Appeal: requesting additional information from participants before summing up the results violates Federal Law N 223.
The regulation and documentation secured the right to ask the participants for clarifications or additions that influenced the rejection or evaluation of their applications. It was used if, in particular, the information in them was incomplete or had discrepancies.
The controllers decided that the condition limited competition. The courts upheld the position:
- Law N 223 does not allow participants to send additional requests for information and documents before summing up;
- under a disputable condition, participation in the purchase depends on the will of the customer. It may not apply equally to all participants;
- the procurement regulations and documentation did not establish the procedure for such requests. Evaluation of applications could be biased.
It should be noted that earlier the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the 9th Arbitration Court of Appeal expressed a similar position.
Document: Resolution of the 9th Arbitration Court of Appeal dated 12.10.2022 in case N A40-78641/2022