DATA PROTECTION
Council of State: unlawful exclusion of a competitor from a tender for having sent its technical offer via the We Transfer service.
The Council of State, in its ruling no. 5789/2024, ruled on the appeal brought by a company concerning its exclusion from a tender for the award of a contract for the construction of university lecture halls.
The Regional Administrative Court of Calabria had rejected the appeal, claiming that the appellant had not complied with the instructions for the submission of offers, and in fact - due to the impossibility of uploading the entire technical offer on the tender platform due to capacity constraints - the company had transmitted the technical offer via We Transfer.
However, the Council of State upheld the appeal, clarifying that the sending of the technical bid via WeTransfer does not legitimise the exclusion of the bidder for the breach of the principle of secrecy of bids. This is especially so when overly rigid electronic platforms are chosen that make it difficult to submit bids, as in the case examined by the Council of State.
The Regional Administrative Court of Calabria had rejected the appeal, claiming that the appellant had not complied with the instructions for the submission of offers, and in fact - due to the impossibility of uploading the entire technical offer on the tender platform due to capacity constraints - the company had transmitted the technical offer via We Transfer.
However, the Council of State upheld the appeal, clarifying that the sending of the technical bid via WeTransfer does not legitimise the exclusion of the bidder for the breach of the principle of secrecy of bids. This is especially so when overly rigid electronic platforms are chosen that make it difficult to submit bids, as in the case examined by the Council of State.
