• Was there collusion and market sharing in the largest tender for city buses in the Silesian agglomeration?
• The President of UOKiK brought charges against 11 entrepreneurs. They face a penalty of up to 10% of their turnover.
• Instead of competing for the contract, they could have agreed which of them would provide services in specific areas.

The procedure concerns a tender organised by the Metropolitan Transport Authority operating in Upper Silesia and Zagłębie. The contract concerned passenger bus transport services in the years 2022-2029. The total value of the tender was PLN 1.3 billion.

The President of UOKiK obtained evidence, including during searches at the carriers’ premises, indicating that some of the tenderers may have colluded to eliminate competition and divide the lucrative contract among themselves. The entrepreneurs agreed to form consortia that would participate in the tender. The establishment of a consortium is not prohibited by law. However, it is unacceptable for entrepreneurs submitting bids as part of a consortium to determine the composition of the consortium and which of them will be awarded the contract for a given part of the tender. That could have been the case here. Information obtained by the President of UOKiK, including concluded agreements and e-mail correspondence, indicate that carriers could coordinate their actions in order to be certain who would win individual parts of the tender and provide services in areas agreed between them. This allowed them to guarantee that they would continue to operate in the parts of the Silesian agglomeration they had previously served, instead of competing with each other in a tender.

– Confirmation of our suspicions would mean that the entrepreneurs wanted to expose the local government unit to serious financial losses. These are the consequences of tender collusion - higher costs incurred by the public sector and, indirectly, by taxpayers and the entire economy – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

The entrepreneurs against whom the procedure is being conducted are: IREX-1, IREX-2, Ireneusz Kozieł IREX from Świętochłowice, Meteor from Katowice, Transgór from Mysłowice, Kłosok from Żory, Benedykt Nowak Nowak Transport from Świerklaniec, A 21 from Żory, Usługi Transportowe Krzysztof Pawelec from Biechów, PKS Południe from Świerklaniec, LZ Apolinary Lazar, Marcin Lazar from Zendek.

They face financial penalties of up to 10% of their turnover for participating in the agreement restricting competition.

It is worth noting that the President of UOKiK may intervene when irregularities in a tender concern agreements between tenderers which have as their object or effect the restriction of competition. Other authorities that may deal with irregularities in public procurement include the President of the Public Procurement Office, the Internal Security Agency (ABW), the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) and the public prosecutor’s office.

Severe penalties for participation in collusion can be avoided by taking advantage of the leniency scheme. It offers businesses involved in an illegal agreement and managers responsible for entering into a collusion arrangement an opportunity to reduce a sanction or, in some cases, avoid it altogether. It is intended for those who agree to cooperate with UOKiK as a “crown witness” and provide evidence or information regarding the existence of a prohibited agreement. We encourage those interested in the leniency scheme to contact the Office at a dedicated phone number: 22 55 60 555. UOKiK staff will answer any questions about the leniency programme, including anonymous ones.

We remind you that UOKiK operates a programme to acquire information from anonymous whistleblowers. Do you wish to inform UOKiK about competition restricting practices? Visit https://uokik.whiblo.pl/ or scan the QR code below and use the simple form. The system we use guarantees complete anonymity, including from UOKiK itself.