Urgent suspension of pellet stove lot awards MEBAR Walloon Region — contractor classification must be assessed on cumulative value of all awarded lots — no analogous application of framework agreement case law
The Council of State suspended the award of five pellet stove lots to Au Coin du Feu under the MEBAR contract because the contracting authority failed to verify the contractor classification against the cumulative value of all awarded lots (€769,811.32, requiring class 4 while the tenderer only held class 2), and rejected the analogy with framework agreements as the contract involved a single procedure with one offer and one award decision.
What happened?
The Walloon Region tendered heating equipment installation works for low-income households (MEBAR program) through an open procedure with 24 lots across two categories: general stoves and pellet stoves, per geographic zone. Six tenderers submitted offers. Au Coin du Feu was awarded six lots totaling €769,811.32 but only held class 2 contractor classification (max €275,000). The Council rejected the defense that classification should be verified per individual purchase order (bon de commande) or per lot by analogy with framework agreements. The Council confirmed that classification is determined by the cumulative value of all lots awarded to the same tenderer, that a purchase order is an execution modality not contract conclusion, and that the authority itself had applied the cumulative approach for another tenderer but not for the chosen one. Five pellet lots were suspended; the general lot claim was rejected for lack of standing.
Why does this matter?
This ruling confirms that contractor classification must be assessed on the cumulative value of all awarded lots, rejects the framework agreement analogy for lot-based contracts with single offers and award decisions, and defines purchase orders as execution modalities rather than contract conclusions.
The lesson
Verify contractor classification against cumulative lot values when awarding multiple lots to the same tenderer. A contract with purchase orders is not automatically a framework agreement. Apply the cumulative approach consistently across all tenderers.
Ask yourself
Have you verified classification against cumulative lot values? Applied the same approach for all tenderers? Does the competitor's classification cover the cumulative value of awarded lots?
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 →