Competition Committee flags widespread violations in government tenders

According to the Competition Committee, more than 23,000 public procurement procedures with a total initial value of UZS 18.8 trillion were examined during the year.

The committee reported that 28,300 anti-competitive actions were detected during 16,100 tender procedures conducted by both contracting authorities and participating companies.

The violations covered a wide range of practices affecting competition and transparency in the procurement process.

Among the most common violations were:

• 16,000 cases of breaches of established tender procedures
• 1,145 cases of coordinated actions between bidders
• 801 cases of unjustified disqualification of participants
• 8,647 cases involving the creation of advantages for specific bidders
• 685 cases of affiliation between participating companies
• 61 cases of affiliation between contracting authorities and bidders
• 948 other anti-competitive actions

The committee said the identified violations were reviewed jointly with law enforcement agencies and other authorized institutions.

As a result of the investigation, materials related to 11,400 procurement procedures were forwarded to competent authorities.

Legal cases were initiated in connection with 4,708 procurement procedures. In addition, 714 administrative offense protocols were prepared against officials and submitted to courts.

Financial penalties were imposed on corporate customers found to have committed violations. Authorities also issued recommendations aimed at eliminating the violations and preventing similar incidents in the future.

Authorities also plan to introduce a new electronic module using artificial intelligence for public procurement oversight.

The system, expected to be launched starting in March, will calculate the average market prices of goods and services in order to improve transparency and reduce the risk of manipulation in government tenders.