Chairman of the UOHS: The prohibition on fulfilling the contract with the MMR for the digitalization of the building process remains in effect

Brno/Praha - The Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) Petr Mlsna confirmed the prohibition of fulfilling the contract between the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) and the company InQool for the creation of part of the systems for the digitization of building proceedings. The prohibition will come into effect in four months. Mlsna rejected the ministry's appeal. The ÚOHS informed about it today in a press release. The MMR communication representative Petr Waleczko told ČTK that the ÚOHS issued a ban on fulfilling the contract for providing information systems for digitizing building proceedings, but that does not mean the contract is invalid. According to him, the ban on fulfillment does not jeopardize the commissioning of digitization by July 1.

"In this case, the contracting authority ordered a public contract in a negotiation procedure without publication, that is, without any competition for the contract, without having fulfilled the legal requirements for the use of this procedure," stated the ÚOHS. The ministry's procedure was addressed at the request of the companies Expert & Partner engineering CZ and VITA software.

The office pointed out that the urgent circumstances cited by the MMR were self-inflicted. Specifically, by conducting the previous open procedure for digitization in violation of the law, which the ÚOHS annulled.

"The contracting authority could and should have anticipated the inconsistency of its procedures in the open procedure for the public contract for digitizing building proceedings with the law, and thus found itself in a time squeeze due to its previous actions. The chairman of the ÚOHS also confirmed that the contracting authority did not present arguments that would justify the non-imposition of the fulfillment ban or a longer postponement than stipulated by the authority, especially in a situation where negotiation without publication is the least transparent type of procurement," stated the ÚOHS.

According to MMR, Mlsna relies in this decision on his previous rejection in last year's case regarding the original contract for the digitization of building proceedings. MMR does not agree with this previous decision and has filed an administrative lawsuit against it.

"The outcome of which is still awaited. We are convinced that MMR proceeded completely transparently in an open competition and in accordance with the law. It did not cause this extremely urgent situation, in which it was impossible to provide the digitization systems in an open competition. For this reason, it chose the negotiation procedure without publication for the key part of the entire architecture," added Waleczko.

According to Waleczko, the office acknowledged MMR's stance that this is a contract associated with an extraordinary public interest, and therefore prohibited the fulfillment of the contract approximately from the end of September. However, this deadline will allow the systems to be delivered to the extent required by law.

By November 3, MMR signed a contract with InQool for digitization in a negotiation procedure without publication. It is to deliver key information systems for the digitization of building proceedings for 37 million crowns. InQool can fulfill the contract until the ÚOHS decision comes into effect.

The digitization of building proceedings is being introduced by a new Building Act, which is expected to take effect on July 1 this year. The validity of the law has been postponed twice already, originally the system was to be functional in the summer of last year. The reason was that the ÚOHS annulled the contract for its establishment several times due to the non-transparency of the competition.

In March, MMR announced that it had chosen the supplier for the national geoportal for spatial planning (NGÚP), which is also part of the new Building Act. The ministry stated that it would be a key information system for public administration, enabling coordination and sharing of spatial plans including proposals, sending comments or objections online, and reducing bureaucracy.

For approximately 151 million crowns, the NGÚP system along with hardware will be provided by the company Sevitech CZ. To avoid delays due to possible scrutiny of the contract by the anti-monopoly office, MMR contracted it directly through a negotiation procedure without publication, just like the contract for InQool in November. This contract is also being reviewed by the ÚOHS, but it has not yet made a decision.

The total amount that MMR has allocated for the digitization of building proceedings is expected to reach 650 million crowns over the next two to three years after accounting for hardware costs. It should thus be implemented for approximately one-third of the amount for which the entire project was supposed to be realized under the previous Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (ANO). The establishment of the geoportal is not included in this amount. The current form of digitization is criticized by some entities and experts who are unsure whether the office will be able to implement it by the planned deadline.

President Petr Pavel, after a meeting with mayors in Pardubice on Wednesday, stated that he would support postponing the launch of the digitization of building proceedings. According to him, it could spare citizens and companies from inconveniences. Mayors have concerns about the onset of digitized building proceedings due to insufficient preparation of officials and equipment. However, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates), the final details are being polished, and postponement would bring more harm than benefit. His office will present the system to officials at the beginning of June, publishing instructional videos and preparing training.

The ANO movement also called on the government today to postpone the start of the digitization of building proceedings at least until the end of the year, so that officials at building offices can prepare.