The courts decided that it is possible not to specify the equivalent of the goods in the public procurement with the project documentation
The customer purchased works with project documentation. It contains a product of a specific manufacturer, but it is not possible to supply an equivalent.
The participant felt that the competition was limited. He could have supplied similar products. The purchase object is not unique. The purchased product does not belong to the exceptions when the equivalent can not be set.
The customer explained: he needs the products of a specific manufacturer, since there is a project documentation and the product has proven itself well in the field.
The supervisors considered this a violation.
The courts took a different position:
project documentation — the basis for use in the description of the object of purchase of the trademark. Replacing the product with an equivalent may result in its incompatibility with other structures during construction. This means that it will be impossible to complete the work on the project. This will violate the principle of procurement efficiency;
the restriction of competition is not proven. 2 applications were submitted for participation in the purchase.
Previously, the same position was held by the Pskov UFAS.
However, in administrative practice, for example, in the decisions of the FAS of 22.04.2020, of 01.03.2021, there is an opposite opinion. The Ministry of Finance has the same position.
According to some controllers, in order to comply with the equivalence condition, it is enough to use the general phrase that all trademarks (indicating specific manufacturers) in the project documentation should be considered accompanied by the words "or equivalent" (the decision of the Krasnodar Federal Antimonopoly Service of 25.06.2020).
The FAS of Russia explained: in the purchase with the project documentation, where there is a product of a specific manufacturer, it is necessary to specify the equivalent. The customer must set the equivalence parameters. Otherwise, you can use any product that meets the project documentation, state standards, etc.