Negative prices for meal vouchers — 'that's how the sector works' is not sufficient motivation
The Council of State suspends the award of a framework agreement for electronic meal vouchers to Edenred Belgium, because the price investigation motivation was too generic — the contracting authority justified all three tenders globally based on sector characteristics, without individually explaining why the winning tenderer's specific price justification was acceptable.
What happened?
The Federal Police tendered a framework agreement for electronic meal vouchers for the Integrated Police. Three tenders were received: Monizze at €0, Pluxee at -€429,933, and Edenred at -€3,632,935. All three were subjected to a special price investigation. The authority accepted all justifications and awarded to Edenred on best price-quality ratio. Pluxee challenged the award. The Council of State found the price investigation motivation inadequate. The award decision motivated globally for all three tenderers based on sector characteristics (merchant commissions, economies of scale, electronic efficiency) without individually explaining why Edenred's specific justification was acceptable. The Council identified three shortcomings: (1) the motivation was not individualised despite significantly different prices; (2) it failed to mention other revenue sources like float income that could have been referenced without breaching confidentiality; (3) the confidential analysis report appeared to raise questions about Edenred's justification, but the decision did not explain what ultimately convinced the authority to accept it. The suspension was granted.
Why does this matter?
This ruling matters for any market where zero or negative prices occur — meal vouchers, eco-cheques, or similar instruments where revenue comes from merchant commissions or float rather than from the contracting authority. The Council confirms such prices are not inherently prohibited, but the price investigation must be proportionally more rigorous and individually motivated.
The lesson
For contracting authorities: when facing negative or zero prices, motivate your price investigation individually per tenderer. A global motivation based on sector characteristics is insufficient when prices and justifications differ significantly. You can respect confidentiality while still providing minimal individual motivation. For tenderers: if a competitor offers a significantly more negative price, check whether the award decision individually motivates why that price is acceptable.
Ask yourself
Are you motivating your price investigation result globally for all tenderers together? Do the prices and justifications differ significantly between tenderers? Then a global motivation is likely inadequate.
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 →