Most government contract appeals are rejected.

Almost four of every five appeals filed last year against government-awarded contracts were rejected as they were based on “frivolous” grounds, according to a report published yesterday.

Out of the 137 cases filed with the Public Contracts Review Board, 33 were upheld, 90 rejected and a further 14 cases carried forward to this year.

The majority of appeals were filed on contracts whose value was in the range of €12,000 to €120,000. The global value of disputed contracts was €73.5 million.

The 2013 annual report was presented yesterday to Finance Minister Edward Scicluna by the chairman of the Public Contracts Review Board Anthony Cassar.

A sort of Super 5 lottery

Prof. Scicluna remarked that this was the first report published by this body in line with the government’s commitment to bring about more accountability. Dr Cassar remarked that the vast majority of the appeals were being filed on frivolous grounds.

He said that appellant companies were treating this avenue as “a sort of Super 5 lottery” as the fee to file an appeal on contracts worth up to €120,000 was only €400, and therefore believed it was well worth taking the risk.

However, the finance minister said there were no plans for an upward revision of this fee, saying that such a measure would be in contrast with EU efforts, which is pushing for their abolition.

Dr Cassar said bidders who had filed an appeal were often in breach of public procurement regulations and so were automatically disqualified from the tendering process.

The Appeals Board chief also pointed out that objections from local councils represented a third of all cases being filed. As a result, the board would be given training to try to reduce the number of unjustified complaints.

Dr Cassar also remarked that when compared with other countries, the number of appeals filed in Malta was extraordinarily high.

In countries like the UK and Germany, fewer than 10 objections a year are filed.