How we helped the client obtain a refusal to include in the register of bad-faith suppliers

On August 14, 2024, the Voronezh Region Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service refused to include ABT OOO in the register of bad-faith suppliers. 

The organization won the bid to supply disinfectants to a children's dental clinic. The winner of the tender had to sign the contract by August 7, 2024, 23:59. However, when signing the contract with a computer-generated signature on the evening of August 7, the sales manager discovered that the computer-generated signature certificate was invalid, making signing the contract impossible, and contacting technical support did not yield the desired results. At the same time, the organization's director was on vacation and thus unable to sign the contract using his computer-generated signature. The contract was signed in the morning, after the director had returned from vacation. However, a 9-hour delay in the established contract signing deadline has negative consequences: the customer must contact the FAS with a request to include the supplier in the register of bad-faith suppliers. Based on the facts of the appeal, the Federal Antimonopoly Service conducts an investigation. 

Inclusion in the register of bad-faith suppliers for two years prevents organizations from participating in public procurement, and it also has a negative impact on the reputation of private companies, as counterparties frequently refuse to cooperate. 

The supplier contacted our specialists for assistance in resolving this issue. We prepared written explanations and clarified all the circumstances surrounding the incident. Indeed, the certification center that issued the computer-generated signature certificate literally on the eve of signing the contract failed to undergo re-accreditation, resulting in the computer-generated signature certificates being recognized as invalid. In confirmation of this information, we received a letter from the certification center branch, and the same information was posted on the certification center's website. 

The antimonopoly authority was also given documents confirming the director's inability to independently sign documents with a computer-generated signature while he was on vacation, as well as documents confirming the employee's authority to sign contracts under Federal Law No. 44 “On the contract system in the sphere of procurement of goods, works, and services for meeting state and municipal needs.” The rules for maintaining the register of bad-faith suppliers provide for a refusal to include in the register of bad-faith suppliers information if the procurement participant committed actions prior to being identified as evading. Actions indicate it did not intend to evade the contract's conclusion. That is why our task was to confirm the presence of such actions indicating the absence of the organization's intent to avoid signing the contract, especially since the contract was eventually signed, albeit with a delay. 

To accomplish this, we have gathered comprehensive information about the organization. 

• As of the signing of the contract, the goods were fully purchased and ready for shipment.
• Over the course of 7 years (since 2017), the organization has concluded and executed over 70 government contracts totaling over 43 million rubles.
• The organization has been successfully delivering under 44-FZ to the same customer for several years. 

The only grounds for inclusion in the register of bad-faith suppliers are a person's refusal to conclude a contract or to fulfill the terms of a contract, which implies bad faith behavior and the commission of intentional actions (inaction). At the same time, the Russian Federation's Supreme Court has repeatedly instructed antimonopoly authorities and courts to consider all circumstances, including the length of the period of proper experience in the execution of other government contracts. 

The above arguments confirmed the supplier's integrity, and as a result, the Voronezh Region Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service refused to include information about the organization in the register of bad-faith suppliers.