The Swedish Competition Authority initiates investigation against Laholm municipality

- We at the Swedish Competition Authority are convinced that you will get better goods and services if you follow the laws and regulations that exist. In addition, the Public Procurement Act is in order to obtain better legal security and it is important to follow the law to counter corruption, says Malin de Jounge, Head of Unit at the Competition Authority.

On Monday, the Swedish Competition Authority's external watchdogs noticed the reporting on the lack of procurement, mainly in Hallandsposten.

- Now we will launch a type of investigation that will determine if we should prioritize the case and then we must investigate it ourselves to see if it is a violation, says Malin de Joungert.

According to figures from the municipality of Laholm to SVT, it should be about services for a total of SEK 8.6 million that the municipality did not procure under the law. Multi-million contracts that other companies have not had the opportunity to participate in the battle.

According to Malin de Jounge, there is a great deal of responsibility on the part of the individual suppliers, those who were not allowed to submit tenders, to themselves report and complain about incorrect procurement.

- In some cases, this can lead to the cancellation of the contract and the suppliers then being compensated for any lost income.

In certain special cases, the Swedish Competition Authority, whose task is, among other things, to conduct supervision in the procurement area, has the opportunity to go in and do a more in-depth procurement review.

- Then we can investigate if there are special risk factors and if there is a need for more training or other efforts to be able to carry out procurement correctly in the authority, says Malin de Jounge.

Otherwise, authorities that have committed errors can receive damages if the Swedish Competition Authority deems them guilty of a so-called unauthorized direct procurement.

- Then it is ten percent of the contract value itself with a maximum ceiling of SEK 10 million.

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