Wakilii

Gamose Holdings Limited v Lira University [2025] UGPPDPAAT 52

Tribunal · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for administrative review of procurement decision following dismissal of complaint by Accounting Officer
Decision
Application struck out for being filed out of time; procurement process may proceed

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The Tribunal struck out the application as incompetent for being filed out of time. The Accounting Officer's decision dated March 3, 2025 was made beyond the statutory ten-day period prescribed by section 106(7) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act and was therefore inconsequential. The applicant should have filed its application to the Tribunal within ten days from February 22, 2025 (the expiry of the Accounting Officer's decision period), but filed on March 6, 2025, two days late. The Tribunal has no power to extend statutory timelines.

Outcome

Application struck out for being filed out of time; procurement process may proceed

Facts

Lira University initiated procurement for indoor and outdoor cleaning services under framework contract arrangement. Two bidders submitted bids: Gamose Holdings Limited and Bellan Cleaners and Services Limited. On February 7, 2025, Bellan Cleaners was declared the Best Evaluated Bidder with a monthly rate of UGX 3,800,000. Gamose Holdings was eliminated at the financial stage with an evaluated bid price of UGX 3,990,000. Gamose Holdings filed an administrative review complaint with the Accounting Officer on February 12, 2025, alleging that Bellan Cleaners did not meet eligibility requirements and that the evaluation committee was improperly constituted. The Accounting Officer dismissed the complaint on March 3, 2025. Gamose Holdings then filed an application for review before the Tribunal on March 6, 2025, challenging the procurement decision.

Issues

  1. Whether the instant application is competent before the Tribunal.
  2. Whether the evaluation committee that evaluated the bids in the impugned procurement was properly constituted in accordance with the law.
  3. Whether the Respondent evaluated the bid of Bellan Cleaners and Services Ltd in accordance with the criteria specified in the bidding documents and the laws.
  4. Whether there are available remedies to the Parties.

Orders

  • The Application is struck out.
  • The Tribunal's suspension order dated March 6, 2025 is vacated.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Public Procurement — Administrative Review — Statutory Timelines for Accounting Officer's Decision
Under section 106(7) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act Cap 205, an Accounting Officer must make and communicate an administrative review decision within ten calendar days of receipt of a complaint, not ten working days, and this duty is not dependent on payment of administrative review fees by the complainant.
Public Procurement — Administrative Review — Computation of Days
The plural noun 'days' in section 106(7) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act means calendar days, not working days, and refers to any day in the calendar including weekends and public holidays.
Public Procurement — Administrative Review — Effect of Late Decision
An administrative review decision made by an Accounting Officer outside the prescribed statutory timeline is made contrary to law, is no decision at all, and is inconsequential.
Public Procurement Appeals — Time Limits for Filing Application to Tribunal
Where an Accounting Officer fails to make or communicate an administrative review decision within the statutory period, an aggrieved bidder must file an application to the Tribunal within ten days from the date of expiry of the period specified in section 106(7) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.
Public Procurement Appeals — Mandatory Timelines — Tribunal's Jurisdiction
Timelines within the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act are mandatory and set for a purpose. The Tribunal has no power to enlarge or extend time, and once a party fails to move within the time set by law, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is extinguished as far as the matter is concerned.

Legislation cited (13)

Cases cited (11)

  • JV AGT S.P.A & Zhucheng Dingheng Machinery Co. Ltd v Private Sector Foundation Uganda (Application No. 29 of 2022)
  • Galleria in Africa Ltd v Uganda Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 08 of 2017)
  • Coil Ltd v National Housing and Construction Company Limited (Application No. 23 of 2021)
  • JILK Construction Company Limited v Kira Municipal Council (Application No. 31 of 2024)
  • Raxio Data Centre SMC Ltd v Bank of Uganda (Application No. 21 of 2024)
  • Super Taste Limited v Bank of Uganda (Application No. 33 of 2021)
  • Sanlam General Insurance (U) Limited v Uganda National Roads Authority (Application No. 29 of 2021)
  • [2023] EWCA Civ 54
  • Lester v Garland (1808) 15 Ves 248
  • Eclipse Edisoil JVC Ltd v Napak District Local Government (High Court Civil Appeal No. 05 of 2024)
  • D&D Law Publishing House Limited v Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (Application No. 4 of 2025)

Full judgment

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

Gamose Holdings Limited v Lira University 2025 UGPPDPAAT 52 (27 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.