Exclusion Of Tenderer Due To Grave Professional Misconduct Was Justified

In a decision of 1 February 2024, the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement found that a contracting authority had proved that a tenderer was guilty of grave professional misconduct, which rendered their integrity questionable. The tenderer had not provided sufficient documentation for their reliability and should therefore be excluded according to section 136(4) of the Danish Public Procurement Act.

Background

In October 2023, the Danish Road Directorate launched a public procurement for seven lots of winter services, including de-icing and snow clearing of the lanes of the national highway network, in accordance with the Danish Procurement Act. The procurement was subject to an accelerated procedure because the Danish Road Directorate had had to terminate the existing contract for the specified routes concluded in July 2023 early due to the previous supplier's grave professional misconduct.