Wakilii

JV AGT SP and 2 HUCHENG DING CHENG Machinery Company Limited v Private Sector Foundation Uganda (Application No 29 of 2022)

Tribunal · [2022] UGPPDPAAT 28 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of procurement decision following administrative review dismissal
Decision
Application struck out as time barred

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Tribunal struck out the application on grounds of time bar. The Accounting Officer's administrative review decision was made and communicated outside the statutory ten-day period, rendering it of no legal consequence. The applicant was required to file with the Tribunal within ten days of the expiry of that period but filed eleven days late. The Tribunal held that statutory time limits in procurement law are mandatory and strictly enforced, with no power to extend time.

Outcome

Application struck out as time barred

Facts

The Respondent initiated a procurement for supply, delivery and installation of kitchen equipment for the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute. On 9 August 2022, M/S Bivid (U) Ltd was declared the best evaluated bidder. The Applicant's bid was disqualified on grounds that the contracts cited as similar experience did not meet the similarity requirement in terms of value, scope and complexity. The Applicant applied for administrative review on 19 August 2022. The Accounting Officer's decision dismissing the complaint was dated 24 September 2022 but received on 7 September 2022. The Applicant filed with the Tribunal on 19 September 2022.

Issues

  1. Whether the Application is brought against a wrong party?
  2. Whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction to entertain the Application?
  3. Whether the Application is time barred?
  4. Whether the Respondent erred by holding that none of the contracts submitted by the Applicant met the similarity requirement in terms of scope, value, nature and complexity?

Orders

  • Application struck out.
  • Tribunal's suspension order dated 20 September 2022 vacated.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Administrative Law — Public Procurement — Proper Party — Implementing Entity as Respondent
Where a procurement is conducted by an implementing entity on behalf of the Government under a subsidiary grant agreement, and the bidding document directs procurement-related complaints to that entity, the implementing entity is a proper party to administrative review proceedings before the PPDA Tribunal.
Administrative Law — Public Procurement — Tribunal Jurisdiction — World Bank Financed Projects
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act applies to procurements financed by the World Bank under the Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers unless those regulations expressly oust the application of the Act or the jurisdiction of the PPDA Tribunal. In the absence of such express provision, the Tribunal has jurisdiction.
Administrative Law — Public Procurement — Administrative Review — Statutory Time Limits
An Accounting Officer is mandated by section 89(7) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act to make and communicate a decision on an administrative review within ten days of receipt of the complaint. An administrative review decision made and communicated outside this statutory period is made in breach of the law and is of no legal consequence.
Administrative Law — Public Procurement — Time Bar — Application to Tribunal
Where an Accounting Officer fails to make or communicate a decision within ten days of receipt of a complaint, a bidder may apply to the PPDA Tribunal within ten days of the expiry of that period under section 91(2)(b) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act. An application filed outside this period is time barred and the Tribunal's jurisdiction is extinguished.
Administrative Law — Public Procurement — Time Limits — Mandatory Nature
Time limits set in the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act are mandatory, are a matter of substantive law and not mere technicalities, and must be strictly complied with. The Tribunal has no power to enlarge or extend time. Non-compliance with statutory time limits renders proceedings incurably defective and incompetent.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (9)

  • Arua Municipal Council v Arua United Transporters Sacco (Civil Appeal No. 25 of 2017)
  • Lira Regional Hospital v PPDA (Application No. 6 of 2014)
  • Phenehas Agaba v Swift Freight International Ltd (HC CS No. 143 of 2000)
  • Dott Services Limited & Hes Infra Private Limited JV v Ministry of Water and Environment (Application No. 25 of 2021)
  • Galleria in Africa Ltd v Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2017)
  • Vision Scientific & Engineering Limited v Makerere University (Applications No. 26 and 27 of 2022)
  • Mugabi David v Sembabule District Local Government (Application No. 24 of 2022)
  • Mugerwa Fred v Sembabule District Local Government (Application No. 23 of 2022)
  • Sanlam General Insurance v UNRA (Application No. 29 of 2021)

Full judgment

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

JV AGT SP and 2 HUCHENG DING CHENG Machinery Company Limited v Private Sector Foundation Uganda (Application No 29 of 2022) 2022 UGPPDPAAT 28 (10 October 2022)
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.