The State Audit Service has suspended the implementation of a UAH 390 million contract for the repair of a road in Donetsk region, which is located near the war zone. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the press service of the State Audit Service.
Violations of public procurement legislation were discovered by auditors in Donetsk region during the monitoring of the procurement procedure for the overhaul of the public road of national importance T-05-09 Velyka Novosilka – Amvrosiivka.
The contracting authority, the Road Service in Donetsk region, did not reject the bids of the bidders that did not meet the requirements of the tender documentation in terms of confirming the qualification criteria. Instead, in the absence of legal grounds, it issued a notice requiring the elimination of non-compliances and entered into a contract with one of the bidders worth UAH 390 million.
Disagreeing with the auditors’ conclusion, the controlled entity appealed to the Donetsk District Administrative Court. However, the court dismissed the claim.
The validity of the auditors’ opinion was also confirmed by the First Administrative Court of Appeal when considering the controlled entity’s appeal.
The Supreme Court put an end to this case.
Following this, the Donetsk Oblast Road Service unilaterally terminated its obligations under the contract in response to the auditors’ demands.