220 euros in filing fees not paid = claim struck + 700 euros to the municipality: the most expensive week in a cat-services provider's life
SRL Jonckers-Thoumsin challenged the Chièvres cat sterilisation contract award in May 2018 but never paid the 220 euro filing fee; in January 2023 the Council declares the annulment action 'non-accomplished' and orders it to pay 700 euros in procedural indemnity to the municipality.
What happened?
In May 2018 the municipality of Chièvres (Hainaut) awarded a public contract for the sterilisation and identification of domestic cats. SRL Jonckers-Thoumsin — established a few metres from the town hall — was not the lucky winner and on 24 May 2018 filed both an extreme-urgency action and an annulment action with the Council of State. The urgency action was quickly dismissed on 12 June 2018 (ruling 241.766). For the annulment action, articles 4 and 5 of the 19 March 2017 Act (legal aid fund) and article 70 of the Regent's Decree of 23 August 1948 required payment of a 200 euro filing fee and a 20 euro contribution. By letter of 12 June 2018 the registry invited the applicant to pay. Nothing came. On 13 July 2018 the registry announced that the chamber would declare the action 'non-accomplished' unless the applicant requested a hearing within 15 days. No such request came. And then came the slowness: almost four and a half years later, on 24 January 2023, the VIth chamber finally ruled. Operative part: the annulment action is declared 'non-accomplished', and Jonckers-Thoumsin must pay the municipality 700 euros in procedural indemnity. The applicant had, at the 7 June 2018 hearing, tried to challenge the 700 euro basic amount as 'excessive', without concrete arguments. An interesting detail for procurement bidders: article 67, § 1 of the general procedural rules caps the procedural indemnity at 1,400 euros, except for disputes concerning 'public contracts and certain works, services and supplies contracts' — there the ceiling rises to 2,800 euros. Chièvres only asked the basic amount, so the bill stayed at 700 euros. But for an unpaid 220 euro filing fee, that remains a terrible bill.
Why does this matter?
Many SMEs file their extreme-urgency action with counsel and treat the annulment action as an automatic safety net. Wrong: once the filing fee — then 220 euros, today 200 euros + 24 euros contribution — is not paid within 30 days, the annulment action is legally dead. Worse: the opposing party can, without any substantive examination, recover 700 euros in procedural indemnity — and in procurement cases that ceiling rises to 2,800 euros. The second danger sits in the slowness: between the non-payment (summer 2018) and the judgment (January 2023) passed four and a half years. Anyone thinking the case is 'dormant' in the meantime gets caught by an unexpected cost order. For contracting authorities this is a useful reminder: if your opponent fails to pay filing fees on time, you have a procedural knock-out and a recoverable cost.
The lesson
When you file an annulment action with the Council of State: immediately after the registry's letter — which usually contains a payment form with structured reference — diarise the 30-day payment deadline. In procurement cases: also consider formally discontinuing if you intend to drop the action, so that the 2,800 euro procedural indemnity ceiling does not catch you. As a contracting authority: systematically ask in your observations note for the maximum indemnity (up to 2,800 euros) when the opposing party fails procedurally — the Council awards what is requested, no more.
Ask yourself
Have you filed an annulment action with the Council recently? Check today: (a) have you actually paid the filing fee form within 30 days, (b) if not, did you request a hearing within 15 days after the warning letter, and (c) have you explicitly discontinued or are you still active? A 'sleeping' action does not escape the cost order.
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 →