Procurement Law, Competition Law and State Aid

There are numerous regulations in place aimed at making the market as fair as possible and preventing undesirable competition between government and businesses. The question, however, is whether or not every business really does get the same opportunities. A breach of regulations can result in high fines, reputational damage, directors’ and officers’ liability and compensation proceedings. Obviously, that’s not something you want but it’s not always clear if an agreement is against the law or not. TRIP Law is on hand to give you expert advice.

At home with procurement law

Procurement law is continuously adapting and is becoming relevant in more and more areas. Our lawyers are active in all sectors and are well-informed of relevant regulations from Dutch and European jurisdiction. They work for contracting authorities and for businesses tendering for contracts. Our team of lawyers is happy to provide clear and practical advice on:

• whether or not it is compulsory to call work, supplies or services to tender
• compiling and checking tender documentation
• the grounds for an award decision
• legal proceedings such as preliminary relief proceedings or a complaint with the Commission of Tender Experts
• correction of defects in tendering for a contract and a call for tenders
• tendering of special contracts (such as building team contracts and Uniform Administrative Conditions for Integrated Contracts)
• the application of mandatory and optional grounds for exclusion
• the role of circular procurement in energy transition
• the Public Entities (Compliance with European Legislation) Act
• the division of scarce supplies

At home with procurement law

How can your municipality run a marina without violating the Public Enterprises (Market Activities) Act? Are discount agreements allowed? Should you notify the European Commission, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets and/or the Dutch Healthcare Authority about your merger or acquisition? Our team of lawyers is happy to provide clear and practical advice on:

• compliance in order to avoid legal proceedings
• notification of mergers, takeovers and cooperations with the authorities (such as the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets, the European Commission, and/or the Dutch Healthcare Authority)
• checking plans and cooperations meet the conditions for state aid
• compiling and checking contracts in terms of competition and cartel bans (such as franchise agreements and distribution agreements)
• company visits by supervisory bodies (Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets, DNB, Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority and Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service)

At home with state aid

State aid is in principle forbidden, which is why state aid first needs to be submitted for approval with the European Commission. We can guide you through this process. Our team of lawyers is happy to provide clear and practical advice on:

• whether there is a case for state aid or an exemption from state aid
• proceedings in state aid cases
• safeguarding state aid regulations in, for instance, ground transactions or guarantees
• notifying the European Commission of state aid

The assurance of advice that will work

If you need help on any of the areas listed above, or if you need other legal advice concerning procurement law, competition law or state aid, then feel free to contact one of the sector experts at TRIP Law. We’ll then discuss your issue and the right approach, so that we know which specialist is best for you and so you know what to expect. Together, we get the best results.