The data analysis and consulting company Resta won a public procurement dispute

COBALT successfully represented Resta, a private limited company providing data analysis and consulting services, in a public procurement dispute concerning the maintenance and development of the TARU reporting and statistics module, organized by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund. Resta was declared the successful bidder in the procurement process, but the company that placed second challenged the results, arguing that it should have been selected instead.

During the dispute proceedings before the Public Procurement Review Committee, a key practical issue was addressed: where to draw the line between the bidder’s duty of care and the contracting authority’s duty to provide clarification. The committee concluded that if a bidder submits an invalid certificate instead of the required valid one, it is not considered an obvious mistake that would obligate the contracting authority to verify whether the bidder actually possesses the required document. Submitting an invalid certificate constitutes a breach of the bidder’s duty of care. Consequently, the challenge was dismissed, allowing COBALT’s client to proceed with signing the public procurement contract.

The client was advised by Managing Associate Kaidi Reiljan-Sihvart. The team also included Procurement Specialist Laura Frolov.