Bulgarian public procurement appeals often have a 10-day preclusive deadline. This guide explains CPC procedure, suspension, preliminary enforcement and appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.
Vassilev & Chisuse Law Firm · 2026-10-11 · Legal review: 12 October 2026
Appeals in Bulgarian public procurement are subject to short and generally preclusive deadlines. The Commission for Protection of Competition is the specialised first-instance body reviewing the legality of contracting authorities' decisions, actions and omissions under the Public Procurement Act, while its final decisions can be challenged before the Supreme Administrative Court.
For bidders and candidates, timing is critical. In many cases the appeal period is 10 days, and missing the applicable starting date can make an otherwise substantive challenge inadmissible.
The Public Procurement Act allows challenges against specified decisions of contracting authorities, including decisions opening procedures, decisions selecting a contractor, decisions terminating a procedure and other decisions expressly covered by the Act. Certain actions and omissions that obstruct access or participation in a procurement procedure can also be challenged.
The Commission reviews legality rather than commercial desirability. Grounds may include discriminatory or unlawful technical, financial, economic or qualification requirements, procedural breaches, unlawful evaluation or ranking, and other violations affecting the complainant's rights or participation.
The principal appeal period is 10 days, but the event from which it begins depends on the act being challenged. Depending on the case, the period may run from publication, service of the decision, expiry of a statutory amendment period, notification of an action, or expiry of the period in which an omitted action should have been performed.
The Commission expressly describes the 10-day period under Article 197(1) of the Public Procurement Act as preclusive. Once it expires, the right to challenge the relevant act, action or omission is lost.
The deadline must therefore be calculated from the specific statutory trigger rather than from the date on which the bidder internally decides to challenge the procurement.
Standing depends on the particular procurement act. The Public Procurement Act distinguishes between interested persons, interested candidates and interested participants for different categories of appeals.
The complainant must explain and, where required, prove its legal interest. A challenge can be rejected as inadmissible if the appellant does not have the required status or has lost the necessary legal interest.
The complaint is filed with the Commission for Protection of Competition. The complainant must also send a copy to the contracting authority whose decision, action or omission is being challenged.
The complaint must be in writing and in Bulgarian and contain the statutory particulars, including procurement identification data, the challenged act or conduct, the circumstances establishing legal interest, all objections and their grounds, the requested relief and the complainant's signature.
The required attachments include evidence that the appeal period has been observed, proof of payment of the applicable state fee, evidence that the complaint was sent to the contracting authority and, where relevant, documents showing representative authority and legal interest.
Not in every case. A complaint against a contracting authority's decision, action or omission other than the decision selecting the successful tenderer does not generally suspend the procedure unless the complainant requests the interim measure of suspension.
The request for suspension must be made at the same time as the complaint. For complaints filed under the current regime, the procedure is suspended from notification of the contracting authority that the Commission has opened proceedings until the order rejecting the interim measure becomes final, or until the decision on the complaint where the interim measure is granted.
Special rules apply to challenges against the decision selecting the contractor, including the possibility for the contracting authority to request preliminary enforcement in the cases and under the conditions provided by the Public Procurement Act.
When the decision selecting the successful tenderer is challenged, the contracting authority may request the Commission to allow preliminary enforcement of that decision within the period for submitting its position on the complaint. A late request is not examined.
The request must be reasoned and supported by evidence. The Commission rules in closed session within three days after receiving the contracting authority's position. Its order can be appealed before the Supreme Administrative Court within three days of notification, and the court rules on the interlocutory appeal in closed session within 14 days after proceedings are opened.
A contract may be concluded after the order allowing preliminary enforcement has become final, subject to the statutory conditions.
The Commission can dismiss the complaint, annul an unlawful decision, annul an unlawful action or establish an unlawful omission and return the procurement to the last lawful procedural step, or apply the other remedies provided by the Public Procurement Act.
Where the violation cannot be remedied, the consequences can include termination of the procurement. The Commission can also give mandatory instructions regarding the further course of the procedure in the situations provided by law.
The Commission's current guidance states that it should rule within one month after proceedings are opened for procurements at the value levels under Article 20(1) of the Public Procurement Act and within 15 days in the other cases. The Commission notes that these periods are instructive, so objectively complex cases can take longer.
The written decision and reasons must be prepared and announced to the parties no later than seven days after the Commission rules.
Yes. A final decision of the Commission for Protection of Competition on a public procurement complaint can be challenged before a three-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court within 14 days after it is notified to the parties. The court's decision is final.
Separate shorter deadlines apply to certain interlocutory orders, including orders concerning interim measures or termination of proceedings. These deadlines should be checked against the particular order rather than inferred from the 14-day period for merits decisions.
The Public Procurement Act requires the complaint to contain a complete and specific statement of the objections and the grounds supporting them. An appellant should therefore avoid filing a vague protective complaint on the assumption that all arguments can be developed later.
Procurement documents, clarification correspondence, evaluation records, published decisions and the tender itself should be reviewed immediately after the challenged act is received or published so that the legal grounds can be identified within the short filing period.
The Commission's current guidance notes that an interested person may seek compensation for damage caused by violations in the conduct of a procurement procedure and conclusion of the contract under the applicable rules of the Administrative Procedure Code and the Public Procurement Act.
A damages claim is a separate question from the timely challenge of the procurement act. Businesses should preserve evidence of both the alleged infringement and the loss they claim was caused by it.
The first step is to identify the exact decision or action and calculate the statutory appeal period. The bidder should then obtain the procurement file material available to it, assess standing, identify all legal grounds and determine whether a request for suspension or another interim measure is necessary.
Because the deadline is preclusive, internal commercial approval to litigate should run in parallel with the legal review. Waiting for extended internal escalation before instructing counsel can consume most of the available filing period.
Vassilev & Chisuse Law Firm advises bidders, candidates and contracting authorities on Bulgarian public procurement, including review of procurement documentation, challenges before the Commission for Protection of Competition, interim measures and proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court.
For related matters, see our Public Procurement, Administrative and Public Law and Dispute Resolution practices.
This article reflects the Bulgarian public procurement appeal framework reviewed as of 12 October 2026 and is provided for general information only. It does not constitute individual legal advice. Appeal periods depend on the specific act, publication or notification event and procedure, and should be calculated separately for each case.