According to the draft act, the Government will retain a quota of the auction participation guarantee even if the firm in question drops the contestation. The quota will be computed depending on the estimated value of the contract. However, if the settlement board admits the contestation, the government will then retain only half the quota of the auction participation guarantee.
Through these measures, the Government compels the settlement board to publish on its website, until January 31 of every year, the name of the firms which, in the previous year, filed contestations and withdrew them without allowing the contracting authority to settle them. The name of the firms with more than ten rejected contestations will also be published on the website.
People close to the matter said one of the problems in public procurement auctions is caused by the firms which make a habit of contesting public auctions, by filing ungrounded contestations to the settlement board with a view to delaying and blocking certain auctions.
Romania’s former government also complained about public auctions being blocked through ungrounded contestations, arguing certain firms have specialized in contesting auctions and become a sort of “auction pirates.” The Government warned at the time that it will place these firms on a “shame list” in a move to prevent them from blocking public auction procedures.