Withdrawing your extreme-urgency two days before the hearing still costs €920 — Dumay-Mior learns the lesson in the Toit & Moi fire-detection file
Dumay-Mior voluntarily withdrew its extreme-urgency request against the irregularity finding for its fire-detection maintenance offer to social housing operator Toit & Moi before the hearing — and was still ordered to pay the enrolment fee, the contribution and the full €700 procedural indemnity.
What happened?
The cooperative society Toit & Moi (social housing in the Mons region, headquartered in Mons) launched a tender for the maintenance of its fire-detection installations (specifications S/19/0159 BIS). NV Établissements Dumay-Mior bid. On 15 November 2019 Toit & Moi's board ruled the offer irregular. Dumay-Mior went to the Council of State on 3 December 2019 with an extreme-urgency request. By order of 5 December 2019 the case was scheduled for hearing on 18 December 2019 at 10 a.m. Toit & Moi filed its observations and the administrative file, expressly requesting that its offers and price exchanges remain confidential. Two days before the hearing, on 16 December 2019, Dumay-Mior notified the Council that it withdrew its extreme-urgency request. On 10 January 2020 acting president Imre Kovalovszky took note. The confidentiality request was declared moot because the procedure ended. The cost ruling fell entirely on Dumay-Mior: €200 enrolment fee, €20 contribution and a €700 procedural indemnity to Toit & Moi. No reduction, no apportionment — voluntary withdrawal before the hearing leaves the applicant on the hook for the full procedural cost.
Why does this matter?
Filing an extreme-urgency request is often a tactical move to apply pressure. Once the contracting authority files its case and arguments, the chances of success sometimes look slim — and the question of withdrawing arises. Usually that is wise. But don't expect a discount: the Council of State imposes the full basic procedural indemnity, even for voluntary withdrawal. Meanwhile, any request to keep tender prices or administrative files confidential becomes moot — which doesn't mean the data disappear: they stay in the file and may resurface in a later annulment procedure.
The lesson
Before launching an extreme-urgency request: prepare a cost estimate including the opposing party's full procedural indemnity (€700 base, potentially more if a justified increase is granted) plus enrolment fee and contribution. Plan on at least €920 of 'own risk' if the appeal fails or is voluntarily withdrawn. And if you have confidentiality concerns: handle them in the specifications or by NDA, not through an ad-hoc Council of State request that lapses the moment you stop the case.
Ask yourself
Considering withdrawing your extreme-urgency request? Add at least €920 to your decision (€200 enrolment fee + €20 contribution + €700 procedural indemnity). Does that change the calculation? And have you put confidential business information in your petition that will remain in the file with no protection mechanism?
About this database
The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →