Wakilii

D and D Law Publishing Hose Limited v Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation [2025] UGPPDPAAT 7

Tribunal · 2025 Application Struck Out AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for administrative review of procurement cancellation and subsequent contract award
Decision
Application struck out as incompetent for failure to comply with statutory time limits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Tribunal struck out the application as incompetent. The applicant, a bidder in a cancelled procurement process, failed to file its complaint within the mandatory ten-day period prescribed by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act. The applicant first became aware of the procurement cancellation on 30 January 2024 but did not file until 20 February 2025. The Tribunal held that a bidder who participated in an impugned procurement cannot transform into a person whose rights are adversely affected under section 115(1)(b) to circumvent statutory time limits. The Tribunal has no power to extend time under the Act.

Outcome

Application struck out as incompetent for failure to comply with statutory time limits

Facts

Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation initiated a procurement for outsourcing the printing of the 7th edition of the laws of Uganda on 7 November 2023. The applicant submitted a bid on 13 November 2023 and participated in negotiations on 17 November 2023, agreeing to reduce its bid price. On 11 January 2024, the respondent's contracts committee approved cancellation of the procurement and initiation of a fresh process. The applicant's director attended a pre-bid meeting for the new procurement on 30 January 2024, where he learned of the cancellation. The applicant did not file any complaint with the respondent's accounting officer. On 20 February 2025, the applicant filed this application challenging the cancellation and subsequent award to New Vision Printing and Publishing Corporation.

Issues

  1. Whether the Application is competent before the Tribunal?
  2. Whether the Respondent's interference with, frustration and termination of the procurement process under Ref. UPPC/NCONS/2023-24/017 was lawful?
  3. Whether the direct procurement and award of contract to print the Revised 7th Edition of the laws of Uganda to the New Vision was lawful?
  4. Whether there are available remedies to the Parties?

Orders

  • The Application is struck out.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Public Procurement — Locus Standi — Bidder Status
A bidder who participated in an impugned procurement process cannot transform into a person whose rights are adversely affected by the decision of the accounting officer for purposes of obtaining locus standi before the Tribunal under section 115(1)(b) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.
Public Procurement — Time Limits — Mandatory Nature
Timelines within the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act are mandatory and couched in mandatory terms. Once a party fails to move within the time set by law, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is extinguished. The Tribunal has no enabling provision to enlarge or extend time.
Public Procurement — Complaints — Time for Filing
Under section 106(3)(b) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, a complaint against a procuring and disposing entity must be made within ten working days after the date the bidder first becomes aware or ought to have become aware of the circumstances that give rise to the complaint.
Public Procurement — Cancellation Before Award — Tribunal Jurisdiction
The Tribunal is barred by section 115(3)(a) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act from reviewing a decision by a procuring entity to cancel a procurement process prior to award of a contract where the cancellation was effected in accordance with section 81(1) of the Act.

Legislation cited (20)

Cases cited (19)

  • Obon Infrastructural Development JV v Mbarara City & Anor (PAT Application No. 20 of 2021)
  • EAA Company Limited v Uganda National Bureau of Standards (PAT Application No. 21 of 2023)
  • Col. (Rtd) Dr. Kiiza Besigye v Yoweri Museveni (SC Election Petition No. 1 of 2001)
  • Vambeco Enterprises v Attorney General (Misc. Application No. 0265 of 2014)
  • Clear Channels Independent (U) Ltd v Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (HCMA No. 380 of 2008)
  • Globe World (U) Ltd v Mbarara City Council & 2 Ors (PAT Application No. 14 of 2023)
  • Njau & Others v City Council of Nairobi [1976-1985] 1 EA 397
  • Gabikan Engineering Ltd v Ministry of Works and Transport and Zhonghao Construction Engineering Co. Ltd (PAT Application No. 50 of 2024)
  • Tijos Investment Ltd v Lira City Council (PAT Application No. 5 of 2024)
  • Old Kampala Students Association v PPDA and Old Kampala Senior Secondary School (PAT Application No. 20 of 2021)
  • Meera Investment Limited v National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board & Riverstone Africa Ltd/Grand Capital Reality (PAT Application No. 44 of 2024)
  • Kasokoso Services Limited v Jinja School of Nursing and Midwifery (PAT Application No. 13 of 2021)
  • Nampongo and Anor v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 43 of 2012)
  • Mbarara City & Anor v Obon Infrastructure Development JV (High Court Civil Appeal No. 45 of 2021)
  • China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation v Uganda National Roads Authority (PAT Application No. 11 of 2023)
  • MBJ Technologies Limited v Mbarara City & Ors (PAT Application No. 17 of 2022)
  • Apple Properties Limited v Uganda Human Rights Commission (PAT Application No. 6 of 2023)
  • Eclipse Edisoil JVC Ltd v Napak District Local Government (High Court Civil Appeal No. 05 of 2024)
  • Palm Construction Company Limited v Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (PAT Application No. 45 of 2024)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

D and D Law Publishing Hose Limited v Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation 2025 UGPPDPAAT 7 (12 March 2025)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.