The municipality of Pljevlja annulled the tender for the procurement of pellets, which are delivered to citizens at subsidized prices, although the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures, after a complaint by one of the participants in the tender from the company "Mikro-Mont" from Bijelo Polje, annulled the decision on the selection of the most favorable offer and ordered the local administration to eliminate the irregularities within 15 days.
"The commission for the implementation of the public procurement procedure of heating pellets cancels the public procurement procedure in its entirety. Every year, starting in 2015, in order to reduce environmental pollution in the city, which is especially pronounced in the winter due to coal burning, the Municipality subsidizes wood-based firewood for citizens who have the conditions for it. Regarding the specific case, the offer of the complainant who was ranked second in the public procurement procedure is more expensive by 56.403 euros excluding VAT, i.e. by 68.247,63 euros including VAT, which is the price of a three-room apartment with central heating in the very center of Pljevlja, or 346 tons of pellets loaded on a convoy of 15 trucks. Protecting the reputation of our Municipality, as well as our personal dignity, we make the only correct decision - the open procedure for the public procurement of heating pellets is canceled, because none of us is ready to honor anyone with such a sum of money, half of which is paid by the citizens from their own pockets, and the other half are budget funds, which are also the funds of our citizens. And especially that a formal error in the declaration does not cost so much for the bidders, that is, no one suffers any damage from it. Otherwise, the media would be buzzing about our dishonesty and corruption, and we would be branded by our fellow citizens", the explanation of the decision states.
President of the Municipality Dario Vranes he said that the time of rigged tenders and dubious deals is in the past and that he will not allow deals to the detriment of the municipal budget.
"This is not the first time that the Municipality cancels a public invitation due to a similar situation. I hope that certain individuals, civil servants and many others who are prone to illegal actions and protections will get used to the fact that the time of fixed jobs for selected individuals is over in Pljevlja", Vraneš said.
He pointed out that the citizens will not suffer and that everyone who registered on time will receive a pellet.
"I know that some people want to use power centers outside of Pljevlja in order to get pellet business illegally, and they think they can blackmail us by telling the citizens that they will run out of pellets. I assure you that it will not be like that, but that the most favorable bidder will be selected. The interest of citizens and the Municipality of Pljevlja comes first. I wish that the public invitation did not have to be cancelled, but we will not agree to blackmail at any price, says Vraneš.
He explained that the selected bidder was the most favorable with the price, and that the second-ranked bidder was 68.000 euros more expensive.
The municipality announced a tender for the collection of offers for the purchase of pellets on January 29.
"After the end of the deadline for the collection of bids and the procedure for selecting the most favorable bidder, the municipality of Pljevlja - the Secretariat for Housing and Communal Affairs, Traffic and Water, by a decision dated March 14, 3, chose the offer of the local company "Jasen" as the most favorable, while the offers of the company "Mikro-Mont" Bijelo Polje, then the joint offer of the companies "Javor Internacional" Pljevlja and "Nikola" Berana, as well as the company "Eurozox" were assessed as correct and ranked as second, third and fourth place", the explanation states. decisions.
"Jasen" offered pellets at a price without VAT in the amount of 440.100 euros, and "Mikro-Mont" at a price without VAT in the total amount of 496.503 euros. The offered prices of the third and fourth ranked were significantly more expensive and amounted to EUR 536.679 and EUR 580.165 without VAT.
The pellet supplier "Mikro-Mont" submitted an appeal to the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures against the decision of the Municipality due to incompletely and improperly established factual situation, violation of procedural rules and incorrect application of substantive law. They point out that the offer of "Jasen" is incorrect, because the pellet it offered does not meet the A1 quality standard, but only meets the A2 quality standard.
The Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures adopted the appeal of the company "Mikro-Mont" and annulled the decision on the selection of the most favorable bidder for the procurement of pellets for the citizens of Pljevlja at subsidized prices in a decision dated May 9. The municipality was ordered to re-evaluate and decide within 15 days in the open procedure of public procurement of pellets for heating.
"The Commission for the Protection of Rights finds that with the challenged decision, the contracting authority incompletely and improperly determined the factual situation of importance for the existence of grounds for the mandatory exclusion from the public procurement procedure of the tenderer "Jasen" with regard to the way of making the declaration of this business entity, which is why the contested decision is illegal, because is not in accordance with Article 143 paragraph 3 point 7 and 9 of the PPL, and as such it should be annulled and the case returned for retrial and decision, based on Article 192 paragraph 1 point 8 of the PPL and Article 126 paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Law on Administrative Procedure, in order for the contracting authority to eliminate the irregularities pointed out to him, which he is obliged to do in accordance with Article 192 paragraph 3 of the Law on Public Procurement.
In order to improve the environment and reduce air pollution, the Municipality of Pljevlja has been procuring environmentally friendly energy for households in Pljevlja since the 2015/16 heating season, and the program enables the purchase of up to two tons of pellets through a 50 percent subsidy.
How successful this program is, they claim in the local administration, is best shown by the fact that the number of individual pellet stoves tripled, from 280 in the first year of subsidies, to over 1100.
In addition to subsidies for the purchase of environmentally friendly fuel, the Municipality has, over the past few years, allocated significant funds to reduce the energy required for heating by applying energy efficiency measures.
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