Competition regulator urges public sector procurers to stamp out bid-rigging

The Competition and Markets Authority has published a “60-second summary” for public sector procurers on how to prevent bid-rigging.

The document outlines the nature of bid-rigging, when suppliers agree to limit competition in the procurement process.

The CMA pointed out that agreements can take several forms, such as:

• Bid rotation – where firms agree to take it in turns to submit the lowest bid;
• Bid suppression – where one or more firms agree not to bid, or to withdraw their bids;
• Cover pricing – where bidders arrange for one or more of them to submit an artificially high bid, distorting the procurer’s impression of the competitive price.

The summary, which can be viewed here, sets out why public sector procurers should care about bid-rigging and how they can spot suspicious bidding patterns.

It also details how procurers can reduce the risks of anti-competitive behaviour.