As of October 10, 2026, the Commission for the Protection of Competition received 1,046 complaints under the Public Procurement Act, of which 905 proceedings were initiated. If the current pace is maintained, about 1,350 complaints and about 1,170 initiated proceedings are expected by the end of the year. The Commission gives priority to examining complaints under public procurement of municipalities, and the fight against tender manipulation is among its main priorities. This was stated by the Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Competition, Assoc. Prof. Rosen Karadimov, at the Annual Meeting of Local Authorities. He participated in the discussion panel “The quality of the investment process as a basic condition for the quality of life - shared responsibility between the state, municipalities and business“. The event is organized by the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.
„Over four-fifths of the proceedings under consideration are related to public procurement awarded by municipalities. Priority is given to procurements with European funding, the delay of which may affect the implementation of important water supply, public works and infrastructure projects“, said Karadimov. According to him, the CPC exercises control over the legality of public procurement procedures, and does not rule on their appropriateness or the quality of proposals outside the powers provided for by law, informs BGNES.
Among the problems to which the Commission draws attention is the delay of procedures due to appeals. The CPC monitors cases where the same companies file complaints on a wide range of public procurements in different sectors, and checks suspicions of possible abuse of the right of appeal.
If there is evidence of violations, the Commission may refer the matter to the competent authorities, including the Economic Police and the Prosecutor's Office, to verify possible connections between the participants and the circumstances surrounding the appeals.
Assoc. Prof. Karadimov also pointed out that as a tool to speed up the procedures, the law provides for the possibility of allowing preliminary execution under certain conditions. The request is considered before the appeal on the merits and must be motivated and supported by evidence of the existence of the legal prerequisites.
„The admission of preliminary execution allows the contracting authority to continue the procedure and, under the relevant conditions, to conclude a contract before the dispute on the merits is finally resolved. In the event of an early execution, the law provides for a penalty of 5% of the value of the concluded contract if the decision of the contracting authority was made in violation of the law and this affected the possibility of the complainant to participate in the procedure or to be designated as an executor“, commented the Chairman of the Commission for Protection of Competition.
Assoc. Prof. Karadimov emphasized that in this regard the issue of discussing possible legislative changes is raised, including with regard to the sanction regime and appeal fees, so as to limit the possibility of the procedures being delayed without sufficient grounds, without infringing the legal right to defense.
Karadimov also commented on the so-called tender manipulations, which are a form of prohibited cartel agreement. “Investigation of cartels in public procurement is among the priorities of the CPC given the significant public resources that are spent through these procedures. Such practices limit competition and may deprive contracting authorities of the opportunity to choose the best offer under real competitive conditions“, said the chairman.
According to him, in seven months the Commission for the Protection of Competition has initiated eight proceedings for tender manipulation, seven of which are expected to be concluded by the end of the year. In the event of violations, the law provides for sanctions, the amount of which is determined for each case separately.
The Commission also draws attention to the possibilities provided for in the Public Procurement Act for the removal of participants for whom there is an act of the CPC for participation in tender manipulation that has entered into force.
“In order to guarantee a more effective implementation of the law, the CPC has proposed a legislative change that would make the removal of such participants mandatory, regardless of whether the relevant grounds are explicitly stated in the documentation. It is planned to preserve the possibility of assessing the measures by which the participant proves his reliability, when the law allows this,“ the chairman also said.
He stated that the Commission is also working to increase the capacity of contracting authorities to recognize potential signs of coordinated behavior between participants. “The Commission has developed Guidelines that contain indicators of possible tender manipulation and should assist contracting authorities in analyzing the received bids and timely reporting of suspected cartel“, emphasized Assoc. Prof. Karadimov. The aim is to limit practices that harm competition and hinder the effective spending of public funds through more effective control, better coordination between institutions and the active participation of contracting authorities.