5 million. The deadline for submitting bids was February 3, and the selected contractor was to provide services until December 31, 2026.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

However, the auction never took place. The reason was complaints filed by four companies to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. Potential bidders claimed that the tender documentation contained discriminatory requirements and demanded that the procuring entity be obliged to bring the procurement terms in line with the law.

Complaints about office accessibility

Spetsavtomatika-K was the first to file a complaint. The company stated that the tender documentation contained a requirement to provide documentary evidence of unimpeded access to the tenderer's office premises for persons with disabilities and low-mobility groups, certified by an authorized body or a certified expert.

According to the complainant, the license conditions No. 852 do not require such a document, and the requirement itself does not affect the quality or other indicators of service provision. Instead, it artificially limits the range of potential participants. In addition, the preparation of such a document is paid for and creates an additional financial burden, as well as requires time that the company did not have before the deadline for submitting proposals.

In this case, the procuring entity eliminated the challenged condition. SPAS filed a similar complaint against the same requirement.

Remarks on the material and technical base

The third complaint was filed by Stroitelnaya Perspektiva LLC. The company drew attention to the requirement to provide a certificate in an arbitrary form on the availability of equipment and material and technical base necessary for the provision of services, indicating the name, quantity and grounds for use.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

The Complainant noted that such a requirement in the wording of the tender documentation after the amendments was not consistent with the current legislation, in particular with the license conditions. According to the company, this violates the principles of fair competition, openness and transparency of procurement and may create prerequisites for abuse.

At the same time, Stroitelna Perspektiva LLC emphasized that it has a valid license to carry out economic activities for the provision of services and performance of fire protection works, issued on the basis of the order of the SES of August 22, 2023, which gives it the right to perform the services that are the subject of the procurement.

The fourth complaint and waiting for a decision

The fourth complaint was filed by Pride Fire Service LLC, also regarding the requirement to provide a certificate of material and technical base. The complaint was accepted for consideration by the contracting authority.

All potential bidders insisted on the need to oblige the contracting authority to eliminate discriminatory conditions and bring the announcement and tender documentation in line with the law.

The decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and possible amendments to the tender documents are currently awaited. Therefore, the question of who will ultimately receive the contract for the maintenance and monitoring of fire protection systems of educational institutions in the Prymorskyi district of Odesa remains open.

Also, in early February, the Kuyalnytsia village council of Podilskyi district of Odesa region terminated the agreement with the contractor for the overhaul of the building of the culture and leisure center.

Анна Бальчінос