Judgment of the General Court (Ninth Chamber) of 17 September 2015 —
Ricoh Belgium v Council

(Case T‑691/13)

Public service and supply contracts — Tender procedure — Black and white multifunction printers and maintenance services — Rejection of the bid made by a tenderer — Obligation to state reasons — Transparency

1.                     EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012; Commission Regulation No 1268/2012) (see para. 31)

2.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender — Assessment in the light of information available to the applicant at the time the action brought — Information provided to the applicant not showing sufficiently clearly the reasons for rejection of the tender and not sufficiently explaining the characteristics and advantages of the successful tender — Inadequate statement of reasons (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 113(2); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 161(3)) (see paras 32-34, 37-40, 42, 43, 47, 58-67)

3.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender — Obligation to communicate, following a written request, the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender accepted and the name of the tenderer — Obligation on the awarding authority to provide a detailed analysis of the tender accepted and the tender of the unsuccessful tenderer — None (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 113(2); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 161(3)) (see para. 41)

Re:

APPLICATION for annulment of the decision of the Council of 29 October 2013 not to accept the tender submitted by the applicant in tendering procedure UCA 034/13, relating to the purchase or hire of black and white multifunction printers (MFPs) and associated maintenance services in the buildings occupied by the General Secretariat of the Council (OJ 2013/S 83-138901), and to award the contract to another tenderer.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls the decision of the Council of 29 October 2013 not to accept the tender submitted by the applicant in tendering procedure UCA 034/13, relating to the purchase or hire of black and white multifunction printers (MFPs) and associated maintenance services in the buildings occupied by the General Secretariat of the Council in so far as it concerns lot No 4;

2. Orders the Council of the European Union to pay the costs.