INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE PROHIBITED AGREEMENT IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS WILL NOT BE CONTINUED

The Competition Council has terminated its investigation into whether the actions of twelve companies complied with the requirements of the Law on Competition in public procurements organised by the Electricity Distribution Operator (ESO).

The investigation was launched in May 2024 following a statement from ESO, indicating that the companies Labas Gas, Geovizija, Vytrita, DS-1, Sandaila, Alduva, Šilda, Skominta, Skomintos statyba, Transmodo, Vilniaus inžinerija, and Žilinskis ir Co may have coordinated their commercial bids, prices, and other actions in eight public procurements held in 2022–2023 for gas pipeline repair and maintenance, potentially dividing the procurements among themselves, pre-determining the winners, or engaging in other competition-restricting behaviour.

During the investigation, inspections were carried out on the premises of some of the suspected companies, and explanations were obtained from the suspected undertakings and their representatives.

After analysing the information received, no evidence was found to confirm that the aforementioned companies had entered into an anti-competitive agreement, and therefore the Competition Council decided to terminate the investigation.

The decision may be appealed to the Regional Administrative Court within one month from the date of its notification or publication on the Competition Council's website.